Reuters:Rumsfeld proposed Iraq shift before resigning

[cal04]

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the White House two days before he resigned last month the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq was not working and he proposed a major change, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

"In my view it is time for a major adjustment. Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough," Rumsfeld said in the classified memo, dated Nov. 6. The New York Times posted a copy of the memo along with an article about it on its Web site.

In it, Rumsfeld outlined several options for policy changes, including reductions in U.S. forces and bases in Iraq as well as a "minimalist" recasting of the U.S. mission and goals in Iraq, but he made no recommendations, the Times said.

The memo was dated a day before Democrats captured control of the U.S. Congress in the midterm elections amid voter dissatisfaction over the Iraq war, and two days before Rumsfeld's resignation. Rumsfeld remains in office pending Senate confirmation of former CIA Director Robert Gates, nominated by U.S. President George W. Bush to succeed him.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N02397217.htm

text of memo
Rumsfeld’s Memo of Options for Iraq War
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/world/middleeast/03mtext.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/world/middleeast/03military.html

[Nite Owl]

1. So is this the real reason

Rummy was fired?

There is merit in some of the suggestions especially the drawdown of bases and the job program for unemployed youth.

[bananas]

3. No - he knew he was getting canned

It's basically a "take this job and shove it" letter.

[Nite Owl]

4. Could be that too

it would fit his profile better!

[Triana]

2. Maybe that's why they canned him? (n/t)

[YankeyMCC]

5. Rumsfeld Memo Proposed ‘Major Adjustment’ in Iraq

(snip)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 — Two days before he resigned as defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld submitted a classified memo to the White House that acknowledged that the Bush administration’s strategy in Iraq was not working and called for a major course correction.

“In my view it is time for a major adjustment,” wrote Mr. Rumsfeld, who has been a symbol of a dogged stay-the-course policy. “Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough.”
(snip)

(snip)
Told that The New York Times had obtained a copy of it, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed its authenticity. “As it became clear that people were considering options for the way forward, the secretary had some views on the subject, and this memo reflects those views,” said the spokesman, Eric Ruff.
(snip)

(snip)
Reflecting exasperation with much of the American government, another option in Mr. Rumsfeld’s memo raises the possibility of using military reservists to “beef up” the Iraqi government’s ministries. “Give up on trying to get other USG Departments to do it,” he writes, referring to other United States government agencies.
(snip)



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/world/middleeast/03military.html?ex=1322802000&en=d3707e8439602a08&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[rusty charly]

6. CYA

[alfredo]

7. That could be why he was fired.

[vixengrl]

17. Pretty much my first thought, as well--

I think it falls into the "too little too late" category.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. And yet monkeyface just keep chugging along

on the path to failure.

This whole gang makes me sick.

[IWantAChange]

9. Rummy still thinks he's right and the rest of the planet is wrong...

with the exception of his fellow Nixonite Cheney of course. What he and Cheney were able to talk Dubyha into doing was and is treasonous in my opinion.

[rodeodance]

10. Looky here------he actually sounds like a Dem ---poss. troop reduction.

..“Announce that whatever new approach the U.S. decides on, the U.S. is doing so on a trial basis,” he wrote. “This will give us the ability to readjust and move to another course, if necessary, and therefore not ‘lose.’ ”

“Recast the U.S. military mission and the U.S. goals (how we talk about them) — go minimalist,” he added. Mr. Rumsfeld’s memo suggests frustration with the pace of turning over responsibility to the Iraqi authorities; in fact, the memo calls for examination of ideas that roughly parallel troop withdrawal proposals presented by some of the White House’s sharpest Democratic critics. (Text of the Memo)

The memo’s discussion of possible troop reduction options offers a counterpoint to Mr. Rumsfeld’s frequent public suggestions that discussions about force levels are driven by requests from American military commanders.

Instead, the memo puts on the table several ideas for troop redeployments or withdrawals that appear to conflict with recent public pronouncements from commanders in Iraq emphasizing the need to maintain troop levels.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. His idea of troop reduction: One coffin at a time

He is a very sick man.

[bklyncowgirl]

12. So did Shrub shitcan Rummy because of this letter? If so, he really is nuts.

Imagine the worst. We have a president who is quite frankly, insane and the Vice President may well be worse.

As brilliant as they were I don't think the framers of the Constitution ever thought of this set of circumstances.

Who the hell gets to declare the President and Vice President unfit for duty?

[Faygo Kid]

13. Frank Rich's column Sunday NYT: "Has He Started Talking to the Walls?"

Wow. Don't miss it. And it fits perfectly with this bombshell. I think Bush knew Rumsfeld was leaving the reservation, and couldn't stand it - that's why R was fired.

In other words, as Frank Rich eloquently notes in one of his greatest columns coming out tomorrow, you are right. It's clear now that Bush is nuts.

". . .As Mr. Bush has ricocheted from Vietnam to Latvia to Jordan in recent weeks, we’ve witnessed the troubling behavior of a president who isn’t merely in a state of denial but is completely untethered from reality. It’s not that he can’t handle the truth about Iraq. He doesn’t know what the truth is."

