Maj Gen John Riggs and Maj Gen Charles Swannack Jr have added their voices to those of other former top brass calling for Rumsfeld to go. The tally of Army and Marine generals speaking out in criticism of the SecDef now stands at six: Maj Gen Charles Swannack, Maj Gen John Riggs, Maj Gen John Batiste, Marine Gen Anthony Zinni, Marine Lt Gen Gregory Newbold and Maj Gen Paul Eaton.
In a radio interview Maj Gen Riggs, a former division commander, said it was time for Mr Rumsfeld to go because he fostered an atmosphere of "arrogance" among the Pentagon's top civilian leadership. "They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that's a mistake, and that's why I think he should resign," he told National Public Radio (NPR).
Retired Marine Gen Anthony Zinni told CNN Mr Rumsfeld should be held responsible for a series of mistakes, beginning with "throwing away 10 years worth of planning, plans that had taken into account what we would face in an occupation of Iraq".
The White House, of course, continues to stand by Rumsfeld. And Gen Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has said that people "should never question the dedication, the patriotism and the work ethic of Secretary Rumsfeld".
But that is not what is being questioned (no doubt Himmler was a dedicated and hard-working patriot, at least to his cause). It is Rumsfeld's competence that senior military figures now doubt in public. In a recent NYT article, Maj Gen Eaton wrote that Rumsfeld was "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically". But hey, surely the Commander-in-Chief also deserves some of the credit?
