"Shock and Awe" Strategist Harlan Ullman Says Buck Bush, Not Rumsfeld

The Washington Note

April 17, 2006


"Shock and Awe" Strategist Harlan Ullman Says Buck Bush, Not Rumsfeld

Defense strategist Harlan Ullman writes a regular "Owls and Eagles" column for the Washington Times, and I frequently learn a great deal from it.

I have come by an early draft of what will appear in his column tomorrow -- titled tentatively "It is Bush's War, Not Rumsfeld's".

I won't print the whole article, but I will post some of it and add the link to the Washington Times when it is up tomorrow.

Nonetheless, Ullman makes several points that should be considered -- - particularly that that this was a Bush/Cheney war:

Last week's political sandstorm in Washington swirled around Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's future. A handful of retired general officers, though no admirals yet, called for the secretary to go on the grounds of mishandling the war in Iraq. President Bush predictably offered strong support for Mr. Rumsfeld as did a handful of other retired flag officers.

In this brouhaha, three important ingredients are so far missing in action. First is recognizing that the war in Iraq is Mr. Bush's, not Mr. Rumsfeld's. Second, accountability for the errors, misjudgments and mistakes in conducting that war and its aftermath cannot responsibly be laid at the feet of only one person. Third, we continue to ignore what lies ahead in Iraq, an ignorance that could prove fatal to the entire endeavor.