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Rumsfield’s Apology no less than a “Finger” to the World May 10, 2004
It was bad enough that the brazen savagery of war was so starkly depicted across our television screens and front pages, this month. What made it worse was the fact that it was our own young, venerated American soldiers who were caught up in the bad behavior…demonstrating the worst of the U.S. military.
And, as these atrocious photos of abuse and degradation at the Abu Ghraib prison are being etched into our subconscious, the $64,000 question becomes: Who’s to blame? Who, in the end, is responsible for such un-American acts? Without a doubt, we have to begin at the top. And, as in most organizations, the buck has to stop at those with ultimate authority. In this case, those who hold ultimate authority over our soldiers; and serve as models of military honor and decorum.
General Donald Rumsfield and President George Bush are the holders of these dubious distinctions. And, it is because of the grave responsibilities these men hold, that the honorable and selfless thing to do at a time like this would be for General Rumsfield to offer his resignation, and for President George Bush to accept that resignation. Such an action would say much about these two men’s leadership, their contrition for an abominable wrong, and their concern for how the world perceives this great nation.
Both men have offered their heartfelt apologies to the American and Iraqi people. But, there is a time when “I’m sorry” just simply doesn’t cut the mustard. In fact, this oft-used phrase doesn’t even fit, here. The actions were far too horrific. The portraits painted of American militarism too damaging, the opportunity for damage to our long-term foreign relations, too great.
George Bush and Donald Rumsfield, like the rest of America and the world…were surely horrified by the senseless cruelty. And, both men surely feel some responsibility for the atrocities. But, the fact is, this goes beyond perfunctory internal investigations and reassignments of duty for the perpetrators. Not only crimes against humanity, but gross loss of trust for us as a nation is at stake, here. Yet, General Rumsfield’s testimony before the U.S. Congress was a dab of contrition mixed with the same blustering bravado that may have gotten us into this mess. The fact is, Mr. Rumsfield is who he is, and has never given us reason to believe he would change to please the American public. Besides, his role as America’s arrogant bully is sanctioned by the President, and from some poll accounts by most of the American people.
Many Americans, in fact, believe the General’s personality is a pre-requisite for building great and mighty nations…and, is unimpeachable in times of national crisis. Vice President Cheney went so far as to intimate that America should get over it; watch from the sidelines, and stay out of the business of war while Mr. Rumsfield does what he does best.
Well, maybe. But, it is not just America watching, these days. The world is taking notice of what is happening under Mr. Rumsfield’s watch. The world is now asking questions, and taking note of the mixed messages America is sending, - of, what we want for the rest of the world, and what we demand of our own. The world, in fact, is pondering, if America’s leadership might be sending subliminal messages to our military, in some surreal sense, encouraging and condoning such atrocities, at the same time we seek world peace, and preach the benefits of a democratic society and government? It is these possible mixed messages that we remind us of the reasons offered for waging this war in the first place. In the end, our law makers and foreign policy leaders…and, yes, our President; might ask themselves these questions: How many years of progresses in peace and democracy has this month’s portrait unveilings undone? Could Donald Rumsfield’s arrogance in the midst of such un-American atrocities be construed as an apple-pie lobbed into the faces of the American people, and the world? And, whether, his strident reduction of America’s outrage, to mere politics is the same as a finger to those – at home and abroad – who question his leadership?
Donald Rumsfield should do the right thing. He should resign…because it is the right thing to do, and because it will bring America closer to healing from within, and a step closer to a world of peace and democracy both he, and President Bush claim to seek. Janis F. Kearney is a Chicago writer, former journalist and diarist to President Bill Clinton. A Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, she is currently completing William Jefferson Clinton from Hope to Harlem; and a personal memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams.
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