Jaw Dropping Editorial

In response to President Bush's proclamation last week that Donald Rumsfeld, The Army Times, The Air Force Times, The Navy Times, and The Marine Corps Times have penned a joint editorial calling for Rumsfeld's ouster. From The Army Times:

Now, the president says he’ll stick with Rumsfeld for the balance of his term in the White House.

This is a mistake. It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation’s current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.

These officers have been loyal public promoters of a war policy many privately feared would fail. They have kept their counsel private, adhering to more than two centuries of American tradition of subordination of the military to civilian authority.

And although that tradition, and the officers’ deep sense of honor, prevent them from saying this publicly, more and more of them believe it.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.

Upon being informed of the possibly unprecedented editorial, President Bush reportedly "shrugged it off." That's great, I guess listening to troops is now out the window. When you vote in this election on Tuesday, you might want to think about which party will provide oversight for this fiasco in Iraq. The President himself with this reaction has now shown that he isn't interested in any.