Monday - February 19, 2007

I Almost Agree with McCain

Or Rumsfeld Was Wrong 

John McCain, today, argued that Donald Rumsfeld was one of the worst Secretary of Defense in our history.

"We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement - that's the kindest word I can give you - of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war," the Arizona senator told an overflow crowd of more than 800 at a retirement community near Hilton Head Island, S.C. "The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously."

McCain makes a bit of an overstatement, but he is half-right.  Rumsfeld's victory in Afghanistan, with only tens of thousands of troops, is unparalleled.  He used only minimal forces and succeeded where the great British and Soviet empires failed miserably.  Even the military victory in Iraq was impressive.

Where I agree with McCain, is that, in hindsight, Rumsfeld was not the right man for the occupation and reconstruction of Afghanistan or Iraq.  In both cases, the occupation has been badly fumbled.  Truthfully, I expected something on the scale of the reconstruction of Japan or Germany after World War Two, lead by the likes of a MacArthur.  Instead, we have witnessed a reconstruction that had no planning or direction.

With that said, the midterm elections certainly gave George Bush a needed kick in the pants.  His appointment of Robert Gates (see a this list of news articles that chronicle all the things Gates is doing right) has put someone in charge that understands the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, who has real world working solutions to those problems.  Additionally, with General Petraeus in charge in Iraq, we have another clear minded individual who has the practical knowledge to make the right things happen on the ground.

In essence, Rumsfeld was the right man to conduct the war, but he definitely was the wrong man to manage the peace.  I'll give the left that point.  But why won't they admit that President Bush has made positive steps to fix the problems in both Afghanistan and Iraq? 

Trackposted to Rightlinx, The Amboy Times, Big Dog's Weblog, and Shadowscope, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.