Donald Rumsfeld says that the political fight over Iraq may be harming troop morale:
Commanders are telling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that ground troops do not understand the generally negative press that their missions receive, despite what they consider significant achievements in rebuilding Iraq and instilling democracy….
Mr. Rumsfeld appeared on several Sunday talk shows yesterday to express concern about the effects of the political discussion on U.S. forces.
“We also have to understand that our words have effects,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Put yourself in the shoes of a soldier who thinks that we’re going to pull out precipitously or immediately, as some people have proposed. Obviously, they have to wonder whether what they’re doing makes sense if that’s the idea, if that’s the debate.”
However, Rumsfeld’s spokesman says another thing:
But Lawrence Di Rita, spokesman for Mr. Rumsfeld, said commanders are not telling the Pentagon that morale is sinking, although they have long-standing concerns about the press.
“The commanders often have expressed their incredulity at the difference between the progress they are seeing in Iraq and the manner in which that progress is obscured, in Washington, by the disproportionate focus on the challenges, in lieu of the many reasons to feel proud and satisfied at all that is happening,” he said.
So the MSM is creating concerns. Not surprising. What do the troops on the ground say?
“I have not heard of any morale problems related to the political debates,” said Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman in Baghdad.
Lt. Col. David Lapan, a Marine spokesman in the violence-wracked Anbar province, said, “We haven’t conducted any surveys so obviously we can’t speak to the morale of every Marine, sailor and soldier out here. However, based on comments from commanders and leaders who interact daily with troops at all levels, I’d say morale remains pretty high.”
So morale’s pretty high, according to the guys who are there. Huh. But wait, according to someone who’s not there, morale isn’t so good:
Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, an author of books on military transformation, said he is hearing something different from returning troops.
“Soldiers see no viable mission, no plan and no strategy,” Col. Macgregor said. “No one trusts any of the Arabs in the Iraqi army, only the Kurds. Soldiers want to survive to go home and are fighting to keep each other alive. There is no Iraq. There is Kurdistan, which the soldiers all love. Then, there is the Sunni Arab center and the Shi’ite south that most think is an autonomous province of Iran.”
So, there you have it. Morale may be damaged, or it might not. The press may be a subject of concern. Clear as mud.
I find it hard to believe that the political rhetoric at home will have any measurable effect on troop morale abroad. The assessment of Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor makes more sense in that Iraq has serious problems and no one knows that more than the troops on the ground. I think a lot of soldiers are aware of the problems in Iraq and that many of them, at least over 50%, believe in the mission as spelled out by the Bush Administration.
Congresman Murtha, in his press conference about the gradual withdraw of American troops, was told this by a reporter (NOTE! I’m paraphrasing because I saw it on t.v.): “I’ve talked with soldiers in Iraq and they all think we’re doing the right thing in Iraq. What do you say to that?” Murtha, a Vietnam vet, replied, “Of course they’re going to say that. They’re soldiers and they’re incredibly proud of their service, as they should be. Talking about troop withdraw and other such issues is our job [congresspeople's]. We speak for them because they can’t say anything different. What do you expect them to say?” (remember, this is paraphrased).
Like any large group (there are 150,000 of them), not every member of the military will say they are for or against the Iraq War. Murtha’s comments make sense in that, as professionals who risk their lives everyday, psychologically they need to maintain a positive outlook.
Let’s say that Rumsfeld is right. Let’s say that the MSM is hurting troop morale. What does Rumsfeld want to do about it? What’s the point of him touring the talk shows? Does he hope the press will mute themselves when they see something wrong? Does Rumsfeld hope the press doesn’t ask too many questions about the exit strategy in Iraq? This is a blunder by Rumsfeld to go on these shows. If the press is worth their salt, they’ll use the Rumsfeld interviews to go after the Iraq story with renewed vigor and get the administration to say what the strategy is in Iraq.
It wasn’t my impression, Joshua, that Murtha was asking for a “gradual” withdrawal, but I could be wrong.
Waterglass – LOVE you site and I’m blogrollin’ ya and I’m “borrowing” your idea/graphic (of course I’ll make my own graphic) regarding this being an AD FREE zone. Kudos to you for having NO ads!!!!!!! Quite refreshing.
Thank you! We try to encourage polite debate and discussion here, and I appreciate the kind words.
And yes, this is an ad-free zone. Even if we did have more than six or seven regular readers, I’d still not include blogads. It’s just kind of tacky.
I’ll add your site to the blogroll, as well.