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Rumsfeld Resigns Over Iraq [VIDEO]

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 11:00 AM on November 8, 2006.


Bush's attempt to overshadow Dem victory and change course of Iraq: "Not Enough."
rummy

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Bush accepted Rumsfeld's resignation today, a cause of celebration for the many Americans -- including Generals, general military, and military papers -- who have called for it as it became more and more apparent that Iraq was descending into chaos. But why today?

CNBC analysts Sue Herera and John Harwood discuss the effect and politics of the Rummy resignation in the clip to the right (with images gruffly thrown together by PEEK). Rough transcript below...

john, is this enough for the president to have don rumsfeld resign? sit going to be enough in -- is it going to be enough in the public eye do you think to signal a shift in strategy?

i think it is not going to be enough. we have asked this question several times in our journal nbc poll and find out it would be a symbolic gesture. really american people want to see results. they want to see casualties down, and they are increasingly looking to iraqis to take over this situation. it looks to americans like a civil war. they don't want american troops to baby sit a civil war. the president on the other hand does not want to cut and run. he's told us that many many times. we have to see what sort of policy might be forged. jim baker has suggested former secretary of state under this president's father

a long time bush advisor.

exactly so that there is some sort of middle ground here. we will see what jim baker might have come up with.

this could be in essence a very brilliant move by the administration to change the conversation. it changes the conversation from the results of the election to a change in strategy in iraq. in other words, we are listening exactly what nancy pelosi said. she said the democrats are listening to the american voice. the president can now say the same thing, can he not, at 1:00?

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Tagged as: bush, iraq, rumsfeld

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.


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Christmas came early this year
Posted by: FrEdMaSt on Nov 8, 2006 11:30 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Thank you, Santa.

And thank YOU, America, for finally WAKING THE HELL UP. Too bad you couldn't have done it 2 years ago -- but better late than never, I suppose.

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» It Didn't For Me..... Posted by: CatDad
Oppose Robert Gates, he is NO improvement over Rumsfeld
Posted by: LeftWright on Nov 8, 2006 11:43 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Can you say:

IRAN/CONTRA

Gates and DNI Negroponte have the blood of death squads all over their hands and will get along very well. This is not a good thing, brothers and sisters.

Oppose the Gates nomination.

Please contact your local House and Senate members, Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Murtha today and every day in opposition to Gates..


Speaker Pelosi
2371 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Rep. Murtha
2423 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Senator Harry Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Let's keep it non-violent, brothers and sisters. Let others be violent and show their true colors and desperation.

Stay in the light and fight for what's right.

The truth shall set us free. Love is the only way forward.

Be well.

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jdqq
Posted by: judyqq on Nov 8, 2006 11:47 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Thank God for putting the resignation on Rumsfield's lips. Now let's see a few more people walk the plank...such as Bush.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

So, who's running the island?
Posted by: Mr. Heathen on Nov 8, 2006 11:51 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yea! Everyone down to the beach for a toothless shark feed!
Oh, the humanity...

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Oh No You Don't Rummy. Not w/o W and Cheney in your getaway car.
Posted by: edith on Nov 8, 2006 1:10 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
the big media is celebrity driven; who can tell the difference between "Katy"(grow up already) Couric and Enterntainment Tonite. Well I can: there's more valuable news on
Entertainment Tonight!

So the Rummy quits. but it's not about him and never was. the cabal that hatched this war under the auspices of WHO?, oh yeah, James Baker(Rice U funded PNAC)

Cheney's people infiltrate DOD. Clueless Condi is security adviser. clueless Moron-In-Chief, the Duke of Crawford.

Hallitburton, GE, Northrup Grumman make big bucks. Neocons whip up media.
Rumsfeld like w is a flunky. Real Power: Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle, Mossad, AIPAC and Cheney and his crew(Scooter Libby,yeah that's his real name like my name is Barbra Steisand!)

To quote the Beatles" I heard the news today O Boy".."Now I know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall". Rumsfeld exit sound and fury signifying nothing.

Only a declaration that the US combat role at least is over by a date certain, no later than mid-07, and if possible Jan 07 is important.

Rummy's retirement will only embolden the insurgents and make the lives of the average GI just worse. We need to get the h out of Iraq and this President will Never do that. Never. Never.

The Dems are not going to impeach anyone and Pelosi will be turning Right, not Left. Many of the new Dem congressmen are DLC, Lieberman Democrats.

