A retired two-star general who served in Iraq has called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Major General John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq told CNN, 'I believe we need a fresh start in the Pentagon. We need a leader who understands teamwork, a leader who knows how to build teams, a leader that does it without intimidation.'
Batiste joins other prominent former military officers who have called for Rumsfeld to step down in recent weeks including retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Gregory Newbold, Army Major General Paul Eaton and Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni.
'You know, it speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense,' Batiste said.
'But when decisions are made without taking into account sound military recommendations, sound military decision making, sound planning, then we're bound to make mistakes.'
Batiste retired on November 1, 2005. He commanded the division known as the 'Big Red One' which was based in Tikrit.
Many critics have accused Rumsfeld and other members of the Bush administration of bullying senior military officers who expressed disagreement with administration views. One key example was the dismissal of Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki after Shinseki requested 'several hundred thousand troops' to secure Iraq after the invasion rather than the small force of barely over 100,000 Rumsfeld decided to send.
While Batiste was critical of many aspects of the war in Iraq, he said we still need to win the war.
'Whether we agree or not with the war in Iraq, we are where we are, and we must succeed in this endeavor. Failure is frankly not an option,' Batiste claimed.
Batiste indicated he was struck by the 'lack of sacrifice and commitment on the part of the American people' to the war, with the exception of families of soldiers deployed in the war.
'I think that our executive and legislative branches of government have a responsibility to mobilize this country for war. They frankly have not done so. We're mortgaging our future, our children, $8 to $9 billion a month,' he said, referring to the cost of the war.
The retired general defined success in Iraq as 'setting the Iraqi people up for self-reliance with their form of representative government that takes into account tribal, ethnic and religious differences that have always defined Iraqi society.'
Batiste then added, 'Iraqis, frankly, in my experience, do not understand democracy. Nor do they understand their responsibilities for a free society.'
At this point, despite growing criticism from within the ranks of former military officers, Rumsfeld has not announced any intention to resign.
