Bush Stands by His Man, Donald Rumsfeld

In the Dec. 20 article, “White House Stands by Beleaguered Rumsfeld,” the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate, Republican Richard G. Lugar, is quoted as saying that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld “should be held accountable, and he should stay in office.”

But what sort of accountability does Lugar have in mind if Rumsfeld is to keep his post? Will Rumsfeld be sent to bed without his supper? Will he receive 40 lashes?

We hear much talk about accountability from the Bush administration and from Republican leaders in Congress, but talk is cheap, and mild tongue-lashings, accompanied by exuberant praise, are all the consequences ever reaped for incompetence among the neocons who have hijacked power in this country.

Joseph H. Schaffer

Orange

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So let me get this straight. The Republicans can disrupt our nation’s business to impeach a president for immaterial indiscretions, yet can’t bring themselves to remove Rumsfeld from his duties after military mismanagement and arrogance resulting ultimately in the deaths of 1,300 Americans (and counting) -- some unprepared for battle -- in this war of choice?

If these misplaced values and priorities weren’t so tragic, I’d laugh.

Christopher Drozd

Beverly Hills

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Several respected and knowledgeable senators express either no confidence in Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld or say that he should be fired, if not now, soon. Even conservative writer William Kristol, seeing the neocons’ false dream of success in Iraq fading because of Rumsfeld’s inadequacies, calls for his resignation. Yet President Bush says he has great confidence in his secretary of Defense.

Is Rumsfeld the next choice for the Medal of Freedom? Or should we have no confidence in the judgment of the secretary’s boss?

Samuel Sensiper

Santa Barbara

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Rumsfeld claims he had machine signatures affixed to letters sent to the family members of U.S. troops killed in action because it would “ensure expeditious contact with grieving family members.” Well, if my mathematics are correct, he would have had to sign less than three letters a day to manually accomplish this task. Insanity runs amok.

Eileen Haussmann

Torrance