Cut off the funding. It's the only threat that goaded Nixon into setting a withdrawal schedula, albeit much too slow, from Vietnam. But who are the McGorverns, McCarthys'(Eugene) and Mark Hatfields today. We love Bernie Sanders, but he's the "house" socialist along with Finegold and maybe Sherrod Brown who is very left-liberal. Maybe Tom Coburn will become a trad con on Iraq. I doubt it. Only ron paul is a real conservative in Congress (thank god we got rid of those phony conservatives like Santorum and DeWine!)

I am a traditiional conservative. Manners and style are important. Don't go where you are not wanted. W is no longer wanted. He is the son of a New England Puritan father but W poses as trailer trash. He is trailer trash. I do not like to insult politicians or anyone personally, but his idiotic inappropriate smiles and malapropisms divert my normal ennui response to the unintelligent. A gentleman would take the honorable way out of this impossible situation. He and Cheney are not gentlemen.

This neocon VP and his flunky Moron nominal boss, George W, will not stop however!
Resignation of Rumsfeld means NOTHING!

Oh hell. Do I actually have to go to antiwar protests again?

Probably.

I hate to stand a long time. I am now getting very upset with the Moron-In-Chief.

Do not Moron, do not, make me march. Resign along w/your creeper controller Cheney.

Maybe he will take you duck hunting!

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meaningless
Posted by: spanky on Nov 8, 2006 1:14 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Same policy, new mouthpiece.

While it may be satisfying to see one of the beasts go down, it's simply a calcuated move by Bu$hCo to appear as though they're changing course, and a an attempt to change the subject away from the election.

Probably also a way to reinforce the notion that the primary problem in Iraq is incompetence within the military leadership, and if they can move a few of the players around, we'll be on the road to victory, further obscuring the real issue which is the illegality, immorality and illegitimacy (sounds like jesse jackson) of the whole thing.

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» RE: meaningless Posted by: CatDad
Sending Rumsfeld off alone means nothing
Posted by: thoughtcriminal on Nov 8, 2006 1:31 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
His little crew of brown-nosers has to go as well: Rumsfeld, Cambone and Miller at Abu Grahib.

Sorry, Mr. Karl Rove - one sacrificial goat isn't going to cut it. Why don't you tender your resignation as well - you're just as responsible as Rumsfeld is.

It's all come to tears, hasn't it? Just be happy that the neocons weren't all hanged or dead of suicide, like some other egomaniacal empire builders of the past century. Look at them run for shelter - Perle and the whole gang are in full damage control mode.

Who is going to be paying the neocon bill? More importantly, who has been paying the neocon bill?

This does not mean that things are going to turn all rosy, however. As the neocons leave, the old school realpolitik crowd is marching in - instead of outright military invasion, it's back to creating the next generation of mujahedeen-turned-Taliban-turned-suicide bombers.

I suppose it's an improvement. Would one prefer to be governed by the Luftwaffe or the SS? Let's ask Katie Couric and she what she thinks - did she really call this 'a brilliant move' by Bush? A way of 'changing the conversation'?

The corporate media proves once again that they have a total propaganda mindset. Beyond True and False - it's all about setting the right tone and delivering the proper message.

Katie Couric: "The most trusted voice in news" by day, Karl Rove's cheerleader by night.

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Sidestep?
Posted by: YeahToast on Nov 8, 2006 1:44 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Well, first I have to say that I (along with many others in the Armed Forces) am glad that Rummy's gone, if only so we can be rid of his hubristic, abrasive management style and his absolute refusal to listen to anybody who knows what they're talking about.

But does the timing on this seem a little weird to anyone else? If Bush et al. were looking for political gain, they'd've fired his ass BEFORE the midterm elections. I think that they're worried that Rumsfeld will be impeached by the newly Dem House of Representatives, and possibly end up in jail for "high crimes and misdemeanors" for the rest of his sorry life.

Just think about it from the Dem point of view- you don't want to waste political capital on what looks like a tit-for-tat impeachment of Bush, but Rummy's so universally unpopular that he'd be an easy target. I'm not so sure on the Constitutionality of it (as I recall the House can impeach "civil officials," which would certainly include Secretaries), but I'd go for it if I were a Dem.

So it looks like Rumsfeld, like so many other war criminals, will spend the remainder of his life comfortably ensconced in the private sector or academia, while thousands of vets and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis pay the price for his moral failings, stupidity and arrogance. It's times like these I hope there's a Hell so he can burn in it.

