What did the soldiers say about Rummy last summer?
Last summer shortly after the end of major combat operations some 
Army soldiers were interviewed on TV (by ABC-News Jeffrey Kofman?) and
they were sounding off about the Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and
that he should resign.  General Abizaid had just taken command of
Centcom and in his first press conference (where he courageously
broached the term "guerrilla war") he said that no one who wears the
uniform  can
criticize the chain of command/commander (words to that effect).

So, what *was* their beef? What exactly were they teed-off about,
besides having their tour/posting extended?
Did they get a court-martial or other sanction?

---

Request for Question Clarification by rainbow-ga on 01 Jun 2004 22:18 PDT

Hi grthumongous,

I have located various news reports describing the interview with
excerpts of the soldiers' statements. Would links to these reports
suffice as an answer to your question?

Regards,
Rainbow

---

Clarification of Question by grthumongous-ga on 01 Jun 2004 22:33 PDT

Rainbow tilde
I cannot pre judge the candidate Answer or pronounce it sufficient
without being privy to the hidden treasure.
Remember the words of the Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart...

---

Clarification of Question by grthumongous-ga on 02 Jun 2004 01:57 PDT

rainbow tilde
it is sufficient for a four.  Please post as official.

Hi grthumongous,

Thank you for accepting my findings as an answer to your question.

I will repost my comment here for your convenience.

The following are excerpts of various reports related to the interview
with US soldiers by Jeffrey Kofman of ABC News:

"Sgt. Vega, in the interview with ABCNEWS' Jeffrey Kofman, said it was
not easy to maintain morale in his platoon when the Army keeps
changing the orders. "They turn around and slap you in the face," he
said. When asked if that's the way it feels, he said, "Yeah, kicked in
the guts, slapped in the face."
(...)
"Today, Abizaid said he had seen the interviews and was not happy.

"It's very unfortunate that soldiers, professional soldiers, made
comments like that," he said in his inaugural briefing at the Pentagon
after taking control of Central Command from Gen. Tommy Franks, who
retired. "Whatever action may be taken, whether it's a verbal
reprimand or something more stringent, is up to the commanders on the
scene."

Officially, a soldier could be court-martialed for making such
comments, although it is rare and is at the discretion of a commanding
officer."

ABC News: General Unrest
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq030716_Abizaid.html

=================================================

"...They were among the first troops in Baghdad during the war. And
now they've been in the region longer than other troops: 10 months and
counting.

They were told they'd be going home in May. Then in early July. Then
late July. Then last week they heard that Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld had mentioned them on Capitol Hill.

"The 2nd Brigade is ? the plan is that they would return in August,
having been there something like 10 months," said Rumsfeld.
(...)
"Now comes word from the Pentagon: Not so fast. 

The U.S. military command in Iraq said Tuesday it plans to complete
the withdrawal of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division by September, but
officials said they could make no hard promises because of the
unsettled state of security in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq."


ABC News: A Big Letdown
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq030716_2ndBrigade.html

=================================================

""It was the end of the world," said one officer Thursday. "It went
all the way up to President Bush and back down again on top of us. At
least six of us here will lose our careers."

First lesson for the troops, it seemed: Don't ever talk to the media
"on the record" -- that is, with your name attached -- unless you're
giving the sort of chin-forward, everything's-great message the
Pentagon loves to hear."

San Francisco Chronicle: Pentagon may punish GIs who spoke out on TV
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/07/18/MN248299.DTL


An interesting read:
Not In Our Name
http://www.notinourname.net/gi-special/1-99/60.htm


Search criteria: 
soldiers interview angry rumsfeld
soldiers ABC interview angry rumsfeld july 2003
soldiers ABC interview "Jeffrey Kofman" rumsfeld july 2003


Best regards,
Rainbow

thanks.

Hi grthumongous,

I understand how you may not know if my findings suffice as an answer
to your question. Therefore, I am posting them here and you can then
decide if they are sufficient. :)

The following are excerpts of various reports related to the interview
with US soldiers by Jeffrey Kofman of ABC News:

"Sgt. Vega, in the interview with ABCNEWS' Jeffrey Kofman, said it was
not easy to maintain morale in his platoon when the Army keeps
changing the orders. "They turn around and slap you in the face," he
said. When asked if that's the way it feels, he said, "Yeah, kicked in
the guts, slapped in the face."
(...)
"Today, Abizaid said he had seen the interviews and was not happy.

"It's very unfortunate that soldiers, professional soldiers, made
comments like that," he said in his inaugural briefing at the Pentagon
after taking control of Central Command from Gen. Tommy Franks, who
retired. "Whatever action may be taken, whether it's a verbal
reprimand or something more stringent, is up to the commanders on the
scene."

Officially, a soldier could be court-martialed for making such
comments, although it is rare and is at the discretion of a commanding
officer."

ABC News: General Unrest
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq030716_Abizaid.html

=================================================

"...They were among the first troops in Baghdad during the war. And
now they've been in the region longer than other troops: 10 months and
counting.

They were told they'd be going home in May. Then in early July. Then
late July. Then last week they heard that Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld had mentioned them on Capitol Hill.

"The 2nd Brigade is ? the plan is that they would return in August,
having been there something like 10 months," said Rumsfeld.
(...)
"Now comes word from the Pentagon: Not so fast. 

The U.S. military command in Iraq said Tuesday it plans to complete
the withdrawal of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division by September, but
officials said they could make no hard promises because of the
unsettled state of security in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq."


ABC News: A Big Letdown
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq030716_2ndBrigade.html

=================================================

""It was the end of the world," said one officer Thursday. "It went
all the way up to President Bush and back down again on top of us. At
least six of us here will lose our careers."

First lesson for the troops, it seemed: Don't ever talk to the media
"on the record" -- that is, with your name attached -- unless you're
giving the sort of chin-forward, everything's-great message the
Pentagon loves to hear."

San Francisco Chronicle: Pentagon may punish GIs who spoke out on TV
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/07/18/MN248299.DTL


An interesting read:
Not In Our Name
http://www.notinourname.net/gi-special/1-99/60.htm


Best regards,
Rainbow

grthumongous...

Here's another interesting read from The Guardian:
"Donald Rumsfeld has a new war on his hands - the US officer corps
 has turned on the government"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1215562,00.html

Sublime1,
you found a terrific link. 
It included reference to the Colonel Dunlap essay which won in 1992
for its thought-provoking hypothetical scenario.
Here is the essay (hopefully authentic and unabridged) 

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/1992/dunlap.htm

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/research_pubs/p087.pdf

It is in two formats.

Lest this comment be misunderstood as alarmist it is noted that 
Colonel Dunlap himself stated on PBS in 1999 
that a Pakistan-like coup in US was highly unlikely.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/november99/civil_military6.html