Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, was facing a growing rebellion from his own military yesterday as a senior officer joined the ranks of retired generals calling for his resignation.
Retired Major General John Baptiste became the fourth retired general in less than a month to openly criticise Mr Rumsfeld for his management of the Pentagon and his handling of the war in Iraq.
“I believe we need a fresh start at the Pentagon,” Maj Gen Batiste, who retired in November 2005 after leading the 1st infantry division in Iraq, told CNN.
President George W. Bush has vigorously defended Mr Rumsfeld, who has a strong ally in his old friend, Vice-President Dick Cheney. But as the White House gears up to make personnel changes in the coming weeks to bolster waning support for Mr Bush in Congress, speculation has grown about the fate of Mr Rumsfeld. While his stock rose after September 11, Mr Rumsfeld has faced a barrage of criticism in the wake of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal, and as the US increasingly fails to stem the violence in Iraq.
“We need a leader who understands teamwork ...a leader that does it without intimidation,” said Maj Gen Batiste. “Conversely, I think we need senior military leaders who understand the principles of war and apply them ruthlessly.”
Critics have accused Mr Rumsfeld of dismissing the views of his senior generals, charges he has rejected. Military officers point to the treatment of General Eric Shinseki, former chief of staff of the army. They say Mr Rumsfeld sidelined the general after he told Congress before the war that he believed several hundred thousand troops would be needed for an invasion of Iraq.
In a recent interview, Retired General Anthony Zinni, a Republican who formerly ran US Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Gen Shinseki was simply providing Congress with the numbers that Gen Zinni and his predecessors had determined would be necessary to achieve victory and control the peace in Iraq. Gen Zinni has also called for Mr Rumsfeld to step down.
General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, on Tuesday jumped to the defence of Mr Rumsfeld following an article by another retired general who called for Mr Rumsfeld to step down, saying he was doing everything possible to help the troops.
Retired Lieutenant General Greg Newbold, who resigned as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs before the 2003 invasion, wrote in Time magazine that “the cost of flawed leadership continues to be paid in blood”.
