I like Donald Rumsfeld.

I think he’s a very smart guy who has been doing a great job as Defense Secretary. I like the direction he’s taking the american military (towards being more agile, and exploiting our technological superiority to maximum advantage). I think he really gets the War on Terror.

I’m pleased that Bush seems to be standingby him in spite of all of the calls for Rumsfeld to go because of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

The only thing that Rumsfeld might have done wrong was to fail to apprise Bush of the situation if he knew of the photos (which were likely to cause a political situation if released). On the other hand, I’m sure that there are many things that Rumsfeld knows that Bush doesn’t want to know about the war, but might want to have known tomorrow if things go badly. So, it’s not always a trivial call. Otherwise, Rumsfeld and the entire military establishment seem to have responded to this problem very well.

The people I hear calling for Rumsfeld’s dismissal or resignation are people who wanted him gone anyway and are using this issue for their own political motives. They hate Paul Wolfowitz too, and I’m hearing many say that Rumsfeld and his deputies must go. They’re trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz are the best things about this administration, and I really hope they survive this episode.

For all of our sakes.