Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is speaking at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual community meeting in December? Say it isn’t so.
Chamber marketing director Ryan Entz said that Rumsfeld’s remarks should be "pretty insightful" because he has "been such a large part of such . . . big-time world events." Well, yes, Rumsfeld has played a big role in history — by making Iraq an epic mess.
It’s clear to nearly everyone — including most who think the United States was correct to invade Iraq — that the prosecution of the war in Iraq has been disastrous. And much of that blame falls on Rumsfeld, who didn’t deploy enough troops to secure the country and then arrogantly refused to change course.
If the chamber wants to bring in other people who botched up, maybe next year it can book former FEMA director Michael Brown. Or, closer to home, how about former Westar CEO David Wittig?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- DorisKing on Open thread 11/8
- cosmos_originally on Open thread 11/8
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/8
- sursum on Open thread 11/8
- Regular on Death penalty review promised
- Regular on Open thread 11/8
- Monkeyhawk on Open thread 11/8
- okobserver on Open thread 11/8
- okobserver on Open thread 11/8
- American_Way on Open thread 11/8
42 Comments
If the goal of the Chamber is to sell tickets, then it has succeeded by the choice of speaker.
Yeah, all the righty-tighties in the area will stomp all over each other to get tickets.
Or people who like to look at train wrecks or listen to serial killers.
Maybe the Chamber will book Charles Manson or BTK next.
Phillip: I for one would be interested in what a man of accomplishment such as Rumsfeld has to say.
I think it is like a mouse talking trash about an elephant to hear you criticize the choice of such a figure.
Really.
No surprise that the Chamber has hired Rumsfeld, since corporate America as a whole operates by Bush Rules: ignore reality, screw things up, and evade responsibility for the mess you’ve created.
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932) is a U.S. politician and businessman, who was the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. He is both the youngest (43 years old) and the oldest (74 years old) person to have held the position, as well as the only person to have held the position for two non-consecutive terms, and the second longest serving, behind Robert McNamara.
Rumsfeld has also served in various positions under President Richard Nixon, served four terms in the United States House of Representatives, and served as United States Ambassador to NATO. Rumsfeld was an aviator in the United States Navy between 1954 and 1957 before transferring to the Reserve. In public life, he has also served as an official in numerous federal commissions and councils.
outlander,
So what? He was wrong on every major issue involving the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Performance matters: credentials don’t. Rumsfeld is a failure.
Maybe the Chamber is looking to glean some ideas about “employer/employee relations” from Rumsfeld’s torture policies?
Actually compared to other SECDEFs Rumsfield was quite good. McNamara comes to mind as the worst ever.
You can tell the level of sucess and effectiveness of any Bush Administration figure by the level of negative liberal crap about them.
Hank
I wonder what Mr. Brownlee has done as a service to his country. Perhaps he would like to bring in a Former President who held his nation hostage because of his philanderings. Ugly. Perhaps Wichita’s finest physician would be at the top of his list. Check Dr. Tillers schedule and get back to us Mr. Brownlee.
Do something positive for your readers Mr. Brownlee. Write something constructive not destructive. People who complain their entire lives are not very attractive. Do something to change your city, country for the better.
Would rather have one of the Clintons, who by the way are the King and Queen of Arkansas Fraud.
The Neocon/Zionists are right where they want to be in Iraq.
Think about it.
“You can tell the level of sucess and effectiveness of any Bush Administration figure by the level of negative liberal crap about them.”
You can also tell the level of effectiveness of this Bush administration by counting the republicans deserting this administration.
So stumper. . .
Just who is deserting? And how does that compare with the BJ prez?
“Do something positive for your readers Mr. Brownlee. Write something constructive not destructive. People who complain their entire lives are not very attractive. Do something to change your city, country for the better.”
Actually, he is doing something for this country: Pointing out the neo-nerds that have put this country on the negative slide it is now in, brought to you courtesy of Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his merry band of misfits.
“Just who is deserting? And how does that compare with the BJ prez?”
What would you rather have, Hank, a bj prez or one who started a stupid war over wmd that never existed and has seen thousands die in it?
