RUMMY: SIGNED UP TO CLEAN OUT THE BARN/NOT PREVENT IT FROM BURNING DOWN
I know Don Rumsfeld slightly. He is (and this is not an unusual combination) a brilliant guy who is a totally dysfunctional listener. Still, in the largest picture, he is a victim of 9/11.
SECDEF came on with one mission: To see that the force was made modernized and more mobile ("on a dime" warfare). He recognized that we where not fighting Warsaw Pact Phalanxes and we had to prepared for wars in which speed, air surpremacy and advers condition technology were paramount. He went to work to give us that kind of force. Keep in mind, neither Rummy nor Bush expected to see much improvement in 8 years. The idea was that the next president and the one after that would have a force worthy of the 21st century. It is my belief Don Rumsfeld was the right man for that job.
Then 9/11 happened and Rummy was forced to try to conduct two wars while modernizing his force. The jobs were utterly incompatible. Conducting actual wars was not Rummy's long suit anyhow. He was a much more long range planner than a COO. Now add to that the fact that he's a terminally bad listener and given to smart-ass remarks and you've got an untenable situation. Yes, he was the prisoner of his own device. He advocated for the Iraq war, in a fashion, and that played out of his comfort zone. Still, when we have a near bionic force in 2026, somebody should take a minute to thank Don Rumsfeld, who had the vision to see that it was the only way we'd remain the hyper-power.
Hate him as a symbol of American Imperialism, if you must. But please give the man his due. His mission coming in was to give the USA a force worthy of the mid-21st century and, if it happens, it will be due his vision. Even scapegoats have good qualities.
Labels: NATIONAL POLITICS
posted by UMRBlog @ 09:13
9 comments
9 Comments:
Hell now has 24 inches of snow !
When U/G and Senor agreed it only had 12 inches.
You have doubled the snow load in HELL on one post
:)
Hell is a little colder with even more snow!
Tony ,
Please explain why The Police see the need to RUN plates on avg drivers . I am a bit lost on where the "probable cause starts and ends"
9:48 and 11:19 were written TOTALLY independent of each other, that's great.
1211,
First of all, probable cause is term that relates to searches and arrests. I really don't understand where the presumption comes from that there would have to be a need for probable cause merely to determine registration status of a vehicle. There is nothing intrusive about running vehicle ownership.
Second registration check is often done to look for stolen vehicles. If you drive a Toyota Camry, your plates are probably run daily in metro areas--Most stolen car for parts.
Third, the sad fact is that we have a huge number of unarrested violent fugitives in this country. If an officer sees a profile that resembles a VF, he runs the plate to determine if the owner is vaguely like the guy driving the care. VF's do steal cars ya know.
Sometimes the officer is looking to the plate coming back to another care. Some folks like to use one set of plates for four cars and just rotate.
Finally, sometimes the officer has observed a minor traffic violation and is just trying to figure out if its worth it to make a vehicle stop. If he/she knows the driver to be a good citizen, they'll just bag it.
Usually, that's now done by CDT so folks shouldn't customarily here the 28's name and identifiers on a scanner. It's pretty non-intrusive, not like the neighbors are gonna say you're a crack dealer.
TYFCB
Thank You !
I do argue this point alot with the Pros friends of mine and I am accused of being a bleeding heart liberal !
Hell is frozen and the site for the Winter games
:)
"If an officer sees a profile that resembles a VF, he runs the plate to determine if the owner is vaguely like the guy driving the care."
I think I heard somewhere that the unibomber drove a white BMW. Local law enforcement should continuosly pull over every white beemer they see!!
;)
p.s. just trying to help the QPD out a bit.
Couldn't agree with you more on Rummy.Unfortunately the military establishment is still in need of transformation and the best individual for the job has become the latest sacrificial lamb.One more reason to consign that radical conservative bunch to someplace far removed from power.
Anon 1839,
I think We needed a Sec'y of Def. to modernize the force and a Sec'y of War to actually prosecute the war(Note to uncle Dick, this is not you.).
Once Rummy had to be both Secretary of War and the rebuilder of a twenty-first century fighting force, he was pretty much screwed. His ability to tune out even the most helpful explanation probably didn't do him any good, either.
TYFCB
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