The Honorable
Donald Rumsfeld,
Secretary of Defense

Personally, I am a big fan of Secretary Rumsfeld. His is a long list of accomplishments, and he serves well as our military's highest civilian authority during time of war.

Do a Google search of "Rumsfeld" and you will find all manner of stories, videos, columns, etc. about our 21st Secretary of Defense. Some are flattering, some are matter-of-fact news, but a great many of these Google "hits" come from the goofy fringe of conspiracy theorists, "Bush lied" polemicists, and other purveyors of moonbattery and craziness. The Humble Patriot has no wish to give credence to the leftist masses by replying to their dubious claims. Instead, I present some facts about Secretary Rumsfeld and my gentle readers can come to their own conclusions.

- He was born in 1932. In addition to his current service as the 21st Secretary of Defense, he served as the 13th Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford, making him both the youngest and the oldest person to have served in the role.

- Secretary Rumsfeld is an Eagle Scout.

- He served as an active duty Navy officer from 1954-1957, and continued as a drilling reservist until 1975 and retired as a captain.

- Secretary Rumsfeld worked at investment bank A. G. Becker for two years

- At the age of 30 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the 13th District in Illinois, and he won re-election by large majorities in 1964, 1966, and 1968.

- Secretary Rumsfeld served in the Nixon administration as the Director of the United States Office of Economic Opportunity, Assistant to the President, Counselor to the President, and Director of the Economic Stabilization Program.

- He served as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

- Before serving as Secretary of Defense in the Ford administration, Secretary Rumsfeld held posts as transition chairman and White House Chief of Staff.

- From 1977 to 1985 he served as CEO, President, and then Chairman of pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle & Company, which is now part of Pfizer.

- From 1985 to 2001, Secretary Rumsfeld held a number of positions in both the private and public sectors, including Chairman and CEO of General Instrument Corporation, Chairman of the RAND Corporation, President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Chairman of Gilead Sciences, Honorary Vice-Chancellor of Yale University, and Chairman Emeritus of the Carlyle Group.

Secretary Rumsfeld is certainly an accomplished man. Although I have no doubt that some of his critics (I'm thinking about retired flag officers, not the moonbats) have raised legitimate concerns over some of his decisions, those critics are all speaking from the advantage of hindsight. Clearly, serving as the Secretary of Defense during the Global War on Terror is no simple task.

I love the way Secretary Rumsfeld handles reporters during his press conference. They ask him the most ridiculous questions! If the reporters had their way, the Secretary would spill all the secrets in the Pentagon, with no thought given to the effects on the troops in the field or the advantage lost by our country. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Secretary Rumsfeld's press conferences:

"Our task, your task... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction."

"Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin's still learning."

"I can't think of anything funnier than a handful of congressmen walking around (Iraq). They'd have to be there for the next 50 years trying to find something. It's a joke."

Q: Mr. Secretary, at the White House last night, a senior White House official after the president spoke said that the decision to make the strike was made some time between 6:30 and 7:00 Eastern time. It's apparent that that decision to strike was not in line with what we have been led to believe about the war plan. Was the intelligence you got fragile enough where you felt you had to go at that moment and not start with, say, shock and awe or some other phase of the war?
A: "Well, Dick, calibrate me, but the first thing I'd say is I don't believe you have the war plan, a fact which does not make me unhappy."

"We aren't running out of targets; Afghanistan is."

Q: "What about the -- [inaudible] for the public who -- you know, beyond the criticism from human rights organizations for using the cluster bombs, they're calling for a halt -- could you explain the tactical rationale for using them?"
A: "They are being used on front-line al-Qaeda and Taliban troops to try to kill them, is why we're using them, to be perfectly blunt."

"Beware when any idea is promoted primarily because it is "bold, exciting, innovative, and new." There are many ideas that are "bold, exciting, innovative and new," but also foolish."

Q: "Secretary Rumsfeld, can you give us -- or maybe even General Pace -- can you give us any idea of what's happening..."
A: "What do you mean 'even General Pace'? (Laughter) (To the general) You don't have to take that from him!"

"I mean, let's face it. They weren't exactly baking cookies in those caves."

Mr. Secretary, thank you for your service to the United States.