American troops concerned with the loss of Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Martin Fletcher of the Times of London, worried that the new Secretary of Defense would pull them out of Iraq before they could complete the mission:

Half of America and the upper echelons of the US military may be cheering Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation from the post of Defence Secretary, but there was no rejoicing yesterday among those most directly affected by his decisions: the frontline soldiers in Iraq.

Troops expressed little pleasure at the departure of the man responsible for their protracted deployment to a hostile country where 2,839 of their comrades have died.

Indeed, some members of the 101st Airborne Division and other troops approached by The Times as they prepared to fly home from Baghdad airport yesterday expressed concern that Robert Gates, Mr Rumsfeld’s successor, and the Democrat-controlled Congress, might seek to wind down their mission before it was finished.

Mr Rumsfeld “made decisions, he stuck with them and he did what he thought was right, whether people agreed with it, liked it, or not”, Staff Sergeant Frank Notaro said. He insisted that Iraq was better off now than before the war.

Staff Sergeant Michael Howard said: “It’s a blow to the military. He was a good Secretary of Defence. He kept us focused. He kept the leaders focused. It’s going to be hard to fill his shoes.”

The American troops believe in the mission they serve. Interestingly, the Times -- which does not back the Iraq war -- gives an extended forum for these men to express their support for their mission and the man who sent them there to complete it. They want to see Iraq succeed, and even now want to stay until it happens.

It's an interesting point of view, and one that may surprise many who claim that the best way to support the troops is to have them retreat. Will that "support" turn to scorn when they realize the troops want to stay? After all, these men will have openly endorsed the policy of forward engagement that critics find so objectionable.

Fletcher reports that the troops also fear the impact of the new Democratic Congress on the war. They see the elections and the sudden departure of Rumsfeld as an ominous turn in domestic support, not without reason. Many of these men have built relationships with Iraqis, especially in the new security units, and will have bonds of friendship with the Iraqis that will be left in the lurch in the event of a precipitous withdrawal.

It seems to me that any effort to "support the troops" ought to at least involve their input. If they do not see Iraq as a lost cause, then they are right to wonder why so many Americans back home do. While the military will and should remain under civilian leadership, the fact is that the perspective of the soldiers and Marines on the lines have been woefully underreported in the American media, and it's somewhat embarrassing that we have to turn to a British newspaper to discover this unease at the change in Pentagon leadership.

Case in point: The New York Times, which decided to go the full John Kerry and depict the Marines in Iraq as ignorant and intellectually lazy:

The sergeant went upstairs to tell his marines, just as he had informed them the day before that the Republican Party had lost control of the House of Representatives and that Congress was in the midst of sweeping change. Mr. Menti had told them that, too.

“Rumsfeld’s out,” he said to five marines sprawled with rifles on the cold floor.

Lance Cpl. James L. Davis Jr. looked up from his cigarette. “Who’s Rumsfeld?” he asked.

If history is any guide, many of the young men who endure the severest hardships and assume the greatest risks in the war in Iraq will become interested in politics and politicians later, when they are older and look back on their combat tours.

Read both articles, and you tell me which one you believe depicts American fighting men more realistically -- the one that shows them as involved, informed, and concerned about their mission, or the one that depicts them as apathetic and uninformed. To me, it appears that the British newspaper manages to overcome its own editorial position much better to deliver truth rather than spin.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Troops Fear The Loss Of Rumsfeld:

» Staying The Course--For Now from Ed Driscoll.com
Regarding the post-Saddam policing of Iraq, Orrin Judd writes, "the better strategy would have been to withdraw from Iraq quicker and do Syria and North Korea, moving from victory to victory". On one level, I agree completely--but once you've toppled... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 12:57 AM

» Troops Fear The Loss Of Rumsfeld from Bill's Bites
Troops Fear The Loss Of RumsfeldEd Morrissey American troops concerned with the loss of Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Martin Fletcher of the Times of London, worried that the new Secretary of Defense would pull them out of Iraq before they [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 3:57 AM

» Super-secret transcript from NSA Surveillance from Doug Ross @ Journal
You can't breathe a word of this to anyone, but we've gotten our hands on another transcript from the NSA terrorist surveillance program. Shhhhhh... let's listen in... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 5:19 AM

» The Mailbox from Babalu Blog
I was about to write a scathing response to a commenter who stated rather matter of factly that the War in Iraq had already been lost when I decided to cool off a bit before taking to the keyboard. Let... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 7:08 AM

» A humorous tribute to Donald Rumsfeld (FRI AM UPDATE) from Sister Toldjah
If you ever watched former (ugh!) Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s numerous interactions with the press, you’ll understand the humor behind this tribute. It’s right on. One of the many things I liked about Rummy was his unique abil... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 8:04 AM

» I was afraid of this from Residual Forces
Bush’s firing of Rumsfeld reminded me of how Vikings owner Wilf canned Mike Tice through the media. Total BS, and done completely wrong. So far Bush appears to have forgotten he was elected by the people in a national election, not appointed by C... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 8:09 AM

» What The Troops Are Saying from Blue Crab Boulevard
The Times of London carries an article that lets the average soldiers in Iraq speak. Not the political elite, not the general officers, not the pentagon insiders or the pundits. And they really do not want to leave Iraq with the mission unfin... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 8:31 AM

» Military Reactions from Wake up America
That will not stop me from bringing those words to you whenever I see them. Military blogs folks. Search them and read them and understand how much disrespet we have shown those valiant soldiers by ignoring them. [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 1:21 PM

» The reaction of the troops... from Eclipse Ramblings
It appears that they are not happy with Sec. Rumsfeld leaving. The Times reports Half of America and the upper echelons of the US military may be cheering Donald Rumsfeld's resignation from the post of Defence Secretary, but there was no rejo... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 1:58 PM

» Rumsfeld Exit: Amidst Jihadi Philosophy from Mensa Barbie Welcomes You
Core principals of Jihad: To create a climate of fear and distrust within a government, as Islamists make the democratic system appear to be unworkable...Captain Ed makes an important point: Excerpt: �It seems to me... [Read More]

Tracked on November 10, 2006 4:37 PM