4 Leading Military Papers: 'Rumsfeld Must Go'

[Bud Fox]

(CNN) -- An editorial to be published in a major military publication Monday calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's replacement.

And the Pentagon is countering by saying the new "chorus of criticism" is "old news."

The editorial will be in four independent publications that serve the four main branches of the U.S. military, according to the senior managing editor for Army Times Publications, the papers' parent company.

The timing was not prompted not by Tuesday's midterm elections, said Army Times' editor Robert Hodierne.

It was inspired after Bush's stated earlier this week that he wants Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney in their posts through the end of his term, the editor said.(Watch Bush say Rumsfeld is staying on the job -- 1:20 Video)

Swaying conservative voters "is not our aim," he told CNN on Friday.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the president was told about the editorial, and his reaction was to "shrug it off."

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman downplayed the "new chorus of criticism."

[It] is actually old news and does not include commanders in the field, who remain committed to the mission," Whitman said.

"The assertion, without evidence, that senior military officers are 'toeing the line' is an insult to their judgment and integrity," he added.

Hodierne counters by saying that Rumsfeld has "lost the support and respect of the military leadership" considering "some of the public statements that military leaders are making."

"...with their [other military leaders'] disagreements, [it] added up with all of the other missteps we believe he's made, that it's time for him to be replaced," Hodierne said.

Army Times Publications publishes the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and the Marine Corps Times.

Whitman said Rumsfeld has always "clearly and accurately" described the challenges facing U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Secretary of Defense has always said the "war on terror" will be a long struggle, Whitman said.

"This country and the leadership of the Defense Department are going to ensure that our military forces have the resources to successfully carry out their mission, and to suggest otherwise is simply wrong," he said.

This is the second time the military publications have urged Rumsfeld to vacate his post.

In May 2004, when the Abu Ghraib prison scandal broke, an Army Times editorial said, "This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top."

Owned by the Gannett Company, Army Times Publishing is the world's largest publisher of defense and military-related periodicals, Hodierne said.

The four weekly newspapers, distributed in base convenience stores and commissaries around the world as well as delivered to subscribers, have a combined circulation of about 250,000.

[Brody]

Maybe this stance the Navy times and the others have taken is why farewell letters are being sent to there opinion ed section all the time!

Here I'll post one thats just lying around.

Basically this guy has quit his subscription because of the promotion of "Bob Dorr" a liberal journalist.

Promoting Bob Dorr from story teller to liberal commentator just about sealed the deal. You all have swung over left wing and it seems foolish to pay over a buck a week to have another bunch of word-jockey liberals irritate me.

Lt Cmdr. Don Chalfant

Can't say much about the navy times! Its been dubbed the Navy Enquirer for quite some time now!

[The Dog]

Brody, I can't help but feel that no matter what the thread is - if its anything disparraging to the right or to the bush admin you ALWAYS have to counter with something negative about the first post or something about how "yeah, well, the left sucks too!!!".   It just seems like you don't approach things with an open mind.  I'm not trying to pick a fight or provoke you, but i am really curious if you think Rumsfeld is doing "a heck of a job".  DOZENS of people have been calling for his resignation and he has totally F'ed up the war in Iraq (not JUST him, but he certainly hasn't helped it any).

When you posted about ACORN nobody tried to defend them, quite the opposite, we all condemned it.  If you like Rummy, thats your right, but I'd be curious to know why....

[Bud Fox]

You fucking liars got a lot of people killed with your fucking lies, and Fox hopes every God Damned one of your leaders ends up in a jail cell. Fuck your "liberal media" bullsht, your mass murdering fucking shitbag Rumsfeld deserves to be fired. 

[Skeba]

Yeah, that's constructive.

[Brody]

Brody, I can't help but feel that no matter what the thread is - if its anything disparraging to the right or to the bush admin you ALWAYS have to counter with something negative about the first post or something about how "yeah, well, the left sucks too!!!".   It just seems like you don't approach things with an open mind.  I'm not trying to pick a fight or provoke you, but i am really curious if you think Rumsfeld is doing "a heck of a job".  DOZENS of people have been calling for his resignation and he has totally F'ed up the war in Iraq (not JUST him, but he certainly hasn't helped it any).

When you posted about ACORN nobody tried to defend them, quite the opposite, we all condemned it.  If you like Rummy, thats your right, but I'd be curious to know why....

Im not defending Rummy, Im all for taking different opinions but the cut throat tactics the left have used sickens me. I will add this, Take a look at Patton, was in a very similar position! Made very little friends ruffled a whole fuck load of feathers and was smeared by his pairs because he did what he needed to do.   
Rummy has stepped on a lot of toes and pissed a lot of people off! Sort of the same way Gen. Patton did. We all know that Patton ended up being right about the Russians. <-- unrelated, but the media hated Patton alot like they do Rummy.

[Brody]

You fucking liars got a lot of people killed with your fucking lies, and Fox hopes every God Damned one of your leaders ends up in a jail cell. Fuck your "liberal media" bullsht, your mass murdering fucking shitbag Rumsfeld deserves to be fired. 

do i even need t reply to this?

