General Batiste Speaks Out Again

Think Progress has a post on General Batiste's assessment of Rumsfeld and Iraq on CNN:

Today on CNN Late Edition, retired Army General John Batiste said there was a “direct link” between allegations of serious misconduct against Iraqi civilians at Haditha and the “bad judgment” of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2003 and 2004. Batiste explained that Rumsfeld’s war plan left troops “under-resourced [and] overcommitted.” The result was an “unbelievable” strain on U.S. forces.

After five years on the job, Donald Rumsfeld has nothing to show for his efforts; President Bush has backed a man who has repeatedly demonstrated that he is incompetent, arrogant and ideologically blind. In 2002 and 2003, Rumsfeld spent more time fighting with other administration figures to gain more power for himself than he did developing a plan for what to do after the fall of Baghdad. The State Department actually had a plan but it was shredded by Rumsfeld for reasons he still has not explained. Recently, Rumsfeld was once again caught lying about his statements in 2003 when he said he knew where Iraq's WMDs were. The fact that Bush continues to back Rumsfeld is one of the true mysteries of his presidency.