Rumsfeld stepping down (merged) (1 Viewer)

[JimEverett]

How so? A pullout wouldn't have happened regardless. I think having Rumsfeld removed doesn't change anything. JMHO.

Maybe I should have stretched it to 4 years ago.

Assuming we still went to war in the first place, maybe without Rummy's decision making we wouldn't have disbanded the Iraqi army, maybe we would have sent more troops, maybe we would have pulled out after topping Saddam. He was a huge force in making those decisions.

 

[DadsDream]

Ex-CIA chief Robert Gates to succeed Rumsfeld.

 

[St. Widge]

Ex-CIA chief Robert Gates to succeed Rumsfeld.

What do you know about him DD? Is he just another version of Rumsfeld?

 

[DadsDream]

No. Much more intelligent. CIA. CIA. CIA.

DOCTOR Robert Gates, PhD.

His rep when I was in the military was solid.

Currently, president of Texas A&M.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

Didn't Bush originally want Gates to be Amb. to Iraq way back when?

 

[Saint by the Bay]

No. Much more intelligent. CIA. CIA. CIA.

DOCTOR Robert Gates, PhD.

His rep when I was in the military was solid.

Currently, president of Texas A&M.

Yes, he was CIA Director when I was in Intel and very well respected.

 

[DadsDream]

Bush wanted him for Director of Intelligence.

Gates declined and Negropante accepted.

As I see it, Gates wanted all the marbles or none at all. Now, he gets all the marbles.

 

[jpcdolphan]

I was optimistic until Bush said during his news conference that Gates will able to quickly modernize the DOD "because of all of his skills that he acquired while building one of the largest software companies in the world from scratch" and that "you don't get to be worth 50 billion dollars by making stupid decisions".

That's when I realized he grabbed the wrong Gates!

 

[steltz02]

Big hit for Texas A&M?

 

[St. Widge]

No. Much more intelligent.

Currently, president of Texas A&M.

ra, iRany check.


Do you know what his political leaning are? I guess what I really want to know is does he think we should be Team America World Police or is it more likely that he would support spending more money on Intelligence and prevention rather than all out wars?

 

[BullDawg]

How so? A pullout wouldn't have happened regardless. I think having Rumsfeld removed doesn't change anything. JMHO.

For one thing, Rumsfeld consistently refused to listen to his commanders in the AOR. He didn't want to hear "we need more boots on the ground NOW!". That would have required him to admit to his own mistakes.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

ra, iRany check.


Do you know what his political leaning are? I guess what I really want to know is does he think we should be Team America World Police or is it more likely that he would support spending more money on Intelligence and prevention rather than all out wars?

He's from the "kill it before it becomes a threat" school of thinking however he also is probably one of the most knowledgable people out there on Mid eastern affairs and politics. He understands the landscape out there. He's also a real forward thinker. He'll know when to fight and when to talk and most importantly how to fight.

I know quite a bit about the guy and I really like the nomination.

For the "looking for a problem" crowd he was involved, loosely, in Iran-Contra. Was never indicted but did have to testify and I believe his boss at the time was indicted.

 

[DadsDream]

He was a spook under five presidents. In that capacity, he was apolitical and geared toward the CIA's own internal politics.

If anything, he's a throwback to the Reagan era cold warrior mentality.

Check out his memoirs: From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

If anything, he's a throwback to the Reagan era cold warrior mentality.

.

Absolutely which I think is a very, very good thing.

 

[St. Widge]

He's from the "kill it before it becomes a threat" school of thinking however he also is probably one of the most knowledgable people out there on Mid eastern affairs and politics. He understands the landscape out there. He's also a real forward thinker. He'll know when to fight and when to talk and most importantly how to fight.

Sounds good. That's the kind of foreign policy I can get behind. It just seems to me that you can't hope to fight a "stand up war" against a non-traditional enemy. Some "cold war" tactics seem to be called for.