Senator Dick Durbin, who come January will be Senate Democratic Minority Whip, took a hard line with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Using the Democratic Party's weekly address to express his comments to a national audience, Durbin said 'We can, and we should, armor every Humvee and every truck our troops use in Iraq and Afghanistan...no more excuses, no more delays. We can save hundreds of lives and prevent thousands of serious injuries.'
The embattled Secretary of Defense seems unable to shake criticism for his Iraq war planning as well as allegations that his answer to troops regarding the lack of armor on army vehicles was cavalier and showed a lack of concern for them. Several prominent Republicans, including Senators John McCain and Trent Lott, as well as retired General Norman Schwartzkopf have joined Democrats in expressing a lack of confidence in Rumsfeld's leadership. Lott, in particular, said last Thursday that 'Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should be replaced sometime in the next year...I don't think he listens enough to his uniformed officers.' This is strong criticism from ranking Senators from the administration's own party. Either Rumsfeld is going to have to resign, or he and President Bush are going to have to do or say something dramatic to save his job.
