Is Rumsfeld the designated scapegoat of retired brass?

LA Times:

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But Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University and a Vietnam veteran, said he believed it was unprecedented for retired senior officers who had so recently served during a war to criticize civilian leaders while troops were still in the field.

"I would take this as evidence that the search for scapegoats with regard to the Iraq war has now been fully engaged by the military," Bacevich said.

"The officer corps doesn't want to get stuck with responsibility for a war that has already proven to be a disappointment and could result in failure. This is an indication that Rumsfeld has been selected as the military's preferred scapegoat," he said.

The debate within the Pentagon has been influenced by the lessons of the Vietnam War, a conflict many current military leaders believe was lost because military chiefs did not stand up to civilian war plans.

A 1997 book on the subject, "Dereliction of Duty," by H.R. McMaster, now an Army colonel serving in Iraq, has been required reading for many Pentagon officers.

"There was a deep bitterness over Vietnam and the way the [service] chiefs had been co-opted," said Richard H. Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina who oversaw McMaster's work on the book.

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What is ironic is that McMaster is one of the real success stories in Iraq. His command of the unit that liberated Tal Afar not only was a great success, but has been used as a model in other operations. In effect, McMaster's success demonstrates that smart officers with good ideas can be successful working under Rumsfeld. I think that McMaster is destined to have four stars on his collar if he stays with it. The bleating brass and the media need to take another look at the author of the book they praise, to see how the job can get done.