The only way I would take the job would be for a $5 billion contract, paid up front. No refund if I only serve one day.

Serving an ungrateful and mostly stupid nation is a lost cause. I'm over 65 and can survive, go ahead and turn the country over to the Islamofascist terrorists and save some time. The dim's will do it withing a few months anyway. They don't know their job is to protect the citizens of this country, he** they don't even have a clue that it is their job, much less how to go about it.
Name one democratic politician, current or former, that you would trust with your life. You can't even trust them around your children, much less with your life.

In brief remarks, Rumsfeld described the Iraq conflict as a "little understood, unfamiliar war" that is "complex for people to comprehend."-Donald Rumsfeld

He just called the American people stupid. And it wasnt even a joke. I await the furious posts, and a demand for multiple apologies.........NOT!

He will always be a target - in many ways?

WTF?

You sir, are delusional. Please adjust your tinfoil hat. We've finally ridded our great nation of the worst SOD in modern times. The IED injuries our brave soldiers will carry forward for decades will remain a grim testament to his arrogance and incompetence.

Heh - that's one of the ways, (thanks for the illustration) but there are others that appear to be beyond your comprehension.

Sleep well.

I agree with scrapiron on the stupid and ungrateful nation statement - in fact, I pretty well agree with his entire comment. I hate that the jihadis will now think they are winning. I'm sorry to see Sec. Rumsfeld leave and am thankful for his years of service to our ungrateful nation. I'm ashamed and embarrassed at how shortsighted and gullible Americans are.

I question why Rumsfeld didn't resign a week before the election instead of after. What brilliant strategy is that.

Now it makes the President look like a dead albatross around our necks and the Democrats winning the Iraq argument. The Democrats get to take credit for anything good from now on -- Just brilliant.

Scrapiron said:

Name one democratic politician, current or former, that you would trust with your life.

Scrapiron said:

Name one democratic politician, current or former, that you would trust with your life.

Name one democratic politician, current or former, that you would trust with your life.

Henry M. Jackson.

Damn shame he's dead.

Unlike all the other Democrats let's hope ole Joe remains faithful to his vote that we must defeat Islamic Jihadist where ever they are.

I love the fact that Joe is the swing vote and knows that Pelosi's Racist Lefist progressives black-faced him.

Zell Miller as you may remember left the Democrat Party a couple of years ago because even he couldn't trust the Democrats to defend this country.

That said, apparently the news all of the sudden is reporting the fantastic news about the Dow.. Imagine that, Dems get elected and we suddenly have a great economy.

I'm wondering however, what has happened to that voter fraud issue. Seems to have instantly disappeared.

I worry about this guy Gates. Stansfield Turner's deputy during the Church Committee gutting of the intel services - which the top (read "political") leadership of those agencies went along with? NS Advisor to Jimmah "let's give away the Panama Canal..." Carter? CIA Chief under George H.W. "We had no idea Iraq would invade Kuwait or the Wall would fall" Bush?

Sorry. Not terribly impressed. Rumsfeld had his flaws but putting into power a guy who has at least been present, with a front row seat, at the Carter foreign policy and Bush 41 middle east disasters, isn't exactly confidence inspiring. You'll remember those two administrations ran into trouble and created trouble for future administrations as a result of being too dove-ish... Not great creds for a wartime SecDef.

I agree with Al Maviva. I read part of the paper on Iran. It sounds like the same old delusional stuff too many leaders in the west have been falling for over and over again. We find common interest, work out our differences and reach agreements on that basis. In other words, we sign a bunch of agreements, think we have a deal, and they do whatever the hell they want to. If this is where we're heading then we are in trouble.

I agree with Al Maviva. To quote me from elsewhere:

Certainly what Independend Counsel discovered in the matter points to corruption either in Gates or in a goodly chunk of the CIA at the time, or both, and I'd lean away from giving him the nod for SecDef until such time as he's answered how North's activities could have occurred without Gates having known about them, and how his not being clued into that sort freewheeling activity might be cause for concern as regards a future position at the top of a rather larger government organization.

Not being optimistic about productive explorations of fact in the Iran/Contra matter, I'm going to say that Gates should not be confirmed.

I could be wrong, but I think Gates is still holding on to far too many secrets for us to know what sort of SecDef he'd make.

donkeykong I disagree, he insulted no one. Rummy was right, 1/2 the country is ignorant of the incredible progresses we have seen in Iraq and believe the lefts soundbites instead.