[bklyncowgirl]

15. Pretty Goddamn scary

The rumor is that Nixon started talking to the pictures on the White House Walls. Chimp probably thinks that the pictures are talking to him.

[Faygo Kid]

16. Yes, scary. I think he will bomb Iran soon. Freepers are calling for it.

He and Cheney will do anything - anything - if they feel the facade is finally coming down on their heads. I thought that might be martial law, but now that they are losing whatever minds they once had I think it will be more immediate and violent, and something they won't have to manage, just do. That means instant war. No invasion, just massive air destruction. Maybe nukes. This is indeed a scary time.

[grasswire]

20. do you have a link to Rich?

Thanks.

[w4rma]

14. Congress declares it through impeachment. (nt)

[yurbud]

25. like Gen. Garner, Gen. Shinseki, tell the truth, join reality based community, get fired.

[rocktivity]

18. TORO TURD!

He submitted the memo the day before the election, got fired the day AFTER, and we find out that he was about to go against Bush gets nearly a month later? We can only hope that Rummy actually wrote the memo. This smells worse than a decomposing skunk!

x(
rocknation

[droidamus2]

19. What's the possiblity...

That this is their way of rehabilitating Rumsfield's reputation. They knew he was going to leave or they wanted him to leave so they have him send a memo that shows he was 'really getting it' as far as the Iraq situation. He wasn't one of the crazies and if they had just given him more time... This way Rummy can right a book saying something along the lines of 'I know I/We made mistakes but I had it figured out in the end but they wouldn't let me do it'. Then the RW media starts crowing about how Rummy was misunderstood and really was a great strategic thinker and stateman, etc. etc. etc.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

23. I think you may be on to something there...

cause this sure smells funny...


BOOK TV Schedule - December 2nd - 4th
*John Edwards, ed., Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives
*Henry Louis Gates, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience
*A World Ignited: How Apostles of Ethnic, Religious, and Racial Hatred Torch the Globe
*In Depth: Jimmy Carter - Live Call-in show! 3 hours!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2843827#2843857

[EFerrari]

21. And I'm the Queen of England.

[Robeson]

22. I'm calling BULLSH*T on Rummy...

...this war was a disaster within months of the invasion, and it takes him until a couple of days before the mid-terms before he has this revelation? Mid-terms which were predicted to go bad for Republicans. He saw the internal polling. He knew what was coming up. He knew this war was a major issue, and that he would be the fall-guy. This was a cover-his-ass memo. Now, he can go write a book, and go on the talk shows to explain how the war would be different, if people had "only heeded his advice"....BULLSHIT!

[yurbud]

24. could be last spin on way out the door, or sticking knife to old buddies

[WritersBlock]

26. Gee, what a coinky-dink. And what utter contrived bullshit. n/t

[yurbud]

27. Remarkably similar to JUAN COLE, summer 2005:

Informed Comment

Monday, August 22, 2005

Ten Things Congress Could Demand from Bush on Iraq

So here is what I would suggest as a responsible stance toward Iraq. Others, including Iraqi politicians, have already suggested most of these things, but I think the below hang together and could avert a tragedy while allowing us to get out.

1. US ground troops should be withdrawn ASAP from urban areas as a first step. Iraqi police will just have to do the policing. We are no good at it. If local militias take over, that is the Iraqi government's problem. The prime minister will have to either compromise with the militia leaders or send in other Iraqi militias to take them on. Who runs Iraqi cities can no longer be a primary concern of the US military. Our troops are warriors, not traffic cops.
   
   
2. In the second phase of withdrawal, most US ground troops would steadily be brought out of Iraq.
   
   
3. For as long as the elected Iraqi government wanted it, the US would offer the new Iraqi military and security forces close air support in any firefight they have with guerrilla or other rebellious forces.

and so on....
http://www.juancole.com/2005/08/ten-things-congress-could-demand-from.html

[Zenlitened]

28. Yeah. Right. Sure he did.

Golly gee, I guess he's a brilliant military strategist after all. :eyes:

[Diane R]

29. Retroactive CYA n/t

[CueST]

30. Rumsfeld memo admits Iraq strategy failing

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told President Bush before he resigned that the administration's strategy in Iraq was not working and he proposed changes, including possible troop reductions, The New York Times reported Saturday.

"In my view it is time for a major adjustment. Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough," Rumsfeld said in the classified memo, dated November 6. The Times posted a copy of the memo along with an article about it on its Web site.

The Pentagon confirmed the memo's authenticity but declined to comment further.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/02/rumsfeld.memo.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Botany]

31. Yes Don it was not going very well.

And this thing didn't fly either.

[usaftmo]

32. I knew that...

...even before we attacked Iraq! I guess now that Rummy is now master of the obvious! :sarcasm:

[5X]

33. I don't believe this memo is even real.

It is an attempt to rehabilitate rummy's image
so he will be ready for his medal of freedom.

[MethuenProgressive]

34. Memo's a plant - part of a CYA ploy by Rummy

[xultar]

36. So who leaked this memo?

[MethuenProgressive]

37. Rumsfeld - obviously.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

38. you betcha, or by Rove to give a naked emperor some cover.

The timing is just too convenient.

[sandrakae]

35. Yea and it also proves he was FIRED and did not just step down.