[Jim Noble]

There is reason to believe that there is much unhappiness at the Pentagon with Rummy on the troop level question.

[Arkinsaw]

There is reason to believe that there is much unhappiness at the Pentagon with Rummy on the troop level question.

Voting for Kerry or doing nothing will make it worse. There is only one choice for them.

[Alberta's Child]

There is reason to believe that there is much unhappiness at the Pentagon with Rummy on the troop level question.

Exactly. The real issue here is the difference of opinions between the military and civilian leadership in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Gen. Eric Shinseki, then about to leave as the Army's chief of staff, said "several hundred thousand soldiers" could be needed in Iraq. "Way off the mark," retorted Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

Let's be frank about this: the original estimates of manpower requirements by the civilians in the Pentagon were -- to quote Paul Wolfowitz -- "way off the mark."

Let's be brtually honest about something else here, too. If you look at the high-profile civilians in the Defense Department staff, you'll find that most of them are snot-nosed Ivy Leaguers with no military background. Heck -- you can't even distinguish them from the hacks that worked in the Clinton administration.

[philosofy123]

It has been reported before that Rumsfeld abrasive personality has rubbed many general the wrong way. Novak is an old fashion Republican, and should not be ridiculed for reporting what he hears. Apparently he has more access to the big movers and shakers than most of us. Republicans should not fight and ridicule each others - that was Reagan's famous recommendation.