This is an interesting memo by Rumsfeld. I think the gist of it is
"It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror," Rumsfeld wrote. "An alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere - one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem."
What do you all think? Can a more efficient system be devloped to hunt down and kill terrorists? If so what is it?
Rumsfeld Questions U.S. in Terror Fight
By MATT KELLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld questioned whether the United States was doing enough to win the war on terrorism, citing "mixed results" in the fight against al-Qaida in a pointed memo to top Pentagon officials.
Rumsfeld said the U.S.-led coalitions would win in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not without "a long, hard slog." He wrote that the United States "has made reasonable progress in capturing or killing the top 55 Iraqis" but has made "somewhat slower progress" tracking down top Taliban leaders who sheltered al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
"My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?" Rumsfeld wrote.
The memo, dated Oct. 16 and first reported by USA Today on Wednesday, offered a much more stark assessment of the global war on terrorism than contained in Rumsfeld's public statements.
"It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog," he wrote.
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White House press secretary Scott McClellan, traveling with President Bush in Australia, reacted by voicing support for Rumsfeld. "That's exactly what a strong and capable secretary of defense like Secretary Rumsfeld should be doing," said McClellan.
"The president has always said it will require thinking differently. It's a different type of war," McClellan said.
Bush talked about the war on terrorism with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Canberra, where he planned to discuss it with Prime Minister John Howard.
"I've always felt that there's a tendency of people to kind of seek a comfort zone and hope that the war on terror is over," Bush said. "And I view it as a responsibility of the United States to remind people of our mutual obligations to deal with the terrorists."
Rumsfeld's spokesman, Larry Di Rita, told reporters Wednesday the memo was meant to raise "big questions that deserve big thinking" and preserve a "constant sense of urgency" about where the war on terror is heading.
On the battle against the terror network blamed for the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Rumsfeld wrote: "We are having mixed results with al-Qaida, although we have put considerable pressure on them - nonetheless, a great many remain at large." They include the group's top leader, Osama bin Laden, and his right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Rumsfeld wrote "we are just getting started" in battling Ansar al-Islam, an Iraq-based terrorist group linked to al-Qaida.
Di Rita said the memo was another in a series of provocative questions that the secretary regularly raises with Pentagon brass.
Three members of Congress who met with Rumsfeld Wednesday morning said the defense secretary gave them copies of the memo and discussed it with them.
"He's asking the tough questions we all need to be asking," said Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas.
"Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror," Rumsfeld wrote. "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?"
Madrassas are Islamic religious schools. Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials say some schools run by radical groups indoctrinate students to join in an anti-American holy war.
Rumsfeld's memo raises the possibility of creating "a private foundation to entice radical madrassas to a more moderate course" and questions how to block the funding of the extremist schools.
Sounding a theme Rumsfeld has voiced repeatedly in the past two years, the memo says the Defense Department is too big and slow to effectively fight small groups of terrorists.
"It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror," Rumsfeld wrote. "An alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere - one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem."
Rumsfeld also suggested the United States may need to do more to "stop the next generation of terrorists."
"The U.S. is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists," Rumsfeld wrote. "The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
"It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror," Rumsfeld wrote. "An alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere - one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem."
What do you all think? Can a more efficient system be devloped to hunt down and kill terrorists? If so what is it?
Rumsfeld Questions U.S. in Terror Fight
By MATT KELLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld questioned whether the United States was doing enough to win the war on terrorism, citing "mixed results" in the fight against al-Qaida in a pointed memo to top Pentagon officials.
Rumsfeld said the U.S.-led coalitions would win in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not without "a long, hard slog." He wrote that the United States "has made reasonable progress in capturing or killing the top 55 Iraqis" but has made "somewhat slower progress" tracking down top Taliban leaders who sheltered al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
"My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?" Rumsfeld wrote.
The memo, dated Oct. 16 and first reported by USA Today on Wednesday, offered a much more stark assessment of the global war on terrorism than contained in Rumsfeld's public statements.
"It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog," he wrote.
Interactives
Homeland Security
The Latest News
Rumsfeld Questions U.S. in Terror Fight
Swedish Police Arrest Terror Suspect
'New Species' of Terrorist Threatens Kabul
New Zealand Adopts a New Terrorism Law
White House press secretary Scott McClellan, traveling with President Bush in Australia, reacted by voicing support for Rumsfeld. "That's exactly what a strong and capable secretary of defense like Secretary Rumsfeld should be doing," said McClellan.
"The president has always said it will require thinking differently. It's a different type of war," McClellan said.
Bush talked about the war on terrorism with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Canberra, where he planned to discuss it with Prime Minister John Howard.
"I've always felt that there's a tendency of people to kind of seek a comfort zone and hope that the war on terror is over," Bush said. "And I view it as a responsibility of the United States to remind people of our mutual obligations to deal with the terrorists."
Rumsfeld's spokesman, Larry Di Rita, told reporters Wednesday the memo was meant to raise "big questions that deserve big thinking" and preserve a "constant sense of urgency" about where the war on terror is heading.
On the battle against the terror network blamed for the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Rumsfeld wrote: "We are having mixed results with al-Qaida, although we have put considerable pressure on them - nonetheless, a great many remain at large." They include the group's top leader, Osama bin Laden, and his right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Rumsfeld wrote "we are just getting started" in battling Ansar al-Islam, an Iraq-based terrorist group linked to al-Qaida.
Di Rita said the memo was another in a series of provocative questions that the secretary regularly raises with Pentagon brass.
Three members of Congress who met with Rumsfeld Wednesday morning said the defense secretary gave them copies of the memo and discussed it with them.
"He's asking the tough questions we all need to be asking," said Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas.
"Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror," Rumsfeld wrote. "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?"
Madrassas are Islamic religious schools. Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials say some schools run by radical groups indoctrinate students to join in an anti-American holy war.
Rumsfeld's memo raises the possibility of creating "a private foundation to entice radical madrassas to a more moderate course" and questions how to block the funding of the extremist schools.
Sounding a theme Rumsfeld has voiced repeatedly in the past two years, the memo says the Defense Department is too big and slow to effectively fight small groups of terrorists.
"It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror," Rumsfeld wrote. "An alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere - one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem."
Rumsfeld also suggested the United States may need to do more to "stop the next generation of terrorists."
"The U.S. is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists," Rumsfeld wrote. "The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
When I get discouraged, I try to imagine what the alternative would have been like in the same scenario.