Rummy’s falling ’snowflakes’

[one...two...tree 2,762]

To the benefit of all humanity, Donald Rumsfeld is no longer the Secretary of Defense. But once in a while, we gain some insights into just how peculiar a man ol’ Rummy really was during his lengthy — he was the longest serving Defense Secretary in U.S. history — tenure at the Pentagon.

Consider, for example, his constant stream of memos, which came to be known as “snowflakes. Rumsfeld produced up to 60 memos a day, and the WaPo obtained a whole bunch of them. There aren’t any shocking new revelations, per se, but we do get a sense of an intolerant man with unusually thin skin.

In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid “physical labor” and wrote of the need to “keep elevating the threat,” “link Iraq to Iran” and develop “bumper sticker statements” to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war. […]

Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals denounced him and called for his resignation in newspaper op-ed pieces, Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts. “Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists,” he wrote.

People will “rally” to sacrifice, he noted after the meeting. “They are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory.”

The meeting also led Rumsfeld to write that he needed a team to help him “go out and push people back, rather than simply defending” Iraq policy and strategy. “I am always on the defense. They say I do it well, but you can’t win on the defense,” he wrote. “We can’t just keep taking hits.”

By “hits,” of course, Rumsfeld wasn’t referring to attacks on U.S. troops. He meant he personally couldn’t “keep taking” public criticism. Rummy was feeling rather sorry for himself.

One of the more notable points from the WaPo article is that Rumsfeld, despite leading the Pentagon during two wars, took a very personal interest in newspaper columns that critiqued his job performance.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/

Edited November 2, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[NavarreMan 10]

I will certainly research this more but if true, this explains a lot about the miserable administration and foreign policy we have experienced at the hands of the current administration. Makes me wonder what George II other friends are up to.

Thanks for posting.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

60 memos a day? Dude should've been a blogger instead.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

60 memos a day? Dude should've been a blogger instead.

That equates to how many hearts on VJ?

[JODO 2]

60 memos a day? Dude should've been a blogger instead.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

He was the Peter Mandelson / Stephen Byers of the Bush Administration

[Jasman0717 9]

60 memos a day? Dude should've been a blogger instead.

When did he sleep