Loosening Rumsfeld's scalp

The Washington Post:

Rumsfeld Rebuked By Retired Generals
Ex-Iraq Commander Calls for Resignation

By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 13, 2006; A01

The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized the defense secretary's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult.

"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."

Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN.

The other day, in a rare moment of proximity to a television, I caught former SACEUR Gen. George Joulwan on Wolf Blitzer's "Situation Room."  Joulwan deliberately pulls back from calling for Rumsfeld's removal, but his diagnosis of the Pentagon's dysfunction makes it clear he's making a case for the president to do the right thing. CNN apparently hasn't put up the transcript, however.

Update 1: Momentum builds. CNN.com:

The commander who led the elite 82nd Airborne Division during its mission in Iraq has joined the chorus of retired generals calling on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to leave the Pentagon.

"I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense because Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him," retired Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack told CNN's Barbara Starr on Thursday.

Swannack is the second general who served in Iraq under Rumsfeld to call for him to resign.

Update 2: And on and on . . . . New York Times:

Later in the day, another retired general, Maj. Gen. John Riggs,  joined in the fray.