General Shelton: Rumsfeld Was The Devil In The Form Of A Defense Secretary -- Thomas E. Ricks, Best Defense/Foreign Policy
That's basically the impression I took away from reading Without Hesitation, the memoirs of retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001. Boy is he steamed.
There are plenty of other people Shelton pings in the book, most notably John McCain. But the unquestionable No. 1 villain of the book is the former secretary of defense who, in Shelton's telling, elevated his old Princeton wrestling techniques into a management philosophy. "The McNamara-Rumsfeld model," as Shelton calls it, was "based on deception, deceit, working political agendas, and trying to get the Joint Chiefs to support an action that might not be the right thing to do for the country but would work well for the President from a political standpoint." (401) (As an experiment, I'm including page numbers -- should I continue doing this in future book discussions?) He adds, "It was the worst style of leadership I witnessed in 38 years of service." (413)
Read more ....
My Comment: I guess the former General has to say something interesting to sell books. As to what I think .... his comments on Rumsfeld are not surprising. Donald Rumsfeld was probably not the best person to work with .... but after 9/11 his presence on the TV screen was always reassuring, and he gave confidence that U.S. forces will be successful in retaliating against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is these images that will always stick in my mind.
On a side note, I am looking forward to Donald Rumsfeld's book when it comes out in January .... but I suspect he will not be saying anything critical on General Shelton (or anyone else). From what I am reading and hearing, his book focuses on the challenges of 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the continuing conflict against Al Qaeda. Plus (of course) some politics thrown in.
3 comments:
Don't waste your money on any of their books....they are all lying through their teeth, and were both complicit in the inside job of 9/11 as well as TENET.....
General Henry Hugh Shelton was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001. On the day of the barbaric inside Job of 9 11 Shelton was on a plane to London, England. Vice Chairman Air Force General Richard Myers took charge on 9 11 and on October 1, 2001 became Shelton's successor....Hence, Shelton was complicit to murder of over 3000 Americans.
A new book by General Hugh Shelton says a Clinton cabinet member proposed letting Saddam kill an American airman as a pretext for war....
Gen. Hugh Shelton: Clinton Official Suggested Letting U.S. Plane Be Shot Down To Provoke War With Iraq ....
Clinton aide's idea: Let Iraq shoot down U.S. plane ....-
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