By host Tom Ashbrook:
Last week, George Bush told the world Donald Rumsfeld, was doing a “fantastic” job as secretary of defense. Today, Rumsfeld is out — resigned or fired, depending on your interpretation.
The sorry state of the Iraq war lit the fire, but the war has been going badly for a long time now. The real push came, finally, from voters, and their stark repudiation of the war’s direction this week. So the alpha male defense secretary who brought us “stuff happens” and “back off,” is done.
Former CIA chief Robert Gates is headed in. But the war and consequences of the Rumsfeld years go on.
Hear about the Rumsfeld legacy, and the way ahead in Iraq.
Quotes from the Show:
“When historians look back a hundred years from now, they will say that this was the worst planned war in US history.” Tom Ricks
Rumsfeld never seems to have asked the basic question about Iraq: what is the effect of the war going to be for Iran?”
“The US is enmeshed in the Middle East like never before.” Tom Ricks
“I see [Rumsfeld's resignation as] the first opportunity to move forward in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first time in years.” Paul Eaton
“Somebody with inside knowledge had to speak out about the path we were on [in Iraq].” Paul Eaton
“Some of the senior officers [in Iraq] have indicated in a reserved way that Mr. Rumsfeld will not be missed.” Lt. Col. Kalev Sepp
Guests:
Richard Wolffe, senior White House correspondent for Newsweek.;
Tom Ricks, senior military correspondent for the Washington Post, author of “Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq.”;
Retired Major General Paul Eaton. He was in charge of training Iraqi forces from 2003-2004. He has called for Rumsfeld’s resignation.;
Lt. Col. Kalev Sepp. He is in Iraq as an advisor to General George Casey, the top US Commander in Iraq. He is a retired Army Special Forces Colonel and member of the Iraq Study Group headed by Jim Baker and Lee Hamilton.;
Robert Hodierne, senior managing editor of the Army Times Publishing Company, which last weekend published an editorial titled “Time for Rumsfeld To Go”
