Another General admits he did not have the courage to challenge Rumsfeld

Thomas Ricks/Washington Post:

The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized the defense secretary's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult.

"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."

Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN.

Batiste's comments resonate especially within the Army: It is widely known there that he was offered a promotion to three-star rank to return to Iraq and be the No. 2 U.S. military officer there but he declined because he no longer wished to serve under Rumsfeld. Also, before going to Iraq, he worked at the highest level of the Pentagon, serving as the senior military assistant to Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy secretary of defense.

...

I do not have much respect for people like Batiste. If he had a problem with how the war was being fought, he had an obligation to state what his problem was while he was still in the military. If he did and was still offered a promotion, then it undercuts his charge about Rumsfeld. If he did not, then as General Pace has said, shame on him.

Rumsfeld is a demanding boss, but he is clearly intelligenct and will listened to reasoned arguments. If Batiste was incapable of making reasoned arguments, then he had no business being a General in the first place. As a former gereal counsel, there have been many times when I have had to tell the boss things he might not want to hear. It was my job to tell him what the legal consequences of certain business deals might be. If you are not willing to give your best advice because you do not want to upset the boss then you are in the wrong job.

Ricks goes on the repeat complaints from three other retired "flag officers" who evidently did not have the courage to speak up when they were still in the service. As Gen. Pace has said, shame on them.