#Rummy reportedly tells reluctant JCOS to "get in line or get fired"; is admin coming unglued?
The Big Weasel
Sounds like they're starting to lose it. Big time.
"An angry Rumsfeld, who backs Bush without question, is said to have
told the Joint Chiefs to get in line or find other jobs.
Bush is also said to be “extremely angry” at what he perceives as
growing Pentagon opposition to his role as Commander in Chief.
“The President considers this nation to be at war,
” a White House source says,” and, as such, considers any opposition
to his policies to be no less than an act of treason.
Sources within the Bush administration, the Pentagon, the FBI and the
intelligence community indicate a deepening rift between the
professionals who wage war for a living and the
administration civilians to want to send them into battle.
Nobody in the party wants to come out publicly and tell the President
he’s wrong,” says one Hill source close to the GOP leadership, “but we
don ’t have the kind of unity we need on this thing. It could blow
apart on us at any time.”
From Capital Hill Blue CHB Investigates. . .
Role reversal: Bush wants war, Pentagon urges caution
By DOUG THOMPSON
Jan 22, 2003, 01:18
Senior Pentagon officials are quietly urging President George W. Bush
to slow down his headlong rush to war with Iraq, complaining the
administration’s course of action represents too much of a shift of
America’s longstanding “no first strike” policy and that the move
could well result in conflicts with other Arab nations.
“We have a dangerous role reversal here,” one Pentagon source tells
Capitol Hill Blue. “The civilians are urging war and the uniformed
officers are urging caution.” Capitol Hill Blue has learned the Joint
Chiefs of Staff are split over plans to invade Iraq in the coming
weeks. They have asked Secretary of State Donald Rumseld to urge Bush
to back down from his hard line stance until United Nations weapons
inspectors can finish their jobs and the U.S. can build a stronger
coalition in the Middle East. “This is not Desert Storm,” one of the
Joint Chiefs is reported to have told Rumseld. “We don’t have the
backing of other Middle Eastern nations. We don’t have the
backing of any of our allies except Britain and we’re advocating a
policy that says we will invade another nation that is not currently
attacking us or invading any of our allies.”
Intelligenced sources say some Arab nations have told U.S. diplomats
they may side with Iraq if the U.S. attacks without the backing of the
United Nations. Secretary of State Colin Powell agrees with his former
colleagues at the Pentagon and has told the President he may be
pursuing a "dangerous course."
An angry Rumsfeld, who backs Bush without question, is said to have
told the Joint Chiefs to get in line or find other jobs.
Bush is also said to be “extremely angry” at what he perceives as
growing Pentagon opposition to his role as Commander in Chief.
“The President considers this nation to be at war,” a White House
source says,” and, as such, considers any opposition to his policies
to be no less than an act of treason.” But conversations with sources
within the Bush administration, the Pentagon, the FBI and the
intelligence community indicate a deepening rift between the
professionals who wage war for a living and the administration
civilians to want to send them into battle.
Sources say the White House has ordered the FBI and CIA to “find and
document” links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the
mastermind of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
“The implication is clear,” grumbles one longtime FBI agent. “Find a
link, any link, no matter how vague or unproven, and then use that
link to justify action against Iraq.” While Hussein and Iraq have been
linked to various terrorist groups in the past, U.S. intelligence
agencies have not been able to establish a provable link with bin
Laden’s al Qaeda forces.
“There may be one,” says another FBI source. “There should be one. All
logic says there has to be one, but we haven’t established it as a
fact. Not yet.”
Pentagon planners privately refer to the pending Iraq conflict as a
“Bush league war,” something that may be fought more for political
gain than anything else.
“During Desert Storm, the line officers wanted to finish the job,
wanted to march into Iraq and take out Hussein and his government, but
President Bush and JOC Chairman (Colin) Powell pulled the plug on the
operation,” says one Pentagon officer.
“We had our chance. We had the justification. We had the support. We
don ’t have it now.”
Some Pentagon staffers point to last weekend’s antiwar rally in
Washington, where they say the crowd included many veterans of Desert
Storm.
“This wasn’t just a bunch of tree huggers and longhairs marching,”
says Arnold Giftos of Huntington, West Virginia, who served in Desert
Storm and who came to march.
“Go to any meeting of veterans groups in this country and you will see
serious discussion on whether or not we should be getting into this
war.” Reporters covering the marches on Saturday and Sunday say they
counted about 500 marchers among the 30,000 who carried signs or other
items identifying themselves as veterans.
“I served in Vietnam,” said Robert Brighton of Detroit, who marched in
Washington. “I supported Desert Storm. I don’t support this. It’s
madness.” In addition, Capitol Hill Blue has learned that both House
Speaker Dennis J. Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist have
told the White House that they have “increasing” numbers of
Republicans in both Houses raising doubts about the war. “Nobody in
the party wants to come out publicly and tell the President he’s
wrong,” says one Hill source close to the GOP leadership, “but we
don’t have the kind of unity we need on this thing.
It could blow apart on us at any time.” Public support for a war with
Iraq is also slipping. In November of 2001, just two months after the
attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, 78 percent of
Americans favored military action against Iraq. That support has
slipped to as low as 52 percent in January polls. A Washington
Post-ABC news poll taken last week shows Americans evenly split over
Bush's handling of the crisis with Iraq. Spokesmen for the White
House, Pentagon and Congressional leadership offices would not comment
on the record for this report.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/printer_1587.shtml
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