NYT analysis: As Policy Decisions Loom, a Code of Silence is Broken [View All]

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News Analysis
As Policy Decisions Loom, a Code of Silence is Broken


Gen. Peter Pace, left, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday at a news conference.

By MICHAEL R. GORDON
Published: April 16, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 15 — The call by some retired generals for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation is more than an effort to assign blame for the problems that the United States has encountered in Iraq. It also reflects concern that military voices are not being given sufficient weight in the Bush administration's deliberations, as well as unease about the important decisions that lie ahead.

In going public with their criticism, the generals have broken an informal code of silence among officers that is rooted in the longstanding reluctance of the military to openly challenge the civilian leadership of the Defense Department. That tradition has been questioned since the Vietnam War, a conflict in which generals who doubted Pentagon leaders did not oppose decisions that they thought were ill-advised.
Some of the generals challenging Mr. Rumsfeld have said they regret not speaking up while they were on active duty.

In defending Mr. Rumsfeld, President Bush has asserted that the defense secretary relies on his commanders in the field. And yet the retired generals include two former commanders of Army divisions in Iraq and an officer who trained the Iraqi military — generals who argue that the military's assessments have been discounted or ignored.

The retired generals, in effect, have declared Mr. Rumsfeld unfit to lead the nation's military forces as the United States faces crucial decisions on how to extricate itself from Iraq and what to do about Iran's nuclear program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/washington/16assess.html