The American Spectator

Donald Rumsfeld should resign may not have been coordinated, per se. But the generals in question in fact speak often to each other, and some are even coordinating political activities with colleagues here in the United States, according to Pentagon sources. /p>

Some, in fact, are involved in a very quiet group of retired military officers who are behind a “Draft Colin Powell” effort, to see him run for the presidency in 2008. The operation is well funded, say sources familiar with the group, to the point that they are regularly polling the public on issues and even ticket makeup for a Powell run.

“They more often than not have him [Powell] running as a Republican, so the polling is almost exclusively with other Republicans on the ticket, and almost always with Powell on the top of the ticket,” says a source who has seen sampling from the polling.

The retired, senior military leadership are much more politically astute than people give them credit for, says another retired military officer, who has dealt with both Newbold and Eaton, who both directed Marines. “Given their experiences with the war, these are men who understand both the political and the military dynamic at play here. It shouldn’t be surprising that these fellows are inserting themselves into the political process, whether it’s Rumsfeld and Bush or looking ahead to 2008.” This source was unaware if either Newbold or Eaton was involved in the Powell operation.

One general who would appear to be less politically astute is Anthony Zinni, who has been caught out making politically damaging comments about the United States’ relationship to Israel. In 2004, Zinni said in an interview on 60 Minutes that “the neo-conservatives” had conned the Bush administration on the idea of democratizing the Middle East. Not coincidentally, Zinni’s latest comments have come a week after his latest book, The Battle for Peace, was released.

p> GRAVEL PITS br> If former senator and current Democratic presidential candidate Mike Gravel is any indication of where Howard Dean is taking the Democratic Party, then they are in for a humdinger of a primary season. Gravel, who represented Alaska as senator from 1969 to 1981, was a staunch anti-war protester who now at the age of 75 is entering the race, in part, to protest Operation Iraqi Freedom. /p>