Homespun Symposium VI - Rummy a Dummy? Not By a Long Shot!

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld now finds himself in the midst of the bitter and often cruel politics which have become a hallmark of the D.C. political landscape. In the past few weeks Rumsfeld has weathered criticism over his handling of the ambush-like question planted by a reporter during a question and answer session with the troops, the defense secretary has received harsh indictments from the likes of John McCain and Trent Lott, and Rumsfeld has endured embarassing exposés fueled by Pentagon leaks.

Is all the controversy surrounding Rumsfeld justified?

No, Rumsfeld is serving as a wartime Secretary of Defense and as "perfect" as the American people think our government and military should be, it takes time to make the necessary changes to weapons, equipment and even tactics in combat.

The enemy is never going to come at you the same way, every time. Especially if the result is a sizeable number of them headed off to paradise to de-flower dark eyed virgins. As hot as they seem to get to any virgins...self preservation is still something to be considered worthwhile. They've simply been able to switch gears faster than us in some instances. IEDs will be a thing of the past inside 12 months. Just believe me on this one.

In your opinion, are these attacks on the defense secretary fair?

We've had less apt Secretaries of Defense in the recent past. At least this guy seems to be doing SOMETHING. If you're wanting to tar and feather Rummy for the lack of uparmored HMMWVs...you'd have the same problem with me. The vehicles in question were NEVER intended to have armor on them...ever. The "shade tree mechanic" solutions are upsetting me even as I type this. If you put another ton of armor on a vehicle that has a rating of 3000 pounds of cargo loading...where do you put the other 2000 lbs of troops, equipment, ammunition, rations? Okay, you have a pillbox (hardly...there are IEDs out there that will take out M1 tanks)...that can't move anything. Good thinking, Sparky.

On the other hand, the Department of Defense seems to be pretty keen on getting newly designed vehicles that have been up-engined and re-engineered to carry the additional weight to the battlefield. Is it getting there fast enough...for some folks, not. At this point in the game I'd turn to some quick thinking young infantry officers and non-commissioned officers and figure out if we can kick the IED problem dead in the ass without having to wait for a materiel solution.

I read somewhere that the Marine Recon boys created "trojan horse" soft targets filled to the teeth with some pretty nasty weapons inside. They dared the insurgents to target them...and they did. The result? Plenty of de-flowered dark eyed former virgins in paradise that night my friends.

And finally - borrowing a slightly modified line from The Clash - should he (Rumsfield) stay or should he go now?

No, if the President has faith in the job he's doing...and he wants to remain at his post, by all means allow him to continue to serve and hopefully finish his tour. Like I said earlier...he's certainly not the worst we've had...and he might not be the best. Bottom line: He's the one we've got. Let's stand shoulder to shoulder behind him and help him get the job done.

That is all...

MajorDad1984

. And here is the rest of it.