The American Spectator

p> REAGAN RUM br> Re: Jed Babbin’s Reagan’s Vision, Rumsfeld’s Legacy : /p>

Another outstanding article by Jed Babbin. I believe that, in the future, Mr. Rumsfeld will be acknowledged as one of, if not the best Sec. Def. that we have had — ever.

Mr. Babbin makes an excellent case for the farsightedness of the Secretary as regards the missile defense concept/system. I believe that an equally important policy has been the remake of the military from the heavy, ponderous machine that it was (to accomplish tank battles supported by infantry and artillery in the Fulda Gap), into a lighter, more mobile, more rapid, yet more lethal organization that can take on our modern day foes and prevail.

Many call Mr. Rumsfeld cantankerous, stubborn, mean, insensitive, and those are the nice things that they say about him. The fact is that I have been watching and studying Sec. Def. since they were called Secretaries of War. I can not think of a single one that could have taken on the task that Mr. Rumsfeld has accepted and actually accomplish it. I can not think of a single one that would not have been overwhelmed by the entrenched bureaucracy of the military flag rank old boys club. There was the battleship club, the monstrous mobile artillery club, the plethora of almost single purpose - single service air craft club, and on and on. Then there was the huge phalanx of Congressional body guards for each of the military organizations and each of the developmental projects. Then there was the civilian bureaucracy at State, and CIA, and NSA, and even Commerce. And let us not forget the tremendous clout of the reserve component organizations and the veteran’s organizations.

Mr. Rumsfeld has had a vision. Right or wrong, he has been consistent. He has consistently removed the roadblocks to that vision, be they technological or personnel related. Whether it is Mr. Rumsfeld, Gen. Honore, Gen. Mattis, or many of the other fine leaders, I celebrate a leader that refuses to “suffer fools.” I have applauded Mr. Rumsfeld from the first moment that I saw him pop the balloon of a pompous *** in a press conference.

p>Thank you Mr. Rumsfeld, and thank you Jed Babbin for bringing to the public the facts of the good things being done by “Rummy” AND our military. br> — Ken Shreve /p> p>