Reid says recent calls for Rumsfeld's ouster aimed at Bush

By: TOM GARDNER - Associated Press Writer | Monday, April 17, 2006 8:15 PM PDT ∞

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Recent calls by a half-dozen retired generals for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's ouster probably are aimed as much at President Bush as at the Pentagon boss, Sen. Harry Reid said Monday.

"It's a question of Secretary Rumsfeld that I think is more a question of leadership from the president," said Reid, D-Nev..

The retired generals have categorized Rumsfeld as a micromanager who did not listen to military leaders about the conduct of the war in Iraq. Some suggested that intimidation by Rumsfeld might have discouraged officers from disagreeing even when they felt policies were flawed.

"These are generals -- not some nay-sayers. I think the president should listen," Reid said.

Bush rebuffed the recommendations Friday, saying Rumsfeld's stewardship at the Pentagon was crucial for the United States.

"He has my full support," Bush said.

Retired Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, who headed the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2001 until last fall, denied that military leaders failed to speak up when they disagreed with Rumsfeld and Bush.

"We gave him our best military advice and I think that's what we're obligated to do," Myers said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

Rumsfeld, meanwhile, told a national radio audience Monday that he expected the controversy to fade.

"Well, you know, this, too, will pass," he said on Rush Limbaugh's nationally syndicated talk show.

Rumsfeld said such attacks can backfire.

"I think about it and I must say there's always two sides to these things, and the sharper the criticism comes, sometimes the sharper the defense comes from people who don't agree with the critics," he said.

Reid, who is in Nevada during the congressional recess, said calls for Rumsfeld's ouster are nothing new, but he believes the latest salvo is aimed more at the president.

"President Bush and (Vice President) Dick Cheney are two of the most isolated individuals I know," the Senate Democratic leader said.

"I come back to Nevada to meet with people and hear what they're thinking.

"President Reagan was shot when he was out meeting people. President Clinton would walk through crowds. This man's father was outgoing," Reid said. "If Bush appears in public, people in the crowd are all screened. If they have an anti-Bush T-shirt, they don't get in. I think the president is totally isolated."