Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation last week was met with relief by many Americans who felt the defense secretary had mishandled Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Post asked three experts to weigh in on Rumsfeld’s legacy – while offering successor Robert Gates some pointers.
* Barry McCaffrey, retired U.S. Army general:
Going forward, we can’t sustain our military presence there much past Christmas. We must scale back from 17 to maybe 10 brigades while adequately equipping Iraqi security forces to patrol on their own.
* Joseph Hoar, former commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command:
Bush and Gates should press Iraq to disband its insurgent groups, rather than expect U.S.
forces to accomplish that.
The most we can hope for in the coming year is a somewhat stable Iraqi government that stays out of its neighbors’ affairs – like Beirut in the ’80s.
* Larry Korb, former assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan:
Before he does anything, Gates must have an exit strategy – which Rumsfeld never did. Part of it should be to announce that the U.S. is getting out of Iraq in 18 months.
Up to now, most militia groups felt we’d be there forever – making them more aggressive.
And we shouldn’t fear that al Qaeda will take over. There are only about 5,000 of them in Iraq now – where they’re not wanted. They’ll surely be forced out when the United States leaves.