Army War College toned down its Iraq war criticism under pressure from Rumsfeld.
Army War College toned down its Iraq war criticism under pressure from Rumsfeld.
Over the past few years, the U.S. Army War College has attracted considerable attention for its willingness to criticize the Bush administration’s foreign policy, publishing a paper in 2004 that concluded the global war on terrorism was “unfocused” and war in Iraq “unnecessary.” Today, former Washington Post reporter Thomas Ricks writes that Steven Metz, chairman of a department at the Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, said that the school eventually had to censor itself because of pressure from the Pentagon:
In fact, he [Metz] explicitly blamed the strained relationship between the Army and its civilian overseers under then-Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “[A]t the time — with growing sensitivity to criticism by Rumsfeld and the Army’s attempt to make peace with Rumsfeld after Shinseki left — several members of SSI had been verbally flogged after interviews with you [Ricks] when the stories portrayed [sic] as more critical of the administration than we intended. We were worried about what might happen to SSI, even frightened for the organization. Many of us, including me, simply stopped doing interviews. Luckily, the climate eventually changed.”
Metz also said that he regrets what he did and instead should have been “more critical.” Ezra Klein writes that this incident helps make the case for academic tenure.
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15 Responses to “Army War College toned down its Iraq war criticism under pressure from Rumsfeld.”
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More proof that Donald Rumsfeld is a war criminal!!
January 7th, 2009 at 5:31 pmIs there no limit to the depths of hubris of the Bush/Cheney administration? I have no idea how these people actually justify what they have done.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:47 pmArmy War College toned down its Iraq war criticism under pressure from Rumsfeld.»
- - In my country, we call this an absolute, complete, overwhelming, comprehensive, thorough, sweeping, universal, total, global and panoramic lack of responsibility.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:49 pmYeah, God forbid they should piss Rummy off.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:54 pmHere now is another chapter in the 'fixing the facts around the policy' that will be a part of The Bush Legacy. Rumsfeld says 'keep your mouth shut if you know what is good for you.' The Bush Crime Family are like the mob, except, sometimes a mobster goes to jail.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:03 pmNothing like being scared off by an administration. And what does that say about the courage of a war college. Nothing like handling the pressure and doing the right thing no matter what.
Politicized Pentagon. Politicized every department of the US government. Truly the inmates have been running the whole asylum. Sorry I mean the US for the past eight years.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:33 pmOld rummy pissed off??
January 7th, 2009 at 7:10 pmId rather he be pissed on
like he did to all those troops the bush/cheney admin pretended to support
As you know, ah, you go to war with the Sec. of Defense you have---not the Sec. of Defense you might want or wish to have at a later time.---You can have all the armor in the world on a tank and it can (still) be blown up...
January 7th, 2009 at 7:47 pmThrow the war criminal, Rumsfeld in jail.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:49 pmIf Metz had been "more critical" he wouldn't still be working there.
dixie blood Says:
More proof that Donald Rumsfeld is a war criminal!!
This isn't relevant to any kind of war crime. It's just censorship of academia. If you want Rumsfeld to go to prison for war crimes, then it's important to specify precisely what are and what are not, war crimes.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:18 pmNot only the Army, but the Congress is butt-kissing someone other than Americans
Dems plan pro-Israel resolution
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/01/06/1002014/dems-plan-pro-israel-resolution
January 7th, 2009 at 10:26 pmOn YOUTUBE there is an interview with Chalmers Johnson.
THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPRIRE. He wrote 'Blowback', 'Sorrows of an Empire' and "Nemesis".
It is worthed having a look. Besides a very pleasant and charming presence this gentleman has, everything he said in 2003 is relevant to today!
January 7th, 2009 at 11:06 pmI mentioned the above, becasue he warned about media control. Long before it was revealeed the the Pentagon was using PROPAGANDA inside America(US).
January 7th, 2009 at 11:08 pmWTF is an Army War College. I thought the word 'college' was synonomous with higher learning, enlightenment. Army, War is death and destruction
January 8th, 2009 at 3:24 pmLTdan Says:
war criticism is just another word for blind anti - American hatred.
Okay, so if we accept this statement for the sake of argument, it follows that being "pro-American" and patriotic would mean we have to support the war uncritically. So what are you doing to support the war effort, LTdan? Are you in the armed services? Or do you figure just cheerleading is enough, you don't have to risk actually risk life and limb?
As a longtime supporter of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, I urge you to take a look at what actual soldiers have to say about criticizing the war: http://iava.org/blog/11126. these are the people who were actually getting their asses shot at over there in Iraq.
January 10th, 2009 at 7:14 pm