The breath-taking recklessness of Donald Rumsfeld
James Forsyth 5:56pm
One thought one had heard it all when it came to the folly of Donald Rumsfeld’s second stint at the Pentagon. But it is jaw-dropping to see these cover sheets for intelligence briefings that Rumsfeld gave President Bush. They come with Biblical quotes attached to martial images. Just imagine the reaction if these had leaked during the Iraq war. The incident would have played into the charge that the United States was trying to impose Christianity on the Muslim world. They would have undercut Iraqi and Afghan democrats and would have made life even more difficult for American allies in the Muslim world. And to what end, what upside was there to the use of these quotes? None but possibly a brief motivational buzz for those who saw these quotes.
Robert Draper, the author of the best Bush biography, has further illustrations of Rumsfeld’s arrogance and inability to cooperate with others in the accompanying article. Take these two examples:
“When Condoleezza Rice appointed Robert Blackwill to the Iraq Stabilization Group in 2003 to oversee that country’s rickety reconstruction efforts, Rumsfeld saw the new group as an encroachment and therefore elected to dispatch no DoD personnel to its meetings. Here was the Rumsfeld paradox in action— his need for control trumping his desire for information—and his own subordinates could see the cost. “The truth is,” recalls a former aide, “having people in the National Security Council is how you influence the NSC. So he would weaken himself by not having his eyes and ears there.”
Another such trespasser on Rumsfeld’s turf was the deputy national-security adviser for combating terrorism—an office that Rumsfeld once decreed does not exist. Its third occupant was a woman, Fran Townsend, and Rumsfeld’s contempt for her was well-known throughout the building. “You think I’m going to talk to this broad?” he would complain.”
Why Bush didn't sack Rumsfeld before November 2006 is one of the great mysteries of the Bush administration. If Rumsfeld had been dismissed earlier, the legacy of the Bush administration might be far better.
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porkbelly
May 17th, 2009 6:18pm Report this commentI'm impressed you watched the slideshow and not the Jennifer Aniston pix.
Wilhelm
May 17th, 2009 6:19pm Report this commentYeah James, America is a Christian country, aint that just terrible. What do you suggest, the USA under an islamic caliphate ?
David
May 17th, 2009 6:20pm Report this comment"Biblical quotes attached to martial images."
Insane. There is no other word for it.
Dora
May 17th, 2009 6:27pm Report this comment"And to what end, what upside was there to the use of these quotes?"
For you to even pose that question shows your complete lack of knowledge of the American Born Again Christian movement.
mitch
May 17th, 2009 6:38pm Report this commentprobably for a similar reason that blair didn't sack brown.
That didn't play out so well either.
Herbert Thornton
May 17th, 2009 6:51pm Report this commentWhy is Mr Forsyth attempting this retrospective character assassination? Is he trying to curry favour with the new Administration?
Austin Barry
May 17th, 2009 7:19pm Report this comment"Just imagine the reaction if these had leaked during the Iraq war."
Makes no difference,they've leaked now when the US is engaged in Af/Pak in what Islam will see as a continuing Crusade. Rumsfeld was always what he seemed: an alpha-male refugee from the passé, bonehead world of Rat Packs, three martini lunches, broads and zapping Charley foreigner. And that's a known known.
Jim
May 17th, 2009 7:34pm Report this commentThe arms industry would tell you that the war was great. It doesn't matter who the enemy is or even if America wins or not, they usually don't, as long as sales increase. Sales increased, so it worked.
The list of incompetents in Bush's White House is a long one, I'm not sure you can single out Rumsfeld, he was just writing stuff that appealed to the boss. It worked.
Kris Thyke
May 17th, 2009 8:10pm Report this commentI don't understand why you find this so surprising. A lot, if not the majority of the Bush administration were Born Again or fundamentalist Christians. They used to pray together frequently. In this country it might seem unbelievable but that's because the majority of Christians in this country are either Roman Catholic or Church of England. Certainly no-one high profile, in public life is Born Again in the way Bush is. So it's hard to get into their mindset. I don't think this will be a big shock to Americans, after all it was the voting block of tens of millions of right wing Christians that elected Bush to a two term Presidency. Although this might come as a shock to someone like you many of these people say Bush was not right wing enough and did not deliver on things like an amendment banning gay marriage that they feel is very important.
Kris Thyke
May 17th, 2009 8:10pm Report this commentI don't understand why you find this so surprising. A lot, if not the majority of the Bush administration were Born Again or fundamentalist Christians. They used to pray together frequently. In this country it might seem unbelievable but that's because the majority of Christians in this country are either Roman Catholic or Church of England. Certainly no-one high profile, in public life is Born Again in the way Bush is. So it's hard to get into their mindset. I don't think this will be a big shock to Americans, after all it was the voting block of tens of millions of right wing Christians that elected Bush to a two term Presidency. Although this might come as a shock to someone like you many of these people say Bush was not right wing enough and did not deliver on things like an amendment banning gay marriage that they feel is very important.
norman
May 17th, 2009 8:38pm Report this commentWhat Rumsfield did according to his jargon was "known known" about him and there were not "unknown and unknown"!
Ethan
May 17th, 2009 8:54pm Report this commentRumsfeld is not the first Secretary of Defense to view the relationship between the DoD and other departments (State, NSC, CIA) as a turf war. Robert McNamara's apologia, In Retrospect, is quite revealing on that, probably unintentionally. And look what happened there.
Kit
May 17th, 2009 8:57pm Report this comment"trying to impose Christianity"
Err... most of those quotes come from the Old Testament.
Percy
May 17th, 2009 10:22pm Report this commentIndeed Kit, the Old Testament is germane to all Middle Eastern religions, but you're not seriously suggesting Rumsfeld knew that.
Verity
May 18th, 2009 3:34pm Report this commentViperish jealousy of the Americans, especially the educated upper class, achieving Americans, is an ongoing delight to British failures eaten up with by toxin of ravenous jealousy. America is the top nation. You cannot change that. Calm down.
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