The pen is mightier than the sword ..

Rummy Speaks ..

Here are some quotes from Rummy's interview on CNN's Late Edition
1) On the US military - "It's clearly stressed, but they're performing brilliantly"
2) On recruiting more troops-
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau said last week "As it pertains to the National Guard, the Army National Guard in particular, we were woefully underequipped before the war started. It's getting -- gets a little bit worse every day."The chief of the Army National Guard, Lt. Gen. Roger C. Schultz, said that the Guard met only *56 percent*of its recruiting quota in January. Maj. Dave Griesmer, spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command told the press "The Marine Corps fell 3 percent short of its recruiting goal for January, the first time the Marines have missed a monthly goal since 1995."
Rummy said - "a few" goals have not been met, but the situation is not critical. "Basically overall, recruiting and retention are roughly on track."
Rummy also said - "If a second war front should open, "it might take somewhat longer, it might be done in a slightly different way, but the estimates I get are that, basically, we're capable of performing the tasks that the president has assigned."
3) On current number of Iraqi troops- Rummy insisted there were136,000 Iraqi security forces but acknowledged that some are "green as grass."
His justification - "Numbers are interesting, but they're not determinative.
-"Their quality is also important.Some of them just came out of training.
They're green as grass."

All this makes so much sense. No wonder W apparently rejected his resignation twice. It would have been a real blow to his cabinet to lose a Defense Secretary who is so articulate and such a fine thinker.
:)

posted by mightypen @ 1:28 AM