Last year–Maitlen and Carville, political personalities
Year before that–George H. W. Bush
Year before that–Rudy Giuliani
I guess if you want somebody like Noam Chomsky or Lewis Lapham or Paul Krugman or even Warren Buffet, you’d have to wait a helluva long time.
Get out the bullhorns, Bunkie. Time to harass the robber barons as they pat each other’s asses . . .
Rumsfeld did such a fine job as SecDef, he got fired.
The comparison to McNamara is more apt than Hank realizes. A micro-managing Secretary steamrolls a president into escalating a military conflict that’s more insurgency than traditional war, halfway around the planet. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
At least Johnson was man enough to understand how bad he’d screwed the pooch, and chose not to run for reelection.
A refreshing recollection of honesty.
Well, Mr. U on the Move alum I haven’t read anything you’ve done to improve this city and or country. So far what you have posted is trash talk. People like you always to do a chageup on subjects. No where did Brownlee comment about abortion. But you just had to spout off with the ‘Dr. Tiller’ remark like that would win you some style points. What you did score were points of ignorance. Let me tell you what I have done in service to my country. Two years in RVN. Three years total in the US Army. A Purple Heart! An Army commendation. Put money where your mouth is. I grow tired of those who think conservative means brains. Rumsfeld did more to harm this country than any SECFS in history. His stubborn attitude plus his arrogance led to his downfall. I have nothing for Rummy! Nothing at all!!!
If there were to be only one person persecuted for the total failure of the planning for Iraq. It would be Donald Rumsfield, he in fact was anti-Military. He felt that the officers of the military were fools and bogged down in outdated thinking. Rumsfield’s idea of how the military should be is one of a light infantry, little armor and no tanks or large heavy vehicles. Small in size and highly mobile able to be deployed at a moments notice. Rumsfield saw no use for the M-1 A-1 or the separate branches he thought there should be only one branch and one mission. That of mopping up after a large missile strike, he thinks exactly what the liberals would think of the military.
Also he should know that North Korea has weapon grade reactors, he was on the board of directors of the company that sold it to the North Koreas. And received a notice of intent before the sale as all the board members did. While as G.W. Bush’s SOD he was notorious for not listening to the joint chiefs but ran a blocking move to make sure that the President never received any news of set backs Militarily. Rice, Powell and others had complained numerous times about Rumsfield to the President only to be referred back to Rumsfield as Bush saw it only as children bickering. “You will have to work it out with Don!”.
Though Donald Rumsfield was in total control of the military operations in the invasion and the aftermath.He never would take credit for the failures or bad planning. He preferred to blame those following his orders.
You think Cindy Sheehan would sell tickets for a Chamber fundraiser?
dear stumper,
Are you really so stupid that you have fallen for the WMD reason for going to war? More spin brought to you by the party that can’t believe there are people in the world that don’t like us.
Hank
Interesting dream world you live in writerdog.
Some bad planning and bad execution got the prosecution of the war after occupation to a bad start.
It looks more promising now, at least from the news sources I read.
The MSM constant reporting of daily death count is reminiscent of the Vietnam war, where the War war ended up being prosecuted by Press.
I wonder if the MSM would like it if they were rated *only* on their poorly written stories or errors.
I think not.
I still can’t figure out how RepubliKansas was old enough to buy a house under Carter but not old enough to fight in Vietnam.
I’m sure if RepubliKansas had been over there, we would have “won.”
actually Hank that is all based on quotes from several different books including the Woodward book “State of Denial”. Farther, Rumsfield was livid when the President appeared at the plant that manufactures the Abram tank. He was at the time pushing hard to get the use of the heavy tank stopped by the Military.
In regards to the world I live in, more then once I have wished it was such a bad dream. Sadly it is not the case, the Bush’s administration maybe this country’s worst nightmare. But it is all too real…
I still can’t figure out how RepubliKansas was old enough to buy a house under Carter but not old enough to fight in Vietnam.
Posted by: CapnAmerica | July 16, 2007 at 06:21 PM
Math wasn’t your major in college then Capn?
Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce could afford Rummy. Clinton’s fee they couldn’t afford.
