Stakes high in battle between Rumsfeld, generals (James Kitfield, May 5, 2006, National Journal)
Given the nearly unprecedented nature of the controversy, what is perhaps most remarkable is how utterly unsurprising it is to anyone who has spent time with senior military officers, in the field, over drinks at the officers’ club, or especially on the ground in Iraq. The fact that the Army chief of staff came out of retirement to take the job after sources say at least three active-duty generals declined it, and reports that the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. Michael W. Hagee, may retire before his term is up, speak volumes about the frayed state of civil-military relations in today’s Pentagon.
Practically from the moment they first occupied the E Ring, Rumsfeld and his tight circle of senior aides demonstrated a dismissive attitude that has grated on uniformed leaders. In the view of Bush’s civilian team, President Clinton had allowed the generals and the admirals to run roughshod. Rumsfeld and his band of reformers were a rude awakening for senior military leaders conditioned to expect a measure of courtesy from civilian bosses as a privilege of their rank; instead, Bush’s team set out to show the generals who was boss.
Rumsfeld’s incessant needling of the Army, in particular, to more rapidly reshape itself into an expeditionary force, at a time when the service has been run nearly ragged by back-to-back-to-back deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, added insult to injury. From the beginning, the Rumsfeld reformers have also considered themselves bold revolutionaries who deal only in transformative ideas, and their “roll the dice” spirit in nearly all things has often been at odds with the more cautious nature of a uniformed military pledged to securing the Republic.
It’s only natural for the bureaucrats at the Pentagon not to want to transform and not to want civilian oversight, but, that’s just tough. With all due regard for Mr. Kitfield, who has an essay in our book, the Iraq stuff is just a smokescreen.
