Rumsfeld for Emperor

It is a slow news week, a holiday to boot, and during slow times undermining Rumsfeld seems to be the media's choice for promoting its bash Bush agenda.

Despie the breathless reporting, the retired generals' case against Rummy is far from persuasive.

• If there's a policy, strategic or other substantive disagreement, six of over 6,000 on active duty and retired is not an impressive number. The media's hype lacks perspective.
• If it's a complaint about Rumsfeld's management style, then it needs to come from a higher rank of generals, the three and four star generals who actually interact directly with him.
• Whatever the beef, it should have been made before retirement, not after. If the disagreement merits action as a matter of conscience, they should resign over it, express their objections at that time, and then withdraw from the dispute. That's the military way, the honorable way. Playing Monday morning quarterback and taking potshots from retirement is cheap and cowardly behavior, no matter the merits of the issue, no matter their bravery during active duty.
• Zinnie's on a book tour, and the other Marine is likely jealous of Pete Pace.The four Army Generals are likely choking on sour grapes because Rumsfeld cut the Crusader cannon and wants a "mobile" Army. The very idea that people whose jobs are to break things and kill people could get upset because Rumsfeld yelled at them is beyond the pale, suggesting they may have retired 20 years too late.

HT: Why Rumsfeld should stay, by AcademicElephant