Rumsfeld was Right

The media and ever present Democrat opportunist like Senator Chris Dodd are taking great delight, as always, in the tough questions Secretary Rumsfeld fielded yesterday in Kuwait. One soldier, who was prompted by a media embed it turns out, complained they had to dig through the trash to find armor and ballistic glass to upgrade their vehicles. The secretary’s response was, “As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time...”

That was a good response. A better one might have been, “That’s fantastic! You are following in the footsteps of your forefathers who were known for their ‘Yankee ingenuity’ and ‘can-do’ attitude. In July, 1944 when the 2nd Armor Division was bogged down in the hedgerows of France, it was an ordinary soldier like you named Culin that came up with the bright idea of welding a cutter to front of tanks to cut through the hedgerow. It worked! I commend your ingenuity! Carry on. Next question.”

Essentially, Rumsfeld had it right. You go to war with the army you bought and planned around a decade earlier. How else can you do business? You can not wait to see what develops before equipping the force. Once engaged and new requirements are identified, the DoD procurement branch and American industry take over. In 1950, S. L. A. Marshall wrote a book on this subject entitled “The Soldier’s Load and the mobility of a Nation”. Senator Dodd and his media lackeys ought to get a copy.

It’s odd that the press and other opportunists are attacking Rumsfeld. He more than anyone has been trying to drag a 1990s and in some cases 1980s military into the 21st century since he started his second tour as Secretary of Defense. He has been met with less than open arms from the military Bigs who are always fighting the last war and, of course, the press who loath anything connected to George Bush.