Especially when the other choice is a jackass. (sorry, I couldn't resist)
Posted on 05/29/2004 10:03:15 AM PDT by FairOpinion
WEST POINT, New York (Reuters) - The United States' declared war on terror is closer to the beginning than the end, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday.
Rumsfeld told the 2004 graduating class of 935 cadets that in the three years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, the U.S.-led coalition had "overthrown two vicious regimes and liberated 50 million people, disrupted terrorist cells across the globe and thwarted many terrorist attacks."
"Yet despite our successes, we are closer to the beginning of this struggle with global insurgency than to its end," he said.
Rumsfeld addressed the graduates, who wore full dress uniforms at West Point's Michie Stadium football field, before heading back for Washington for the dedication of the World War II Memorial.
Rumsfeld said the world "has changed dramatically" since the Sept. 11 attacks when hijackers flew commercial airplanes into buildings in New York and Washington, killing nearly 3,000.
He said on the latest front, in Iraq where the Bush administration is facing continued fighting that is undermining efforts to end the U.S. occupation, "We are facing a test of wills, with an enemy that seeks to derail the Iraqi people's path to self-governance."
"The extremists know the rise of a free, self-governing Iraq, respectful of all religions - would deal the terrorists a decisive blow," Rumsfeld said. "Its success depends on encouraging friends and allies with whom we are so interdependent to not be terrorized by threats or isolated by fear."
And already, the Democrats want us to quit and roll over for the terrorists.
Here is more detail on Rumsfeld's speech.
Life not Predictable, Rumsfeld Tells New Army Officers
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2004/n05292004_200405294.html
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WEST POINT, N.Y., May 29, 2004 – "Life is not predictable," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the newest second lieutenants in the U.S. Army today.
Rumsfeld was the graduation speaker at the U.S. Military Academy. He told the 935 graduating members of the West Point Class of 2004 that when they arrived at the academy in July 2000, they probably thought the most challenging part of being an Army officer "would involve activities like enforcing the peace in the Balkans."
But terrorists turning commercial airliners into guided missiles on Sept. 11, 2001, changed that outlook, the secretary said.
Immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the leadership reacted. "As radicals and extremists attempted to hijack a religion and send us their worst, America sent its best," Rumsfeld said.
The secretary listed the successes in the global war on terror since Sept. 11. In less than three years, an 80-nation coalition has overthrown two vicious regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, liberated 50 million people, disrupted terrorist cells across the globe and thwarted many terrorist attacks. "Yet despite these successes, the truth is we are closer to the beginning of this struggle – this global insurgency – than to its end," Rumsfeld said.
Today, he said, the civilized world faces adversaries unlike any in the past. "They seek no armistice, have no territory to defend, they have no public to answer to," he said. "They threaten us with shadowy networks not easily weeded out."
Rumsfeld said terrorists have a powerful advantage. "A terrorist needs to succeed only occasionally, but as defenders, we need to be successful always," the secretary said.
It is impossible to build a perfect defense, he said. "The only way to prevail in this struggle is to root out the terrorists before they develop still more powerful means to inflict damage on still greater numbers of innocent people," Rumsfeld said.
The Army these new lieutenants join is adapting to deal with these new asymmetrical threats. The Army is working on counterterrorism, peacemaking, peacekeeping, post-war reconstruction and stability operations and new special operation assignments, Rumsfeld said. The Army's mindset is changing from garrison-centered to expeditionary. And the service is re-emphasizing its warrior ethos: "the mission first, never accepting defeat and never leaving a fallen comrade."
The secretary told the newly commissioned officers that what they learned at West Point will serve them in good stead in the challenging times ahead. Rumsfeld used the example of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to make his point. Grant was an undistinguished West Point graduate who did not seem marked for greatness. "Somehow, history put Grant in a place at a critical time and in a critical moment," Rumsfeld said. "I have no doubt that West Point instilled in him those special qualities of leadership necessary to one day help preserve our Union.
"In the years ahead, history may well call upon you at a critical time, at a critical moment," he told the Class of 2004. And you will be ready."
Rumsfeld spoke about U.S. military strategy and the changing face of the military. He told the new officers about the concepts Defense Department leaders have developed to guide America's responsibility in this new world.
The first priority, he said, is "the strengthening of our partners, our existing allies and working with new ones."
The military also must develop greater flexibility to deal with the unexpected, Rumsfeld added. All branches of the military must focus on "more rapid deploying capabilities rather than simply presence or mass."
The military must work within and across regions. Rumsfeld said the United States will keep its existing commitments "in this still dangerous and untidy world, but we will better arrange our forces for an era of the unexpected."
