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 Rummy's Agenda
The Defense Secretary faces challenges both overseas and in his own Pentagon
Map: Choosing Sides
Where key players in the Mideast stand if the U.S. declares war against Iraq
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E-mail your letter to the editor
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CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP
MEDIA BRIEFING: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld speaks to the media in front of a B-2 stealth bomber |
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| Pentagon Warlord |
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Donald Rumsfeld's secret plan to defeat Saddam relies on special forces, a new high-tech weapon and a defense secretary involved in every detail
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By MARK THOMPSON and MICHAEL DUFFY | Washington |
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Posted Sunday, January 19, 2003; 10:31 a.m. EST
Nearly every day now, working from the stand-up desk in his spacious
Pentagon E-Ring office, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pores over
a secret document known only to a tight circle of U.S. officials:
Deployment Order No. 177. Although it might sound like a one-pager
that needs only a quick review, No. 177 is a series of documents,
each 10 to 20 pages long, detailing exactly when, how and where Army
and Marine battalions, Navy carrier groups and Air Force fighter
wings are to be shipped overseas or redeployed for war in Iraq.
Pentagon officials say orders such as No. 177 are normally reviewed
thoroughly in advance and fly across a Defense chief's desk. But with
every step America takes toward war with Iraq, which could be as
little as a month off, Rumsfeld is doing things his own meticulous
way. Over the past few weeks, he has been holding up deployment
papers at the last minute, demanding answers and explanations about
which units are going where, why. He has been running similar drills
for months on the generals and admirals, reworking the plans to
invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein. General Tommy Franks, the
Army four-star who would run the war as head of U.S. Central Command,
actually prepared the plan. But as a Pentagon officer points out,
"That misses
the point. Franks may be the draftsman, but Rumsfeld's the
architect."
As America prepares for a war that would require 25 times the number
of troops deployed to fight the Taliban, Rumsfeld, 70, is on the line
as never before in a long and storied career. Afghanistan was a
highly unconventional war that relied in part on CIA agents carrying
bags of cash to buy the loyalty of anti-Taliban fighters. But taking
out Saddam would mean an old-fashioned kind of conflict, with
thousands of Marines and G.I.s carrying rifles and grenades. A war,
if it comes, would be Rumsfeld's legacy. Win or lose, this would be
Rumsfeld's war.
Ever since Rumsfeld became something of a matinee idol with his daily
war briefings, his relationship with the military he leads has become
more complicated. Between his easy smile and his shiny little
eyeglasses, he is vaguely reminiscent of F.D.R. and is brimming with
the same sort of spooky confidence. His clipped, no-nonsense
manner—leavened with plenty of "good gollies" and "dadburnits" (and
a helping of time-honored doubletalk)—cut the press down to size
during the Afghan war, scored high in the polls and turned the man
who has the distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest
person ever to hold the title of Secretary of Defense into a
celebrity who is featured in the pages of Vanity Fair and skits on
Saturday Night Live.
In the foxholes, Rumsfeld's take-no-prisoners bravura plays well with
the soldiers who would be doing the fighting in Iraq. "We do what
we're told to do," says a Marine commander, "but confidence is
important to us." As you move up the ranks to the men who are
supposed to be scripting this fight, however, not everyone is
convinced that Rumsfeld should be managing it down to the last dog
tag. Retired Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, who led the first Gulf
War, says he is "nervous" about the control Rumsfeld is exercising
over the buildup. "It looks like Rumsfeld is totally, 100%, in
charge," says Schwarzkopf. "He seems to be deeply immersed in the
operational planning—to the chagrin of most of the armed forces."
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WORLD
On Saddam's Shaky Frontline
Letter from Baghdad: TIME's Meenakshi Ganguly finds Iraq's southern border sparsely defended, and Iraqis fatalistic about war
HEALTH
Your Mind, Your Body
Doctors and scientists are learning how emotions are connected to our
physical health
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PHOTO ESSAY
When a House is Not a Home
The story of one working family's struggle for self-sufficiency, dignity — and a place to call their own
TECHNOLOGY
10 Great Gadgets for 2003
Take a glimpse at the coolest gadgets coming out this year
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