Re: Vietnam...

Secretary of Defense McNamara made bad decisions in the mid-60's that resulted in escalation of troop levels and, subsequently, casualties. A few years ago, he went public with a mea culpa, apologizing for those decisions and saying he was wrong in the way he handled the military decisions.

Can you imagine Donald Rumsfeld admitting error in 20 years? I think not.

There is an increasing rumble among retired officers regarding the leadership in the Department of Defense -- active officers keep it to themselves.

Elections are next Tuesday. My expectation is that Rumsfeld is gone after the elections. If he isn't, the current administration is more intractable than I thought.