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View Full Version : Rumsfeld Nemesis Shinseki Named VA Secretary



Psychoblues
12-09-2008, 02:21 AM
You all remember General Shinseki, don't you? He's the one that encouraged the occupational surge (approximately 200,000) in Iraq immediately post invasion and was immediately fired for the suggestion!!!!!!!!!! I wonder how many of the precious lives of our troops would have been saved had his advice been given due credence and he had been allowed to do as his training so enabled him,,,,,,Lead Our Forces In Time Of War?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!?

Whatever, I don't say that lightly, he will now be responsible for the care and treatment of our Veterans as they return from whatever in hell they are returning from. I think President Obama made an excellent choice!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dec 7, 2008 11:18 am US/Pacific

WASHINGTON (AP)

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, turning to a former Army chief of staff once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy.

Obama announced the selection of Shinseki, the first Army four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry, at a news conference Sunday in Chicago. He is the first Asian-American to hold the post of Veterans Affairs secretary, adding to the growing diversity of Obama's Cabinet.

"I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home," Obama said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press."

NBC released a transcript of the interview after The Associated Press reported that Shinseki was Obama's pick.

Shinseki's tenure as Army chief of staff from 1999 to 2003 was marked by constant tensions with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, which boiled over in 2003 when Shinseki testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion.

Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, belittled the estimate as "wildly off the mark" and the army general was forced out within months. But Shinseki's words proved prophetic after President George W. Bush in early 2007 announced a "surge" of additional troops to Iraq after miscalculating the numbers needed to stem sectarian violence.

Obama said he selected Shinseki for the VA post because he "was right" in predicting that the U.S. will need more troops in Iraq than Rumsfeld believed at the time.

"When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and, I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served -- higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate -- it breaks my heart," Obama told NBC.

Shinseki, 66, will take the helm of the government's second largest agency, which has been roundly criticized during the Bush administration for underestimating the amount of funding needed to treat thousands of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thousands of veterans currently endure six-month waits for receiving disability benefits, despite promises by current VA Secretary James Peake and his predecessor, Jim Nicholson, to reduce delays. The department also is scrambling to upgrade government technology systems before new legislation providing for millions of dollars in new GI benefits takes effect next August.

Obama's choice of Shinseki, who grew up in Hawaii, is the latest indication that the president-elect is making good on his pledge to have a diverse Cabinet.

In Obama's eight Cabinet announcements so far, white men are the minority with two nominations -- Timothy Geithner at Treasury and Robert Gates at Defense. Three are women -- Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Hillary Rodham Clinton at State. Eric Holder at the Justice Department is African American, while Bill Richardson at Commerce is Latino.

Shinseki is a recipient of two Purple Hearts for life-threatening injuries in Vietnam.

Upon leaving his post in June 2003, Shinseki in his farewell speech sternly warned against arrogance in leadership.

"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader," he said. "You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance."

Shinseki also left with the warning: "Beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army."

More: http://cbs13.com/campaign08/obama.taps.shinseki.2.881494.html


Some of the toughest troops I ever had the pleasure to know were also Hawaiians!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


:beer::cheers2::beer:

Psychoblues

Psychoblues
12-09-2008, 04:19 AM
Here is an article by Paul Riechoff, the Executive Director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and he seems to be completely supportive of the Shinseki nomination by President Barack Obama:

Shinseki For VA Secretary: A Bold Choice

During the campaign, President-elect Obama promised to make veterans' issues a priority if elected. While campaign promises are a dime a dozen, I sincerely hoped that our veterans and their families could rest assured that the tremendous challenges they are currently facing would finally be addressed. One of the key first steps to tackling the critical issues of our newest generation of veterans was for the new Administration to appoint its choice for VA Secretary, and I've frequently called on President-elect Obama to do just that. Today, on the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I am pleased to announce that the President-elect has made a historic selection: General Eric Shinseki has been tapped to be the new Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

General Shinseki has a record of courage and honesty, and I believe he is a bold choice to lead the VA. As a wounded and decorated combat veteran and the first Asian American in U.S. History to be a four-star general, General Shinseki has the potential to be an effective and dedicated advocate for veterans of all generations. He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. IAVA looks forward to supporting him to implement the historic change that is needed at the VA.

But General Shinseki has a monumental task before him. One in five veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing serious mental health injuries like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression. Wounded veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, to receive disability benefits. The struggling U.S. economy is hitting new veterans especially hard. And the new GI Bill, which will make college affordable to every veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, must be implemented by August 2009. To address these issues will require real leadership that encourages active VA outreach and transparency. We recommend General Shinseki to move quickly to add Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to key positions in his senior staff.

So far, the new Administration has been saying the right things about veterans' issues. President-elect Obama has talked about eradicating homelessness among veterans, addressing the high unemployment rates, and making adequate mental health care available to our troops and veterans. Michelle Obama has also called military families one of the issues she cares most about. But we'll be watching carefully to make sure these campaign promises are kept. And we look forward to working closely with General Shinseki and the new Administration to ensure every veteran in this country gets the care and support they have earned...............................

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff/shinseki-for-va-secretary_b_149042.html

We'll see how this all works out. I don't think it can possibly be any worse than the last many years of Veteran abuse and negligence by the gwb administration.

:beer::cheers2::beer:

Psychoblues

trobinett
12-18-2008, 02:23 PM
All true Psychoblues, he's a good man, and should do well in his new position, good for the President elect Obama.:clap:

darin
12-18-2008, 03:25 PM
Shinseki is also one of the fathers of Army Transformation. :)

Psychoblues
12-18-2008, 10:09 PM
Wuz up, Trobby?!!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!



All true Psychoblues, he's a good man, and should do well in his new position, good for the President elect Obama.:clap:

Long time no see!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't be such a stranger around here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Gen. Shinseki will make an excellent advocate for veterans and I wish that he had been given more respect with his views on the war on Iraq.

Can I offer you a cold San Miquel?!?!?!?!?!?!??????!

:beer::cheers2::beer:

Psychoblues