BLITZER: You said "he's the best thing that's happened to the Pentagon in 25 years." You know, a lot of people strongly disagree with you, including an increasing chorus of fellow Republicans.
BOEHNER: Well, there are a lot of people who want to blame what is happening in Iraq on Donald Rumsfeld, but when you look at the transformation that our military has been through, it's nothing short of remarkable.
And I think there's only one person in America who could have brought about that transformation, and that is Donald Rumsfeld. He's smart, he's been through the Pentagon, knows how it works. And now we have a lighter, more flexible force, a quicker force. It would not have happened without him.
BLITZER: But, you know, General Zinni, who used to be the commander, Anthony Zinni of the Central Command, he says that Rumsfeld threw out 10 years of planning for Iraq, 10 years of strategy with 500,000 troops that would be needed, not to necessarily topple Saddam Hussein, but to win the peace quickly. He just threw that out because he wanted that lighter force and, as a result, the U.S. is paying the price right now.
BOEHNER: Well, Wolf, you have to understand that the generals who have been in charge of the Pentagon have been very resistant to change. It's the younger generals who understand this new force structure that we need to be -- to have the military of the 21st century. And so I think Rumsfeld is the right guy for the job, and I know the president supports him and I'm glad he does.
BLITZER: Let me read to you what a few of your fellow Republicans have said in recent days. "I don't like the guy. I simply don't think he has measured up on running the war on Iraq. Would I vote for a no confidence resolution on Secretary Rumsfeld? Yes." Chris Shays, Republican of Connecticut.
"If I had my way, he wouldn't be secretary of defense now. I would have accepted his resignation after Abu Ghraib. I have lost confidence in him." That's the Republican candidate for the Senate from Washington state, Mike McGavick.
And Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, Republican of Virginia: "It's probably the only thing in my life I've ever agreed with Hillary Clinton about. He's probably a nice guy, but I don't think he's a great secretary of defense."
BOEHNER: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.
BLITZER: But he's in charge of the military.
BOEHNER: But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president. We've seen this run up in violence as we get closer to the election, as we get closer to Ramadan, same thing we've seen over the last couple of years.
As we enter into Ramadan, we see this big spike in violence and there's no question, in my mind, that the terrorists, very smart people, are also trying to increase the violence as we get closer to the U.S. elections.
BLITZER: Well, I want to move on and get to some other important issues, but a quick question. Were you satisfied in the planning that the Pentagon did, specifically the defense secretary, not necessarily for getting rid of Saddam Hussein's regime, but for the post-war? Because it's been three-and-a-half years and $300 billion, $400 billion, 3,000 almost U.S. deaths ...
BOEHNER: Wolf, there's no question that there have been mistakes along the way. We're fighting an enemy that's unconventional, and we're -- and this has become the central front in our war with al Qaeda. Al Qaeda continues to bring people into Iraq to let off these bombs, to stir up sectarian violence and we're always have to adapt on the ground.
So, let's get this straight.... Rumsfeld isnt responsible because he was too busy transforming the Army into something that he can't use properly to do what he wants, and the Generals using the transformed Army are responsible cuz they're in charge. That's a Republican 'talking point' we need to hammer and hammer and hammer.
1 comment:
unreal, i know!
Post a Comment