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| Rangel Calls for Rumsfeld Resignation | ||||
| 2003-11-06 | ||||
Never saw this coming...
Some of us wish you’d 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 doesn’t 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 doesn’t know whether he’s winning or losing, that he’s asking questions outside of the box — he’s not supposed to be asking questions, he’s 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 News’ 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 he’s the guy that’s 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. It’s 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. That’s a big FU to Rangel. But wait! There’s 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 reporters’ 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 terrorists’ costs of millions."
How about some answers / sugestions from you, Einstein? "If he doesn’t know, he will to have to step aside so we can find somebody who can tell us whether we’re winning or losing," Rangel added. Guess not. Rumsfeld said based on numbers alone, the United States is clearly winning the war on terror — 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 we’re 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 it’s 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 aren’t happy with their circumstances and morale is suffering as a result. I’d get sick of eating MRE’s and farting like a racehorse all day. Well, maybe from eating MRE’s 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 you’re 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. "We’ve been recruiting them for six months. We’ve been putting them in the police force. We’ve 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 Rumsfeld’s "lack of sensitivity" over the deadly helicopter crash in Baghdad this weekend that killed 15 American soldiers. Why, ’cuz he wasn’t 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. I’d wish leftists like Rangel would, too. I won’t hold my breath. | ||||
| Posted by:Raj |
| #16 Rangel craks me up. Minorities make up only about 20% of front line troops at the very most. They probably make up 50% of support and about 30% overall (consistent w/the pop) Rangel was caught in a blatant lie on this one. I respect his service record but he is abusing it in the worst way imho. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-11-6 9:56:04 PM |
| #15 Contact the greaseball here. Your Zip Code is 10027-4404 |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2003-11-6 9:17:32 PM |
| #14 This looks like a job for the Rumsfeld Strangler! |
| Posted by: Old Grouch 2003-11-6 8:26:17 PM |
| #13 Yank - you're absolutely right! It's beyond not only his experience, but his imagination. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-11-6 7:59:09 PM |
| #12 Rangel is just confused because the memo was intended to spur thinking on how to win the war and didn't mention anything about attacking the other political party. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-11-6 6:48:36 PM |
| #11 Lest we not forget that it was Rangel that ran screaming through the halls of Congress that the minorities made up the majority of combat arms troops in Iraq. Bzzzzt! Sorry, wrong answer, they're the majority on the support side of the house. If you would have done your homework, asshat, the press wouldn't have had to "old school" your sorry ass on the one thing you Democrats seem to always overlook...the facts. Chuckie, YOU are the disgrace to the US. YOU resign, it would do wonders for the country. |
| Posted by: Paul 2003-11-6 6:45:35 PM |
| #10 There's only one thing to do: grab Charlie Rangel, dress him in a bright fluorescent orange jumpsuit, and equip him with a super-soaker filled with lemonade, and drop him into Teheran on a secret mission. "Sorry, Congressman Rangel, we can't tell you what we want you to do, it's a secret. But you'll think of something. Time to go." |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-11-6 6:38:34 PM |
| #9 the only reason he wanted to reinstate the draft was to destroy the military, not save it. Rangel, like Kerry uses their previous (honorable) military service to deflect questions about their dishonorable conduct in congress and on the campaign trail. F*&k em both |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-11-6 6:25:38 PM |
| #8 Chuck thinks that HE is the only one that can lead the military. Rangel can rant like this because he is in a 'safe' district. It's hard to believe that that many people actually agree with the spew coming out of this man. Chuck has the distinction of being only the 2nd congressman that I have written to outside my State. I told him his draft idea would KILL GIs. I go no response. BTW Chuck probably thought his was at a ANSWER meeting. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-11-6 6:14:23 PM |
| #7 Anonymous... you have no idea what you're talking about. That memo showed that Rumsfield views every situation as if we're the underdog and nothing can be taken for granted. It's exactly what you want the leadership to be doing and actually reminds me of things Gates says in memos about the competition (Netscape, Apple, Oracle, Sun etc..) before Microsoft completely and utterly decimates them. You know why? Because he takes nothing for granted and always fights like his back is against the wall... no matter what. |
| Posted by: Damn_Proud_American 2003-11-6 6:12:36 PM |
| #6 Right on target Bomb-a -rama. That's why the Donks (sans Zell Miller) find themselves in the position they're in....lots of group-think, everyone marching in lockstep. No hint of analysis or critical thinking. If they keep this rediculous crap up to the O4 election they will not carry a single state. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-11-6 6:09:24 PM |
| #5 Rumsfeld is still the one looking like a moron on this one. Only a moron would make that claim. Sitting on one's laurels without performing constant reevaluation, reassessment, and a bit of self-criticism in a constantly changing situation makes the possibility of failure much more likely. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-6 5:45:30 PM |
| #4 OK, let's see how long it takes Democrats to distance themselves from Rangel's lies and idiocy... (Hey, how many Dems objected to Rangel's last blast of brilliance -- reinstituting the draft?) |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-11-6 5:43:35 PM |
| #3 Nice hair, Chuck. Now go extort somebody, huh? Thanks. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-11-6 5:18:09 PM |
| #2 Rummy looks like he's doing his job. Rangel looks like he's speaking at an International ANSWER rally. Wonder what ScrappleFace will do with this one? |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-11-6 5:09:32 PM |
| #1 Let's be honest, Rumsfeld should have been careful with that memo. Even with your little comments, Rumsfeld is still the one looking like a moron on this one. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-6 5:06:25 PM |