GD,
Sometimes resolve just turns out to be pig-headed stubbornness. This seems to be particularly true in this instance seeing as how Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper (fmr. Director of Intelligence), Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (fmr. State Dept. Chief of Staff), Gen. Wesley Clark (fmr. NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, 1997-2000), Lt. Gen. William Odom (fmr. 3 star Gen. & Director of the NSA under Reagan), [url=http://www.youtub...

GD,
Sometimes resolve just turns out to be pig-headed stubbornness. This seems to be particularly true in this instance seeing as how Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper (fmr. Director of Intelligence), Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (fmr. State Dept. Chief of Staff), Gen. Wesley Clark (fmr. NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, 1997-2000), Lt. Gen. William Odom (fmr. 3 star Gen. & Director of the NSA under Reagan), Col. Thomas Hammes (responsible for managing bases, facilities & logistics supporting training & operations of the Iraqi army in 2004), Maj. Gen. John R.S. Batiste (fmr commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the US Army at the beginning of the Iraq War), Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton (fmr. Office of Security Transition Commanding Gen.), Gen. Eric Shinseki (fmr. 4 star Gen. & head of the US army), and the man who was formerly commander-in-chief of US Central Command and in charge of all American troops in the Middle East from 1997 to 2000, Gen. Tony Zinni, all say Rumsfeld is making massive strategical mistakes that need to be rectified or we'll be forced to "cut and run."

I respect the Presidents dedication to righting things in Iraq, but it's simply not enough to have convictions. One needs smarts as well as heart and I question whether Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld have the capacity to formulate a strategy that will give us the win.

Glad to provide. This just goes to show that the more grim assessments of the 2006 NIE report are as accurate as the press made them out to be. It also underscores the need for the civilian leadership to listen to its military council. As the NIE report suggests, if we lose the fight in Iraq the trend will continue in the direction where "jihadists" will increase "in both number and geographic dispersion ... leading to increasing attacks worldwide."

If you think about it, back in 2003, 4 Star Gen. Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, was opposed to invading ...

Glad to provide. This just goes to show that the more grim assessments of the 2006 NIE report are as accurate as the press made them out to be. It also underscores the need for the civilian leadership to listen to its military council. As the NIE report suggests, if we lose the fight in Iraq the trend will continue in the direction where "jihadists" will increase "in both number and geographic dispersion ... leading to increasing attacks worldwide."

If you think about it, back in 2003, 4 Star Gen. Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, was opposed to invading Iraq(0). Even after Powell received the revised October 2002 NIE report there are indications he was skeptical of the evidence presented to him. (1:transcript, 2:video) In 2005 he went on the record and said his speech to the UN and his support for the invasion was a "blot" on his record. He went on to say, "it will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now." (3)

So even though Colin Powell hasn't come out and directly criticized the Bush administration, Powell's resignation(4), his opposition to President Bush's terrorism bill(5), and his recent letter to McCain saying, "the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis for the fight against terrorism"(6) all indicate Powel

The topic as you framed it was "a mans convictions." Which was a direct response to Kore7's quote, "The writer said that when Bush invited key Republicans to the White House to discuss Iraq, the president told them, 'I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me,"' referring to his wife and Scottish terrier."

Conviction is just the positive end on a spectrum that leads to stubborness. In this instance I tried to help you color that underlying quality of steadfastness by pointing out those who have put their necks on the line and in the extreme case sacrificed their careers(1,2) to b...

The topic as you framed it was "a mans convictions." Which was a direct response to Kore7's quote, "The writer said that when Bush invited key Republicans to the White House to discuss Iraq, the president told them, 'I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me,"' referring to his wife and Scottish terrier."

Conviction is just the positive end on a spectrum that leads to stubborness. In this instance I tried to help you color that underlying quality of steadfastness by pointing out those who have put their necks on the line and in the extreme case sacrificed their careers(1,2) to bring in to question the handling of the war.

So I ask you, because it is the topic, is it conviction on the Presidents part or is it stubborness to stand by a man who so many claim has failed to perform his duties? Is it conviction or is it stubborness to say that the strategy was good, but that the tactical decisions of the military led us to this low place? (1) Is it conviction or is it stubbornness to say "I will not withdraw" while doing nothing to address the military's problems?

I ask in earnest.

If you doubt Rumsfeld then I ask you to question the man who keeps him in office, because it is this man's convictions that have allowed for this kind of performance.

Godfrey Daniel said:

And Woodward-- If he wrote that oxygen was necessary for human life, my first thought would be, Wow, I don't need oxygen?!

This perception of Woodward must come from your own personal mind garden. Back in the real world, in accordance with their policy, the Pentagon itself has released the raw, unedited transcripts of the entire two-day interview between Rumsfeld and Woodward, including every last interruption, hesitation, and bit of chitchat that occurred. Looking forward to hearing how you fit the Department of Defense into your conspiracy theory.

(I searched the transcript for...

Godfrey Daniel said:

And Woodward-- If he wrote that oxygen was necessary for human life, my first thought would be, Wow, I don't need oxygen?!

This perception of Woodward must come from your own personal mind garden. Back in the real world, in accordance with their policy, the Pentagon itself has released the raw, unedited transcripts of the entire two-day interview between Rumsfeld and Woodward, including every last interruption, hesitation, and bit of chitchat that occurred. Looking forward to hearing how you fit the Department of Defense into your conspiracy theory.

(I searched the transcript for mentions of "oxygen" or "breathing". No hits, so it looks like you're safe. )