HOME | BIO | MUSIC | JOURNEYS BY DJ | STUDIO BLOG | POLITICAL BLOG | BOOKING INFO | CONTACT

That's Retired Major General Paul Eaton's take on Secretary Rumsfeld. And given that the General was the man in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004, he should know.

His testimony came as part of a series of hearings held by Senate Democrats, and it was mild compared to what Retired General John Batiste had to say:

"I walked away from promotion and a promising future serving our country... I hung up my uniform because I came to the gut-wrenching realization that I could do more good for my soldiers and their families out of uniform...

Donald Rumsfeld is not a competent wartime leader. He knows everything, except 'how to win.’ He surrounds himself with like-minded and compliant subordinates who do not grasp the importance of the principles of war, the complexities of Iraq, or the human dimension of warfare. Secretary Rumsfeld ignored 12 years of U.S. Central Command deliberate planning and strategy, dismissed honest dissent, and browbeat subordinates to build 'his plan,' which did not address the hard work to crush the insurgency, secure a post-Saddam Iraq, build the peace, and set Iraq up for self-reliance."

As interesting as both of their comments were, however, I think its what Republican Senator Arlen Specter had to say across town at the National Press Club that was most interesting:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, speaking at the National Press Club Monday, said election-season politics may be what's standing in the way of finding a solution to the insurgency in Iraq.

"My instinct is once the election is over there will be a lot more hard thinking about what to do about Iraq and a lot more candid observations about it," said Specter, R-Pa.

Because nothing says "support the troops" better than allowing American men and women in uniform to twist in the wind until after an election.

UPDATE: Want video? Got video.