Interview with General Batiste

General Batiste has been speaking before Congress and has repeatedly criticized the many blunders that have been made in Iraq, particularly by the incompetent Donald Rumsfeld. In fact, the general has been calling for Rumsfeld to be fired. Here's a new interview with the general the City News of Rochester, New York:

Retired Army Major General John Batiste has lived in Rochester for less than a year, but his outspoken criticism of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has quickly made him one of the area's most well-known residents.

Batiste, who moved to Rochester to join Klein Steel in November 2005, served in Iraq twice, most recently in 2004 and 2005, when he was commanding general of the First Infantry Division. He also served as an assistant to Paul Wolfowitz when Wolfowitz was deputy defense secretary.

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In an interview last week, Batiste said that Rumsfeld had "cherry-picked" intelligence to justify an invasion of Iraq. He said the public must prepare for a protracted war. And he charged that Congress has not held the Bush administration accountable for its conduct related to the war --- and that the public has not held Congress accountable.

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You have been speaking out on the Iraq War for about a year. What has changed in that period?

It has taken about six or seven months, but I think the biggest thing is that on Monday [September 25], for the very first time, our Congress is holding a committee hearing with people like me to start figuring out what is really going on in Iraq. I will be testifying in an open hearing.

This is huge. Up until this point, Congress has been silent. They have abrogated their oversight responsibilities. In previous conflicts --- World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam --- there were hundreds of committee meetings where our elected officials were delving into the facts, asking the tough questions: Why did we go? Did we go with enough capability? Are we spending the money in the proper way? I mean, there are a thousand questions that need to be asked.

This is a big step forward in understanding this war.

Read the rest. I appreciate that Batiste reminds people that in previous war there have been hundreds of committee meetings on the current war at that time. Congress has a responsibility to the American people to make sure the president has got it right. Good committee hearings almost always lead to improvements. No president is smart enough or wise enough to take everything into account. The Republicans who control Congress are failing the American people.