Letter: Basic tenets of war escaped Rumsfeld

Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007 | 7:33 a.m.

Donald Rumsfeld received into his care, and under his command as defense secretary, the strongest, most high-tech and diversified military ever known. This new generation of forces was built from lessons of the 20th century, think tanks, simulated and actual war games, thoughtful expenditures, and agreements within our trained and experienced senior officers.

Lessons included such items as the attack upon Pearl Harbor, ground battles of the Axis with Russia and General Rommel in Africa, plus the breach of the Maginot Line. Resulting axioms included: avoid entry into a ground war with heavily populated countries, hit the enemy hard with a superior and sustained force until completion of all action, diversify our military and its infrastructure to guarantee its survival, and fully maintain the superiority of American troops for instant mechanized battle.

Many believe that Rumsfeld has placed the USA into grave potential danger through trashing the lessons of the 20th century and his "downsizing of the military." He consolidated our dispersed military bases and infrastructure into several vulnerable areas and transformed the National Guard by diverting it from state governors' discretionary use during possible emergency.

The contrived Iraq war boondoggle was Rumsfeld's finality. He should never have been allowed to implement his own exit strategy. Instead of a court martial seeking culpability for treason, he was quietly removed from command under less than honorable conditions.

Richard E. Law, Las Vegas