;>
“Are you really so stupid that you have fallen for the WMD reason for going to war?”Posted by: Hank Price | July 16, 2007 at 04:26 PM
Hank Price seems to be calling Bush very stupid, and/or a liar.
‘The Ever Changing Definition of ‘Mission’ In Iraq’http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/14/changing-mission“THE PRE-WAR MISSION WAS TO RID IRAQ OF WMD
Bush: “Our mission is clear in Iraq. Should we have to go in, our mission is very clear: disarmament.” [3/6/03] ” http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030306-8.html
“You can tell the level of sucess and effectiveness of any Bush Administration figure by the level of negative liberal crap about them.”
Please elaborate, Hank. I want to hear how effective they are. Afterall, the war is going so well, isn’t it?
I’m waiting, Hank…Hank? Hank?…must be out feeding the goats.
I still can’t figure out how RepubliKansas was old enough to buy a house under Carter but not old enough to fight in Vietnam.
Posted by: CapnAmerica | July 16, 2007 at 06:21 PM
Math wasn’t your major in college then Capn?
Posted by: Kansas | July 16, 2007 at 06:25 PM
Hey Kansas,a couple of days ago you said you spent 16 years in the Army and fought in Desert Storm.
Looks to me like you’re the one who needs a math lesson.
You might try a course in ethics while you’re at it…you’re certainly “ethics challenged”.
Never said I was in the Army nor “fought” in Desert Storm. I was on active duty during Desert Storm.
Never said I was in the Army nor “fought” in Desert Storm. I was on active duty during Desert Storm.
Posted by: Kansas
But you are the expert in everything – aren’t you? You think you quote Scripture like God himself. maybe God will retire and let you have first dibs at the golden throne??
Phillip Brownlee (in header)
“And much of that blame falls on Rumsfeld, who didn’t deploy enough troops to secure the country and then arrogantly refused to change course.”
The disaster happened pretty much as was predicted, with even many more troops.
‘Post-Saddam Iraq: The War Game”Desert Crossing” 1999 Assumed 400,000 Troops and Still a Mess’http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB207/index.htm“Even more significantly, the former CENTCOM commander noted that his plan had called for a force of 400,000 for the invasion — 240,000 more than what Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved.”
Whaaaaa!!!! The Press Lost the Vietnam War!!!! Drag that old chestnut out again!!!! Please! I need a good laugh!
Anyone who studies that lost endeavor can learn it was never a “winneable” war. Read some serious studies of the war and stop parrotting the paid pundits!
This war was “lost” the moment Cheney first told Bush to wage it.
Please, Hank, enlighten me: Why did we invade Iraq? Define “winning” (in terms of Iraq).
I have no problem believing there are people out there who don’t like us. I think 9/11 proved that very well. I do, however, do NOT believe that every country that doesn’t like us deserves to be invaded by us, Iraq being one of them.
Afghanistan, yes, and for the reasons we did. But Iraq never invaded us; did not send a suicide squad to attack our country, and was little different from any of the nameless tinpot dictatorships alive and well in the world.
Just who in the hell put Saddam in power in the first place? Ya think we might have had something to do with that? We do, as you should well know, have a history of putting tinpot dictators in power to stop communism, although when all is said and done, which hurts a country more?
The real problem I have with using Saddam as a stop-gap measure to assist Iraq in their war with Iran. Gee, didn’t we do that to stop communism in Iran? Don’t any of the morons running Washington understand communism has about as much chance of invading the Muslim culture as Christianity has of converting Osama bin laden.
Which leads to this war and the “terrorist/ WMD” bs fed us by bush and his cohorts. You’re correct: it wasn’t mainly about WMD, it was also about oil.
. . . and what’s this crap about you thinking it’s not about WMD? Because they found NONE, you now believe something else? And you republicans think Hillary changes her mind.
I’m betting Hank was parroting “We’ve got to rid Iraq of WMD’s” to anyone that’d listen to him at the time that bush put that in vogue. Bet he also parroted all of the successive “reasons” given after.
Phantom,
Hank Price would have to parrot a long, changing list,
‘The Ever Changing Definition of ‘Mission’ In Iraq’http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/14/changing-mission
. . . and he would, and probably did.