Ramblings on Rummy

I had a dream last night in which I woke up this morning, turned on the computer and read the welcome news that SecDef Rumsfeld had resigned. Sadly, it hasn't come true (yet). However, the drum-beat of criticism for the Old Man of the Pentagon continues to grow louder, joined now by several top retired generals.

The Washington Post reports on comments by Maj. General John Batiste (Ret.), who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq 2004-2005. Batiste said on CNN yesterday "I think we need a fresh start. We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork." Asked directly if he thought Rumsfeld should step down, Batiste replied "In my opinion, yes."

No blogger (or at least none that I read regularly) has done a better job capturing these recent retired general-comments than Michael Reynolds at The Mighty Middle, who's inaugurated a new series: MSM - Mainstream Military. See his installments here, here, and here. While I disagree with his assertion in the first linked post that non-retired generals ought to be speaking out publicly about the political leadership above them (privately absolutely they should), I like what he's done with the series and hope he'll continue it.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. It's time for Rummy to go.