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Rangel Calls for Rumsfeld Resignation
Never saw this coming...
Some of us wish youâd do the same, you pompous windbag! Referring to a memo leaked last month in which Rumsfeld asked his four top aides several ponderous questions about gauging the success in the war on terror, Rep. Charles Rangel of New York said Rumsfeld doesnât have the strategy for getting U.S. troops out of Iraq nor a clue whether efforts in Iraq have been successful or not. "The whole idea of having a leaked report that says that there is no game plan, he doesnât know whether heâs winning or losing, that heâs asking questions outside of the box â heâs not supposed to be asking questions, heâs supposed to be giving answers to those questions. Our men and women that are dying every day are entitled to a game plan," Rangel told Fox Newsâ Neil Cavuto. Great leaders ask a lot from subordinates, even giving negative feedback. Note that Saddam Hussein was infamous for "We owe it to the troops to have some type of plan and heâs the guy thatâs responsible for this, he ought to come up with a plan or resign."
So, he has a plan after all. Care to retract, Mr. Rangel? "We now have over 100,000 Iraqis who are serving in the Army, the police, the site protection, the civil defense, the border patrols. Itâs gone from zero up to 100,000. Our plan is to take it in excess of 200,000 by next year. And it will be Iraqis that will be out killing and capturing the remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime," Rumsfeld said, adding that it is impossible for the Iraqi security forces to go from zero to 100,000 troops without a plan. Thatâs a big FU to Rangel. But wait! Thereâs more! But Rangel, the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he is incensed that the secretary says the contents of the leaked memo reflect his thinking. Among the questions in the memo, which ended up in reportersâ hands last month after a Pentagon staffer made photocopies of it, Rumsfeld asked, "Is the U.S. winning or losing the global war on terrorism?"
So there are institutional problems to overcome, like, oh, I dunno, obstinate Congressman, for starters... Rumsfeld wrote that in terms of cost and benefit, the "ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terroristsâ costs of millions."
How about some answers / sugestions from you, Einstein? "If he doesnât know, he will to have to step aside so we can find somebody who can tell us whether weâre winning or losing," Rangel added. Guess not. Rumsfeld said based on numbers alone, the United States is clearly winning the war on terror â many more terrorists are being killed or captured than are coalition troops. But he acknowledged that he does not know how to measure how many terrorists are being created in radical Islamic schools and elsewhere. You could start by bombing them and counting the bodies, but that might be viewed by our European counterparts as simplisme. Subtlety was never my strong point. "Our goal has to be to continue doing what weâre doing on the global war on terror. And that is going well. We are capturing and killing a lot of terrorists," he said. "But we also have to think about the number of new ones that are being created, it seems to me. And the memo I wrote raised that question. How might we do that? How do we win that battle of ideas? And itâs not going to be so much the United States as it is other people from other countries who see their religion hijacked and taken away from them." What say you, Sir Charles? Rangel also complained that troops on the ground in Baghdad arenât happy with their circumstances and morale is suffering as a result. Iâd get sick of eating MREâs and farting like a racehorse all day. Well, maybe from eating MREâs all day... "I think the worst thing the most harmful thing that a combat soldier can read ... is that the people back home have no clue how long youâre going to stay there, who the enemy is, and when can you possibly determine victory. It just seems to me that that is what is really undermining the morale of the troops," Rangel said. Note - Charles Rangel was the first Congressman to suggest reinstating the draft. On Wednesday, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace inadvertently revealed elements of the plan to rotate troops in and out of Iraq in the coming months. SOP. Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee, Pace said that currently four divisions are in Iraq, but in the next rotation, only three will remain. Wow! Another plan! According to a plan And another! signed by Rumsfeld on Wednesday and expected to be released Thursday, the 101st Airborne (search) will be replaced by U.S. Marines. Jihadis, beware! In the revised rotation schedule, heavy armored divisions are to be rotated with lighter Marines units, Army light infantry and motorized divisions and National Guard and Reserve units with specialties in military policing and civil affairs. The plan foresees the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq dropping by more than 20,000 by May, assuming that Iraqi forces will continue to be quickly trained to take over. On Sunday, Rumsfeld said that process is moving quickly, and likely will depend on recruiting ex-Iraqi soldiers to take over. "Weâve been recruiting them for six months. Weâve been putting them in the police force. Weâve been putting them in the border patrol and the site protection and in the Army," he said. The concept is called training, Sir Charles. Training Arab troops / police in modern techniques takes time. Finally, Rangel said he was angered by Rumsfeldâs "lack of sensitivity" over the deadly helicopter crash in Baghdad this weekend that killed 15 American soldiers. Why, âcuz he wasnât crying? During his weekend appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Rumsfeld said, "One has to say that this is a tragic day for those young men and women who are serving our country so wonderfully, and my prayers and sympathy go to the families and the loved ones of those that were killed and wounded." He added that days like that will occur in war, and Americans must recognize that. Iâd wish leftists like Rangel would, too. I wonât hold my breath. Posted by: Raj 2003-11-06 |
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