March 31, 2003 6:15 AM

Arrogance in motion

Rumsfeld Labels Critics 'Second Guessers'

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld may be the single most arrogant man on the face of the planet. Self-certain, dismissive of dissent, and thoroughly convinced of the correctness of his course, Rumsfeld is not exactly renowned for having an open mind. One thing that I will grant him, though, is he does have a good handle on the task at hand.

WASHINGTON - Facing questions that he brushed off advice from generals and underestimated the troops needed to attack Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called his critics "second guessers" who fail to appreciate the war's success so far.

"It's a little early for post-mortems. It's a little early to write history," the defense secretary said Sunday, nine days after the attack on Iraq began.

It is not the first time that Rumsfeld, a former fighter pilot with a confident and sometimes-combative style, has faced criticism that he is too quick to dismiss the views of others, including the top generals who advise him.

Today marks Day 13 (if my memory is correct) of the war against Iraq. There is no way anyone could have reasonably expected to subdue a country the size of California in 2 weeks. That we have not should hardly be construed as a failure.

Here's an exercise in perspective: World War I lasted four years, World War II six years. We were in Korea for three years, and in Vietnam (to greater or lesser degrees) for 15 years. While no one would or should reasonably compare those conflicts to the war in Iraq, not being in Baghdad in two weeks' time is hardly an indication that the war is a failure. No one wants to be discussing our involvement in Iraq in terms of years, but war is a tedious, messy, and generally unpredictable affair. Rumsfeld is at least correct about that much.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on March 31, 2003 6:15 AM.

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