The secretary said the United States faces a test of wills in Iraq as elements of the former regime and foreign fighters seek to derail the Iraqi people's progress to democracy and self-rule. He said the rise of a free, self-governing Iraq "at peace with its neighbors, respectful of all religions and committed to representative government" would deal terrorists a decisive blow.
The cause in Iraq is international, he said. Success depends on encouraging friends and allies, "on whom we are so interdependent to not be terrorized by threats or isolated by fears."
Rumsfeld also spoke about the new officers' responsibilities as they begin their Army careers.
"Let me add a word about the young men and women you will have the privilege to lead – the American soldier," he said. "They are the sons and daughters of America and some of the finest people you will ever meet. Take good care of them. Lead them and respect them. Your love for soldiers must be as unconditional as it is for your own families. Use the skills you've learned here to bring out the very best in them, including respect for others. Always fall back on the moral clarity of the Honor Code you have learned here."
"The secretary listed the successes in the global war on terror since Sept. 11. In less than three years, an 80-nation coalition has overthrown two vicious regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, liberated 50 million people, disrupted terrorist cells across the globe and thwarted many terrorist attacks. "Yet despite these successes, the truth is we are closer to the beginning of this struggle – this global insurgency – than to its end," Rumsfeld said.
Today, he said, the civilized world faces adversaries unlike any in the past. "They seek no armistice, have no territory to defend, they have no public to answer to," he said. "They threaten us with shadowy networks not easily weeded out."
Rumsfeld said terrorists have a powerful advantage. "A terrorist needs to succeed only occasionally, but as defenders, we need to be successful always," the secretary said.
It is impossible to build a perfect defense, he said. "The only way to prevail in this struggle is to root out the terrorists before they develop still more powerful means to inflict damage on still greater numbers of innocent people," Rumsfeld said. "
Important article ping
In a nation that has a Gay Channel, can we have a Rummy Channel? This stuff needs to be aired 24 hours a day.
That is why it's critical for our survival, in the most literal sense to get Bush reelected, because he understands what we are facing.
Kerry would abandon the War on Terror and wait until AFTER the terrorists nuke us, before he would respond, and then do what?
"can we have a Rummy Channel? This stuff needs to be aired 24 hours a day."
I agree. Unfortunately the current media buries this information and logical thinking, they don't want people to realize that we are fighting for our lives and way of life.
Anyone want to invest? I'll start it up. We'll call it the Patriot Channel (TM) or something like that.
Rumsfeld-for-President ping.
Great comments made at this USMA graduating ceremony for young, future military leaders. I liked his comments on nimbleness over mass. His modernizing has been a contentious issue.
Hoppy
Your idea of such a channel is indeed a good one.
Murdoch owns FoxNews, maybe he would be interested in starting a Patriot Channel.
I bet it would be a great success -- giving people the real news, and information, educating the public.
I don't know how people may have missed the point that the War on Terror may go on for decades, or even generations, up to now. George W. Bush told us up front that would be the course of history. The assaults from the Islamofascists will not abate simply because Bush leaves the White House, or Rumsfeld is either fired or resigns. In fact, they will probably be stepped up, as the replacements for either of these two men, if not already well acquainted with the problems of dealing with the Jihadists, face a steep learning curve. During such a transition period, the potential for another terrorist attack rises exponentially. There is good reason not to "swap horses in midstream", as the phrase goes. (Does anybody have an understanding of what that means?) We are midstream right now, and the water is still rising.
Blame Dubya and Rummy for it.
Do I win?
Especially when the other choice is a jackass. (sorry, I couldn't resist)
It is too bad that liberals have thrown in their lot with the moslems, and are trying to make us lose this war in every way they know how. It is too bad, because W's vision is the right one and the good one, the one which gives us the last opportunity to avoid Armageddon (and I mean that metaphorically, not religiously).
But hating America has too high a priority for liberals, and so is lost the national resolve and unity so necessary to persuade Islam to forego its own suicide.
Alas, in the suicide of Islam so many innocents will suffer grieviously. It will be good for the world to be rid of the fraud / mental illness / death cult of Islam.
Yet we can only shake our heads in sorrow and disdain for the America-haters and Jew-haters who are the pom-pom girls for the awful shedding of blood.
It would probably take a few million to get off the ground, and then you'd have to convince the cable companies and satellite to carry it. Some support from the heavies like Fox and the White House wouldn't hurt.
Sounds like we're at Episode 1 of Lord of the Rings.
Bump. Rumsfeld 2008 :)
That's a brilliant idea! It really is, and I'm stunned that nobody has thought of it before.
I'm a very small investor, but if you get it together, put me on your investors list. I suspect there will be a lot of small investors out there willing to participate.
Ping to RC for a fantastic communications idea. Is there anybody else who should be pinged to this?
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