Doug, you know that I think well of you, but you have got to be kidding. I am not asking this in a demeaning manner, but have you ever been in the military?

Maintaining a sense of honor, decency, and respect for the dignity of others is very difficult in a war zone. Especially a warzone where one cannot distinguish the enemy from the friendlies. And most of the time the enemy/friendly designation is fluid, due to the simple need to survive and protect one's family. Soldiers are usually very young, or very inexperienced, and facing life and death situations for the first time in their lives. The only thing, other than their survival ability or will, that they have to rely on is the senior non coms and officers. It is up to them to establish the type of regimen and discipline necessary to retain one's sanity, soul, respect for others (especially the indigenous civilians)and still be effective in the fight. Remember that fighting and killing is the worst job one can be asked to do. Without effective leadership and systems, warriors will slip into the darkest areas of their personalities. This is inevitable when one is killing and watching buddies be killed. In other words, it is up to the Commanders to be moral people, establish that standard, and have systems in place to protect that. When we go to war, supposedly it is in support of, and for the furtherance of, universal ideals of decency and is a reflection of what we stand for. That is why it is NEVER OK for someone claiming the moral high ground to use the excuses that Rumsfeld is making. It does not matter how effective he has been. He failed in the critical test. The whole mission was to bring our supposed superior society and its benefits to these Iraqui's, freeing them from that which they had suffered under. Yet our troops, led by General Karpinski, Military Intelligence, and Rumsfeld, demonstrated the hypocrisy of our views. They committed the act that soldiers taking the high moral road cannot, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, make. They used the ends to justify the means. But the means were in direct conflict with the mission.

He must go. There is no other option.

Mick