Just to follow-up for a moment on an earlier post, it’s not hard to find calls for Rumsfeld’s resignation today. A lot of people are calling for his head.
On the Hill, Joe Biden wants a resignation, so does Tom Harkin and John Corzine.
Thomas Friedman’s New York Times column says Rumsfeld has to go.
If we are going to rebuild our credibility as instruments of humanitarian values, the rule of law and democratization, in Iraq or elsewhere, Mr. Bush must hold his own defense secretary accountable.
And the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wants Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz to go.
It’s not just Mr. Rumsfeld’s latest fiasco, the botched handling of the investigation of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
It’s not just that Mr. Rumsfeld seriously underestimated the number of U.S. troops required for the occupation of Iraq and the potential for American casualties.
It’s not just that Mr. Rumsfeld seriously overestimated the threat from weapons of mass destruction.
It’s not just that Mr. Rumsfeld ignored the State Department’s plans for the occupation and relied on private security forces and private companies with no-bid contracts.
It’s not just that U.S. policy in Iraq has devolved in dangerous ad hocery, with one day’s decision reversed the next day.
It’s not just that Mr. Rumsfeld had charged around the world insulting key allies.
It’s the accumulation of all these miscalculations, misconceptions and missteps – and an arrogant inability to admit his mistakes – that require him to step down. If the Defense Department were a corporation, its CEO would be long gone.
And yet, Bush won’t even entertain the idea.
Reuters noted this morning that the White House insists Rumsfeld isn’t going anywhere.
Asked at a news briefing whether Bush wanted Rumsfeld to remain as head of the Defense Department, White House press secretary Scott McClellan replied: “Absolutely. The president greatly appreciates the job that Secretary Rumsfeld is doing.”
I have a quick follow-up question for McClellan: Why does Bush “greatly appreciate” the job Rumsfeld is doing?