American generals demand Ramsfeld's resignation

The retired Major General Charles Swinnak Jr., who in 2004 commanded the 82nd airborne division in Iraq, spoke on Thursday demanding that the US Minister Donald Ramsfeld be distinguished. Thus, the number of generals requiring the resignation of the Minister of Defense reached six.

On Thursday, another American General, John Riggs, joined this demand. Thus, the protest against Ramsfeld is expanding, and doubts about his competence are becoming more and more obvious.

“We must continue the global war with terror and prevent it from our shores,” said General Swonnak in a telephone interview with New York Times. “But I do not think that the Minister of Defense of Ramsfeld is the person who should wage this war, if we take into account his catastrophic failures in the war with Saddam Hussein in Iraq.”

General Riggs said that it was time to leave Ramsfeld because he contributed to the creation of arrogance in the Pentagon.

On Wednesday, the former commander of the First Infantry Division, Major General John Batist, opposed the Minister of Defense. This is not the first wave of protests against the style of the leadership of Donald Ramsfeld, but it is significant in that this time military generals, participants in the Iraqi campaign, are opposed to him. Against Ramsfeld’s further stay at the head of the Pentagon has long been conducted by the “neoconservative” journal Weekly Standard, one of the closest ideology to the current republican administration.

The White House spoke yesterday in defense of the minister, noting his important role in the war and in the reform of the Armed Forces. “The president believes that the Minister of Defense Ramsfeld fulfills his duties in this difficult period of the history of our state,” said Presidential Presidential Presidential Presidential McClellan at a briefing. In evidence, he cited a commendable review of the activities of the Minister of another senior general, commander of the Marine Corps Corps Peter Pace, who last year took the post of chairman of the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff, the highest post in the US military hierarchy.

In addition to the already mentioned Swannak, Riggs and Batista against Ramsfeld, the retired lace general of the Marine Corps Gregori Newbold, the retired Army General Paul Iton and the retired Marine General of Anthony Zinny, acted as a retired.

Over the past two years, the White House has to constantly repel the Congress and the press of the attack on Ramsfeld. However, the last wave of protests looks much stronger and authoritative, since it comes from the highest officials of the US Armed Forces.

President George Bush did not mention these protests and focused his attention yesterday on economic matters. Speaking at a conference on small businesses, he called on the Congress to extend the tax reduction he introduced and support the healthcare reform plan he proposed. He also hit the leader of the Senate minority Harry Reed, accusing him of blocking the Senate a bill on immigration, supported by the White House.