[Guns N RockMusic]

You fucking liars got a lot of people killed with your fucking lies, and Fox hopes every God Damned one of your leaders ends up in a jail cell. Fuck your "liberal media" bullsht, your mass murdering fucking shitbag Rumsfeld deserves to be fired.?

You won't be here much longer.

[gilld1]

Patton may have stepped on some toes but the war he fought and led in we won.  Dummy's war is un-winnable. 

[Brody]

Patton may have stepped on some toes but the war he fought and led in we won.  Dummy's war is un-winnable. 

Thats your opinion, but its not the opinion of the men on the ground. At least the majority that i have spoken with.

[gilld1]

We can't win it with the small force we have there.  This was botched from the beginning because of groupthink by the Bush Regime.  I think the best way to show support for our troops is to support their return home.

[The Dog]

Patton may have stepped on some toes but the war he fought and led in we won.  Dummy's war is un-winnable. 

Thats your opinion, but its not the opinion of the men on the ground. At least the majority that i have spoken with.

Its not just his opinion, the consensus amongst most analysts is that the war is unwinnable at best.  The Iraq war is very comprable to the Korean war.

[SLCPUNK]

You fucking liars got a lot of people killed with your fucking lies, and Fox hopes every God Damned one of your leaders ends up in a jail cell. Fuck your "liberal media" bullsht, your mass murdering fucking shitbag Rumsfeld deserves to be fired. 

You won't be here much longer.

Its ugly, and he'll probably get the boot, but it's all true.

[SLCPUNK]

I think the best way to show support for our troops is to support their return home.

Exactly what I have said since day one.

Showing my support for the troops equals not putting them in harms way over a bunch of friggin' lies and half truths.

[Mal Brossard]

Patton may have stepped on some toes but the war he fought and led in we won.? Dummy's war is un-winnable.?

Thats your opinion, but its not the opinion of the men on the ground. At least the majority that i have spoken with.

Republican Commission: Iraq War is Over
By Evan Derkacz
Posted on October 12, 2006, Printed on October 18, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/42957/

Okay, well, it doesn't say that America "lost." According to the conservative NY Sun, "A commission formed to assess the Iraq war and recommend a new course has ruled out the prospect of victory for America."

Right, "ruled out the prospect of victory," sorry -- don't want to open myself to charges of being anti-American like this commision.

Can Iraq become a stable democracy in the near term? No. Not according to the commission convened by Virginia Republican Frank Wolf and led by Bush 41's main man, James Baker. Unfortunately, the commission's official findings won't be released until after election day. You know, why have all the information if the information is liable to guide your vote?

The Sun's Eli Lake writes (emphasis mine):

"The more palatable of the two choices for the White House, 'Stability First,' argues that the military should focus on stabilizing Baghdad while the American Embassy should work toward political accommodation with insurgents. The goal of nurturing a democracy in Iraq is dropped."

The second part, "Redeploy and Contain," is essentially a withdrawal plan.

From a Daily News article almost exactly a year ago:

In the long run, moreover, many Bush aides believe his legacy will rise or fall largely on how Iraq plays out.

"If a year from now they have a functional government with even a semblance of democracy and U.S. deaths are lower, that will give Bush a huge boost," said a senior Republican political strategist. "But if there's a civil war and Americans are still dying, Bush will end his term as one of the most unpopular Presidents in history."

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.

? 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/evan/42957/

[SLCPUNK]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Hundreds of US soldiers have signed a petition calling for a troop withdrawal from
Iraq and the document is to be formally presented to Congress in January, organizers said.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq," the petition says.

"Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for US troops to come home," it says.

The campaign's website, www.appealforredress.org, says the petition is sponsored by active duty service members based in the Norfolk, Virginia area and by a sponsoring committee of veterans and military family members.

The committee includes Iraq Veterans against the War (IVAW), Veterans for Peace (VFP) and Military Families Speak Out.

"Many active duty, reserve, and guard service members are concerned about the war in Iraq and support the withdrawal of US troops," the website says.

"The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their congressional representative and US senators to urge an end to the US military occupation," it says.

One of the campaign's activists told AFP hundreds of soldiers have signed the petition.

According to a local newspaper, the Virginian-Pilot, the petition's leader is Jonathan Hutto, a sailor on the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. His website was activated in October, the daily said.

Iraq is the central theme of Tuesday's US congressional election, in which opposition Democrats hope to take control of Congress from President George W. Bush's Republicans.

[SLCPUNK]

Can't say much about the navy times! Its been dubbed the Navy Enquirer for quite some time now!

Maybe all those servicemen demanding a withdrawl are all from the "Navy Enquirer" too?

[SLCPUNK]

He's out !!!!!

Rumsfeld has resigned!

[Axl4Prez2004]

Wow, Bud Fox made this post 2 days ago...pretty eerie.   

[SLCPUNK]

Im not defending Rummy, Im all for taking different opinions but the cut throat tactics the left have used sickens me.

What is there to say now?

Who got rid of him?

The left or the right?

Wow, Bud Fox made this post 2 days ago...pretty eerie.   

Fox nails it most times, before he gets banned.