The American Spectator

br> Re: Jed Babbin’s Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels : /p>

I would first note that Mr. Babbin, along with Mr. Neumayr and Mr. Macomber, are the very treasures of my conservative reading each week (with Buckley, of course). However, Babbin is, at best, confusing and at worst, a hack, when he lamely defends Secretary Rumsfeld and his untactful, flatly callous remarks in Iraq last week.

Babbin seems a lot madder that a journalist put the Tennessee soldier up to the “up armor” question than the fact that our troops are resorting to a cross between rag picking and Yankee ingenuity to keep their fannies in one piece. Even the President averred he would ask the same question, Jed.

The fact is that the Secretary shot off his mouth in a rather un-managerial way. His responsibility is to manage his generals, and replace them if they are found untruthful, and to always be close enough to the war to know. He needs the inputs of the guys on the ground; not listening to them is his own folly, not his generals’. Whether his subordinates are trustworthy or not is his job to determine. It is his job to find remedies, or forever forfeit the principle of civilian governance of the military.

In short, Rumsfeld personally owes every soldier in the field his best effort at protecting them, and his failure to do so is unacceptable job performance on his part. Smart-ass, uninformed assessments of American industry’s ability to meet this challenge betray an unacceptable detachment from Rumsfeld’s trade.

Personally, I find his vision of the high tech, efficient, agile American military a major plus for the coming age of warfare. However, the Secretary’s job description also includes having the acute vision to take all measures needed, even if dramatic, to conserve American lives in this conflict. No flip answer will atone for one wasted life of an American son or daughter. Fix the Hummers, Mr. Secretary; hold off on the lame excuses, Mr. Babbin. We go to war with the Army you make.

p>By the way — are we sure there is no engineered solution for hardening those Hummers against explosion? br> — Lee Tichenor /p> p> JUST DON’T DO IT