Friday, April 14, 2006

Ford: Rumsfeld Should Resign

Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. today called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign, reiterating his public stance on this issue for several months. In a statement, Ford said:

“For the sake of our country and the safety of our troops, President Bush should accept the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has lost the confidence of his peers, subordinates and the thousands of men and women who bravely and selflessly serve this country.”

In the last month, senior administration, military and Republican Party officials – current and former – have made the following statements about the mistakes in Iraq:

When asked who should resign, General Anthony Zinni said “Secretary of defense, to begin with... those that have been responsible for the planning, for overriding all the efforts that were made in planning before that, those that stood by and allowed this to happen, that didn't speak out... I think they have to be held accountable.”

General Anthony C. Zinni
Former Commander, United States Central Command
Sunday, April 2
Meet the Press

“Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed forces. First, his failure to build coalitions with our allies from what he dismissively called ‘old Europe’ has imposed far greater demands and risks on our soldiers in Iraq than necessary. Second, he alienated his allies in our own military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input. In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down.”

Major General Paul D. Eaton
United States commander of training Iraqi security forces 2003-2004
Sunday, March 19
New York Times

“It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy [Iraq] after June of 2003.”

Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the House
Monday, April 10

“We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad...We didn't have enough troops on the ground. We didn't impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and . . . it got out of control.”

Colin Powell
Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Saturday, April 8
Chicago

“[T]he commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions--or bury the results... a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war, while pursuing the real enemy, al-Qaeda, became a secondary effort.”

Lt. General Gregory Newbold
Former Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Sunday, April 17
Time Magazine

Source: Press Release