The question becomes whether or not that ignorance is on purpose or not.

Considering that SecDef Rumsfeld started off with skipping over an immediate set of Cold War generation weapons and moving on to faster, more accurate, more mobile and more capable modern inspired weapons and continues that even with a 'war going on', earned him few friends in the mid-tier Pentagon infrastructure. Whole careers were *made* on multi-decade weapons development for the plodding Cold War, where staying ahead of the USSR was the objective point. ONLY against the USSR could *that* be a winning strategy. The 20th century is now over and we had best get used to that fact. And the current enemies, being non-State based are NOT amenable to 'diplomatic solutions', like the nodding greyheads of the ISG purport.

Gates, to me at least, is carrying water for that group and their outlook of 'deployment somewhere else' or 'trust Iraq's neighbors as they want stability' are purely mired IN the 20th century. Perhaps they don't understand the limits of airpower without good observation, follow up and ground coverage with the logistics supply chain go support *that*. And perhaps they think that since Iran and Syria 'want stability' these solons of diplomacy could then address Hezbollah in Lebanon, Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil as being 'stabilizing factors' for where they are located. Turkey has no love gained with the US due to the 4ID. Now their crossing into northern Iraq at will against the Kurds points to not being very compliant on much of anything. Saudi Arabia will *not* be taking US or MNF forces back en mass any time soon because of their *internal* problems with al Qaeda. That leaves us with the wonderful diplomatic solution space of: Kuwait and Jordan. Such Wisdom of the Ages!

Either the US must learn to fight a 19th century style opponent with 18th century outlook using 21st century tools or we will face a problem as a distributed, non-State enemy has proven that they will respect no borders and dance away from traditional military forces when it suits them, as in Afghanistan and with the Saudi al Qaeda groups in Iraq , or undermine local civilian populations *from* State supporters as seen with Iran and Syria in Iraq.

And if Ray Robison is right on what he found in the past couple of weeks, then the concept of the missing Iraqi nuclear scientist showing up in Syria with Iranian, Syrian and ex-Russian Republic nuclear scientists and *boasting* of how incompetent UNMOVIC, et. al. were at trying to find anything, then we have a definitive and real problem of Iran distracting the World by their playing nuclear games inside their country and moving the actual research, development and finishing capability to Syria. A Nation that purchased NoDong missiles and would have to be cognizant of the NoKo supernote trade.

And all of this so *fits* the Cold War mentality, doesn't it?

The Democrats I would trust to understand this are the first two Jacksons: Andrew and Henry. Zell Miller was cut from *that* cloth, but he has retired from active life. Joe Lieberman understands the basics and would be able to figure it out as his understanding of what Israel has gone through leaves him with a good basis for addressing this century in that realm. The rest of the Defense-based Democrats were given walking orders long decades ago. Starting in the late 1960's and in full swing by 1974. That party is gone.

Neither Party is ready to look at the responsibilities they have and the restrictions placed upon them by the Constitution and the answers it offers that are NOT 20th century ones.

But then, I guess I am just too simple in thought for all the complex thinking greyheads from the Cold War. Then they never saw a War that the US *could win* either, just *lose*.

We, too, are sorry to see Mr. Rumsfeld leave. Mr. Rumsfeld may be gone, but the problems remain.

And Mr. Gates is not the man to fix them. His career is not very distinguished, as we explain. The Pentagon staff is likely to have him for lunch. A year from now, Mr. Bush will wish he had Rumsfeld back.

Westhawk

It still boils down to the American people not perceiving islamofacism as a major threat. Talks and engagement with Iran? They'll do the talking and we'll do the listening once they have their nukes. If I were Iran, I simply would annex southern Iraq once America pulls out, just like saddam tried to annex Kuwait. Who would stop them? Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha and the UN? I would get the oil and focus on Jordan. Jordan is the key to Israel, the only real obstacle to the caliphate.

You guys have Gates and the CIA all wrong. Since when has the CIA been charged with a political oversight? Thinking about what they knew and when they knew it is fine, but speculation at what SHOULD have come of that knowledge, if it existed, you're getting into the rediculous. It was a good choice, a smart appointment and I applaud Bush and Rumsfeld for a clever 4th quarter substitution.

Until yesterday, Robert Gates WAS the president of my university (Texas A&M). He has mixed reviews here, but his goals (which some of us are wary of) are being reached, for what it's worth.