July 9, 2005
ONE E-RING TO RULE THEM ALL:
Donald Rumsfeld: Old Man In A Hurry: The inside story of how Donald H. Rumsfeld transformed the Pentagon, in which we learn about wire-brushing, deep diving, and a secret society called the Slurg (Thomas P. M. Barnett, August 2005, Esquire)
The Secretary of Defense's suite of offices in the Pentagon is on the third deck, outermost, or E-ring of the five-sided building, in the wedge between corridors eight and nine. It's one of the older wedges, on the far side of where the new ones are to be found or are being renovated, and on the opposite side of the building, one thousand feet away, from the section that was destroyed on September 11, 2001.Room 3-E-880 overlooks the Potomac in the direction of the White House and Capitol, but the famous skyline is hard to recognize on a rainy afternoon through the queer greenish tinting that covers all the windows here. You're tempted to adjust the picture on your screen, but this special coating repels electronic surveillance and denies enemy spies a view inside the Building.
The secretary's inner sanctum is a threshold so secure that you have to surrender your cell phone and BlackBerry to cross over. SecDef's office is classified a SCIF, meaning a sensitive compartmented information facility, or what people in the business call a "vault." Being inside a SCIF means you can engage in the most classified of conversations without fear, and when you leave, the Maxwell Smart doors close heavily behind you.
It is from this suite of rooms that Rumsfeld has become one of the most loathed and revered men in the world. The man is too impatient, too damned arrogant, too beyond politics, and just too stubborn for his own good. He is the famously combative, two-time SecDef (both youngest and oldest ever) who chews up and spits out experienced reporters in what are easily the most skillfully performed press conferences since John Kennedy walked the earth. He has brilliantly executed a couple of wars, and badly botched a peace. Let us stipulate all these truths just to move the conversation along.
But something else has been going on in this office, and it's nothing short of the most profound transformation of the U. S. military since World War II-a historic process that will, paradoxically, yield a force Americans haven't seen since our frontier days. The United States had one Defense Department on January 20, 2001, and it will have a very different one by January 20, 2009. Donald H. Rumsfeld, thirteenth and twenty-first secretary of defense, is the reason why.
When he was in the Old Guard, the Other Brother guarded the last most loathed and revered SecDef's office. Just as Don Rumsfeld is hated for his bureaucratic skills and determination to win the WoT, Cap Weinberger was hated for his bureaucratic skills and determination to win the Cold War. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 9, 2005 12:26 PM
They let a Judd that close to the levers of power. (Shudder).
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at July 9, 2005 1:05 PMIt was little noted that he got a standing ovation at a NASCAR race recently - maybe at Indy. I have great respect for him. In my world, he is also functionally Secretary for Homeland Security.
Posted by: Rick T. at July 9, 2005 1:12 PMJim;
That certainly explains why OJ is so cavalier about other matters. If the Republic survived that, what's a few bad SCOTUS appointments?
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at July 9, 2005 2:36 PMHe is the famously combative, two-time SecDef (both youngest and oldest ever) who chews up and spits out experienced reporters in what are easily the most skillfully performed press conferences since John Kennedy walked the earth.
Well, he didn't become hated for that. If he did nothing else, America would love him for that reason.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at July 9, 2005 2:42 PM"has brilliantly executed a couple of wars, and badly botched a peace"
How has he "botched a peace"? Right after military operations ceased, authority was handed over to a succession of State Department bureaucrats, the no-names whose names I cannot recall. If anyone is responsible for Iraq from around June of 2003 through handover to interim Iraqi government, it is the State Department, and they should be answering any criticisms.
Posted by: sam at July 9, 2005 2:43 PMAOG:
The Republic survives most everything, which is why the political passions this nomination or the assault weapons ban stirs up are rather silly.
Posted by: oj at July 9, 2005 4:43 PMWeinberger, a converso who hated the fact that his family was Jewish, did everything he could to undermine Israeli defense while he was SecDef as well as throw roadblocks into the careers of Jews at DOD. His refusal to share information with Israel, that he was contractually obligated to do, led directly to the Pollard Affair. During the sentencing of Pollard, he sent a letter to the judge which was not presented to the Pollard defense team, which resulted in a dramatically disproportionate sentence being issued to him. This utter disregard of due process alone demonstrates his complete unfitness for office.
Posted by: bart at July 9, 2005 5:06 PMMy children always try blaming someone else when they get caught doing something wrong too. We don't allow it.
Posted by: oj at July 9, 2005 5:12 PMThe standing 'O' was during the NASCAR race at Daytona Beach last weekend.
He's an amazing guy. I love his press conferences. The reporters don't know they've skewered until they notice the blood running down their legs. It's great.
Posted by: erp at July 9, 2005 8:18 PMYour brother was lucky. I was there when my officer and I prepared the briefing books for the most loathed Sec Def by me ever, McNamara. I'll take Cap and Rummy over that one any day of the week and twice on Sunday!! the man is despicable!!
Posted by: dick at July 9, 2005 8:27 PMOJ, since when did the SecDef run the State Department?
Posted by: Kirk Parker at July 9, 2005 10:19 PMI dissent on the botched peace meme. In particular, I think it is a wee bit early to claim we botched the Iraq peace. I think we will need about 10 years to evaluate the situation realistically.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 9, 2005 10:32 PMas bart alluded to, cap weinberger never met a law he didn't feel he wasn't above. and like him, rumsfeld should go to prison but in all likelihood won't. i think it's a wee bit early to claim donny boy executed two wars brilliantly, since neither one of them is over.
Posted by: lonbud at July 10, 2005 2:06 AMWhat specifically should Rumsfeld go to prison for ?
Is it for violating a law that's currently on the books, or one that you think SHOULD exist ?
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at July 10, 2005 6:11 AM