Rummy’s bad rap
(Washington, D.C.): Donald Rumsfeld is one of the most experienced men in Washington. So he is presumably not surprised at the fickleness of the chattering classes. Not so long ago, he got nothing but fabulous press and fawning treatment from Congress and the public. Now, the “smart people” have formed up for a political lynch-mob demanding his head, with even Republicans insisting that he lose his job once the votes are counted in Iraq.
Even a veteran of decades of inside-the-Beltway and corporate bloodletting like “Rummy” might be amazed by the grounds on which he is being pilloried, however.
Cheap Shots
Take for example the outrage that has accompanied his response in Kuwait to a soldier in the Tennessee National Guard about the lack of adequate armor protection for troops going into Iraq – a response universally described by media and other Rumsfeld critics as “arrogant.” Long-time Human Events editor Allan Ryskind recently observed that the sound-bite in question sounds entirely different in the full context of Secretary Rumsfeld’s respectful and characteristically thoughtful answer.
The first thing the Defense Secretary said was: “I talked to the general coming out here about the pace at which the vehicles are being armored. They have been brought from all over the world, wherever they’re not needed, to a place here where they are needed. I’m told that they are being – the Army is – I think it’s something like 400 a month are being done. And it’s essentially a matter of physics. It isn’t a matter of money. It isn’t a matter on the part of the Army of desire. It’s a matter of production and capability of doing it.”
It was only then that Mr. Rumsfeld made what was taken by the troops – who subsequently gave him a standing ovation – as an unexceptionable observation: “As you know, you go to war with the army you have. They’re not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” While the soundbite typically began and ended with those two sentences, Rummy added a further assurance: “Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate they believe – it’s a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously – but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment.” He went on in this deliberate, responsible vein for several minutes more.
Imagine the Secretary’s surprise when, after these remarks were selectively quoted and repeatedly broadcast in the most unflattering light, the manufacturer of armored Humvees announced he could actually increase production further. More public castigation of Rumsfeld followed.
Never mind that Secretary Rumsfeld had been given contrary information as recently as when he was enroute to his townhall meeting with the troops. It is a cheap shot to denounce Rummy for answering as he did when, to the best of his knowledge, the Army was doing everything humanly possible to meet the current needs. Upon discovering otherwise, full production was ordered.
Using the ‘Army You Have’
Mr. Rumsfeld’s observation about going to war with “the army you have” is no less appropriate an answer to those who have assailed him for not assigning more U.S. troops to post-liberation Iraq. Had the 500,000 troops in-theater at the time of Desert Storm been used to overthrow Saddam Hussein in 1991, the aftermath of such an operation – to say nothing of the sorry history of the Middle East during the intervening years – may have been very different.
The first President Bush refused to do that, though, drawing notably on counsel from Colin Powell, Brent Scowcroft and Norman Schwartzkopf. And, having prematurely stopped that war, he and his successor, Bill Clinton, decided greatly to reduce the armed forces’ size and armaments. These cuts left us unable, as a practical matter, to mount another Desert Storm. Even the deployment and sustaining in Iraq of a contingent half that size would have been highly problematic. Interestingly, few, if any, of those now venting their spleens about Secretary Rumsfeld’s ruminations on “the army you have” opposed the cuts that have so limited our present options.
Given the bipartisan agreement that eliminating Saddam Hussein’s regime was justified and necessary, the second President Bush and his Defense Secretary were right, under the circumstances, to work to achieve that objective quickly and decisively, then to draw on allied forces and reconstituted and vetted Iraqi units to help maintain post-war security.
The Bottom Line
Don Rumsfeld may not be perfect, but neither are any of his critics. He is nonetheless arguably the finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had. His combination of vast expertise, unflagging energy and strategic vision would be desirable under any circumstances. In time of global war, though, they are truly indispensable.
Most of those seeking Mr. Rumsfeld’s dismissal hope George Bush will overlook the fact that the Secretary is his most faithful and capable Cabinet officer in the execution of the President’s policies. They argue some unidentified successor could do better, a false prospect often associated with generic alternatives. In the real world, there is no obvious better man for the job and, to the President’s credit, in his press conference Monday, Mr. Bush signaled that he thinks Don Rumsfeld is getting a bum rap and that he intends to hold onto his Secretary of Defense for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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