Another Ex-General Rumbling Against Rumsfeld

April 13, 2006 — -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has collected "Rumsfeld's Rules," bits of advice and guidelines gleaned during his four decades in government and industry -- nearly 160 items in all when they were published on the Wall Street Journal's editorial page as he took office in 2001.

These days, a small but growing number of retired commanders would like Rumsfeld to think about one he came up with while he was President Gerald Ford's chief of staff: "Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the president and do wonders for your performance."

The latest to join the chorus was retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-05, now says the Pentagon's civilian leadership needs a "fresh start." He told the Washington Post: "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."

While Batiste is not widely known outside military circles, his comments resonate within the Army: He was offered a promotion to return to Iraq as the second-ranking commander, but turned down the third star rather than continue to serve under Rumsfeld.

Earlier, three other top commanders made high-profile remarks criticizing Rumsfeld. In an essay in the current issue of Time magazine, Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, a former top official on the staff of the Joint Chiefs in 2000-02, compared Rumsfeld with Robert S. McNamara, the Pentagon chief during the Vietnam War. Newbold called for "replacing Rumsfeld and many others unwilling to fundamentally change their approach."

Last month, retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who had been in charge of training Iraqi troops in 2003-04, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times saying that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically. ... Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."

And retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, a longtime Rumsfeld critic who left the military before the Bush administration, has stepped up his attacks as he promotes a new book, "The Battle for Peace."