Fog of War

I'm surprised I didn't hear about this story. It is generally accepted that Rumsfeld's resignation on November 8, 2006 was the Bush administration's response to the democrats taking control of Congress the day before. That's certainly how democrats spun the story. For example:

"Secretary Rumsfeld's war plans in Iraq have failed. The country is on a dangerous course, and the administration has finally recognised the need for drastic, immediate change," said Senator John Rockefeller, senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But perhaps the real reason was due to disagreement between Bush and Rumsfeld over Iraq strategy. A confidential November 6 memo by Rumsfeld suggesting troop withdrawal and a change of approach was leaked and published by the New York Times on December 3, 2006.

Some highlights:

In my view it is time for a major adjustment. Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough. Following is a range of options:...

Initiate a reverse embeds program, like the Korean Katusas, by putting one or more Iraqi soldiers with every U.S. and possibly Coalition squad, to improve our units’ language capabilities and cultural awareness and to give the Iraqis experience and training with professional U.S. troops...

Conduct an accelerated draw-down of U.S. bases. We have already reduced from 110 to 55 bases. Plan to get down to 10 to 15 bases by April 2007, and to 5 bases by July 2007...

Initiate an approach where U.S. forces provide security only for those provinces or cities that openly request U.S. help and that actively cooperate, with the stipulation being that unless they cooperate fully, U.S. forces would leave their province...

Begin modest withdrawals of U.S. and Coalition forces (start “taking our hand off the bicycle seat”), so Iraqis know they have to pull up their socks, step up and take responsibility for their country...

Here's the timeline I've been able to piece together: Nov 1 Bush announced he would stand by Rumsfeld for the length of his term. Nov 5 he meets with Gates in Texas (according to this article by right-winger Fred Barnes, this private meeting was without Rumsfeld's knowledge). Nov 6 is the above memo and also the date of Rumsfeld's letter of resignation. Nov 7 the election. Nov 8 Rumsfeld's resignation announced to the public.

The resignation takes effect on Dec 18, and a few weeks later the surge is announced.

I hope somebody does a documentary on Rumsfeld in 10 or 20 years time, like Fog of War (recommended if you haven't seen it).