The resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier today is welcome news, especially for those men and women in uniform who have suffered the consequences of Rumsfeld's mistakes and failed policies.
In the Army, the concept of personal accountability is the most important part of a Soldier's life. To survive a firefight in Fallujah, you must know beyond a doubt that the guy next to you is doing his job, and vice versa.
But for the last four years, it appeared that same principle did not apply to the Secretary of Defense. When our troops were sent to Iraq with outdated body armor and dangerously unprotected Humvees, no one was held accountable. When the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib was exposed, President Bush stood by his man. When the war in Iraq entered a fourth year of violence and bloodshed, Rumsfeld stood squinting at the helm, steering our nation's military on a course of business-as-usual.
And let us not forget that Sec. Rumsfeld was the man who brusquely reminded our troops that, "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time." I'm sure those were comforting words, coming from the man whose responsibility it was to make sure the, "Army you have," didn't consist of outdated flak jackets and un-armored Humvees.
Who knows what finally, thankfully, sealed Secretary Rumsfeld's fate. Maybe it was the clear rebuttal of the status quo offered by voters across the country yesterday -- voters who elected true patriots like Capt. Patrick Murphy, who spent a year in Iraq and is now headed to Congress. Maybe it was the editorial this week in the Army Times, a newspaper read by more than 70 percent of the military community, calling for Rumsfeld's resignation. Whatever it was, it was long overdue. Donald Rumsfeld is the first high-ranking official to lose his job over the mismanagement of this war.
In an Oval Office press conference introducing the new Secretary of Defense today, Rumsfeld had an opportunity to exit gracefully. Instead he chose to insult the intelligence of his critics, describing the war in Iraq as a, "little understood, unfamiliar war, the first war of the 21st century, (it) is not well-known, it was not well understood, it is complex for people to comprehend."
I could not disagree more. There are many thousands of Americans who understand and appreciate the complexities of the Iraq War more than you ever could, Mr. Secretary. They are our brave men and women in uniform. They have been there, and they are still there. Thanks largely to the legacy of Donald Rumsfeld, the hardest work begins today.