Pentagon Issues Talking Points Memo to Retired Senior Officers to Defend Rumsfeld

The Pentagon has sent a memo to group of former military commanders and civilian analysts on Friday giving the retired officers and analysts the words the Bush Administration wants them to use to defend Rumsfeld on television. An article published today said that “it is unusual for the Pentagon to issue guidance that can be used by retired generals to rebut the arguments of other retired generals.”

Unusual indeed! The Bush Administration has issued Talking Points to be used to rebut calls for Rumsfeld to be fired or step down.

One retired general who regularly attends the Pentagon meetings said Saturday that he found it unusual for the Pentagon to send such a memorandum in the middle of a heated debate, because it was almost certain to appear politically motivated.

"I think it's part of the charm offensive," said the general, who was granted anonymity because he said he was afraid he would not be invited to future Pentagon sessions.

For a president who has responded to critics of the war by saying he takes his cue from commanders in the field, not politicians in Washington, the past week has put the White House in an uncomfortable position. Administration officials acknowledged that unlike past criticisms from lawmakers, the comments by the generals — who say they have only military objectives in mind — could carry extra weight.

So far seven retired Generals and several other senior officers have come forward calling for Rumsfeld to be fired for mismanaging the Iraq War. Most of them are saying that the Iraq War was a huge mistake. Since the Talking Points were issued, some officers have come forwarding reading the words given to them in an effort to silence the debate. But Gen. Tommy Franks in defending Rumsfeld today contradicted what Joint Chiefs head Peter Pace said when he was defending Rumsfeld the other day. While both men got the memo they didn’t work out the details of that defense.

Read the words of Christopher H. Sheppard, a former Marine captain who served two tours of duty in Iraq as a combat engineer. His last line sums it up, “I will never trust any of them again.” Captain Sheppard apparently didn’t get the memo.