Not a team player

John McCain continues to denigrate Rumsfeld and demand that more troops be sent to Iraq. Pentagon spokeman Larry Di Rita repeats the, by now, well worn answer that Rumsfeld has "relied upon the judgment of the military commanders to determine what force levels are appropriate for the situation at hand".

I continue to be amazed that McCain (and many other Congresspersons) can't seem to get it. The biggest problem of the Vietnam War was the constant meddling of Congress in the decisions that military leadership should be making without that interference. If McCain is so completely convinced that he's right and the guys on the ground are wrong, then let him put his uniform back on and go run the damn thing. We spend a lot of tax dollars to train these guys in warfare tactics, troop management, logistics and many other disciplines. What do we waste all this money for if we can't rely on them to make the right decisions?

Both Bush and Rumsfeld have repeatedly, numerous times!, stated that they are relying on the commanders in the field to tell them when they need more troops. Why is this so hard to understand? If the commanders are wrong, then call them on the carpet, but whether they are wrong or not, what McCain is asking Rumsfeld to do is override those commanders and shove troops down their throats against their wishes. How the heck is that going to help?

McCain wants to run for President in 2008. He won't get my vote if he keeps this up. We need a President who trusts the men whom he's chosen to lead the military. Micromanagement failed in Vietnam, and it will fail everywhere it is tried. The military simply doesn't work that way (nor does anything else for that matter.) Why, oh why can't he understand this?