Connecticut Delegation Reacts to Rumsfeld’s Resignation
RUMMYREACT
New London Day
Margaret Stevenson
Boston University Washington News Service
November 8, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 —In the aftermath of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation, Connecticut legislators are open to the “fresh perspective” President Bush hopes nominee Robert Gates will bring to the table but hesitate to pass early judgment.
“Today, the president finally acknowledged that we need new leadership at the Pentagon,” Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn .) said on Wednesday. “But it will take more than a personnel change to take our country in a new direction toward making America safer and respected again around the globe.”
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he is glad that the president is responding to the challenges the nation faces in Iraq by bringing in someone with a fresh perspective.
“I have said for some time that our country needs a new defense secretary,” Lieberman said. “Our policy in Iraq has been losing public support, and this allows us to open a new discussion with the American people, our military and our allies to find new approaches to getting the job done in Iraq quickly and in a way that does not compromise American security.”
Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.) could not be reached for comment because of the pending recount in his tight race against Joe Courtney in the 2nd district of Connecticut.
Lt. Col. John Whitford, spokesman for the Connecticut National Guard, said: “We are very grateful for Secretary Rumsfeld’s service. We will work hard with his successor to do what is right for our country. The National Guard will continue to fight the global war on terror both home and abroad with the newly elected leadership.”
Dodd said that the nation needs a fundamental shift in its Iraq policy as well as an effort on the part of the administration to repair the damage he says the policy has caused to the U.S. armed forces.
“Inexplicably, Secretary Rumsfeld had reportedly once again refused the Army’s top leaders’ requests to address this serious concern by funding the replacement and repair vehicles and equipment lost or worn out in combat,” Dodd said.
The senators were also cautiously positive about Gates, a former CIA chief.
“By all accounts Mr. Gates did a credible job as the director of the CIA,” Dodd said. “It is my hope that his past experience has sensitized him to the danger that politicized intelligence can pose to our nation’s national security and to the ability of our military commanders to understand and carry out the mission on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere as they seek to advance U.S. interests.”
Lieberman said he wished Rumsfeld well and thanked him for his service to the nation.
“Former CIA Chief Robert Gates is a very fine man with solid credentials in national security,” Lieberman said. “But I will withhold final judgment on the matter until we get through the hearings.”
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