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» Sigh Posted by: pball
» RE: Sidestep? Posted by: HeroesAll
» RE: Sidestep? Posted by: sethmo
this is a major story but
Posted by: insulaparadigm on Nov 8, 2006 2:05 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm a little dissapointed that over and over it's the republicans (even if it's pointing out their faults) that dominate this page...
finally we get democrats in ---- and no coverage! seems like it really has overshadowed. The message at the end of the day seems to be that we really are happy they are in charge even if don't like them because that's easier than taking charge ourselves.
Bush and RUmmie - it's fun to make fun of them/hate them- we got that - that always dominates the comment lists .
BUT now what - where's the democrats - who are they - what are they doing - their agenda? - let's HEAR ABOUT THEM NOW.

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» RE: It's been less than 24 hours... Posted by: insulaparadigm
If you an Texas A&M aggie will
Posted by: albrechtkrausse on Nov 8, 2006 2:13 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
be any better you better watch out. They are known as the most redneck, inbred types in Texas. Aggies jokes are like Polish jokes. This guy has so many Bush, CIA connections its crazy to think he is going to be the progressive saviour of the Iraq policy!!

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lord anthony of Ontario
Posted by: lord anthony on Nov 8, 2006 3:03 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Enjoy your retirement, Mr.Cut-and-Rumsfeld...... but don't forget to leave your current address with the War Crimes Tribunal, they'll be lookin' for you..... and don't worry, you'll be in the headlines again.

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We're suckers - they threw the election
Posted by: theracerace on Nov 8, 2006 4:29 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Republican leadership threw the election!

Why would they do that?
The Republicans are trying to shift the blame for the fallout resulting from years of misdeeds to the Democrats. Meanwhile many of them will return to their CEO jobs in order to collect their share of the military spending booty. There is no way to improve the Iraq situation no matter what anybody does and the Republican leadership knows this. Their best bet is to let the Dems buy into it (starting with confirming the new Secretary of Defense) and blame the Democratically controlled congress for not giving him what he needed to "win". This strategy may allow them to win in '08 as the underdog fighting to fix the mess "created" by the Democrats. It'll work because memories are so darn short - thanks Liberal media.

Think about it,
the usually smooth Republican leadership have shot themselves in the, well.. face, multiple times in the past few weeks:

The neocons lend a hand:
- PNAC neocons (of all people) condemn Bush for doing the war wrong. They are interviewed by Vanity Fair BEFORE the election supposedly expecting the article to be published after the election (not likely, these guys know better than that).

Dick helps out:
- Cheney announces he is going hunting on election day just so as to revive memories of him shooting somebody in the face on his last hunting trip
- Cheney's silly "no-brainer" water boarding comment
- Cheney announces that they'll stay in Iraq no matter what anybody thinks (always a vote-winning attitude).

Bush does his part:
- With approval ratings of 38% and dropping, Bush goes on his "Kiss-of-death" tour to "aid" fellow Republicans
- Bush vows to keep Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense until 2008 despite his universal unpopularity (even among the military)
- Bush makes no new promises of strategy changes to help boot support for the war - nothing
- Bush claims he never said "stay the course" despite massive amounts of video evidence to the contrary
- Bush risks inciting mass violence in Iraq with the timing of the Saddam verdict which was two days before elections
- October is a near-record month for casualties in Iraq thanks to the employment of new tactics
- In its "tough" response to the North Korea nuke test, the administration un-freezes North Korean bank accounts
- Bush intentionally creates friction with Iraq's Maliki

And what about..
...Mark Foley and Ted Haggard? Well, we don't really know who is responsible for bringing these scandals out of the closet.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the whole Republican party that orchestrated this. There is no grand conspiracy, as you can see by how hard-fought congressional were. In the end, it only took a little force from the top to push it over the edge. But, it looks like they gave it a pretty big shove just to be sure.

Loosing this race is the best thing that could happen to the Republican party.

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Iraq war doesn't end just because Rumsfeld's gone
Posted by: autonomie on Nov 8, 2006 8:13 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
All of his buddies are still running it.

Have a look at this Iraq war timeline to refresh your memory on the stakes. July 2003: US deaths reaches 147. Nov. 2003: insurgency is 5,000 people. Jan. 2005: insurgency is 40,000 fighters and 200,000 active supporters. Jan. 2006: half of Iraqis support attacks against coalition troops. October 2006: Baghdad residents want an immediate withdrawal.

Come on! This is like sticking your hand in a blender! Foreign troops are not welcome in Iraq! The only benefactor of this war is al-Qaeda!

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