Rumsfeld issues call for courage

Dick Foster And Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 1, 2006 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

COLORADO SPRINGS - Air Force Academy graduates will be called upon to fight the global war on terrorism using the same talents and ingenuity that earned them a place at the prestigious academy, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told the Class of 2006 on Wednesday.

Speaking at their commencement exercise at Falcon Stadium, Rumsfeld said the 879 graduates must carry on a tradition of innovation and courage to meet the nation's newest enemies and challenges.

"Today, our country faces threats unlike any we have known. Extremists are trying to terrorize and intimidate free people into submitting to their will," Rumsfeld said.

"Their war is more than a contest between opposing sides or societies. These extremists are waging war against society itself, with only two outcomes in mind: control us or destroy us," Rumsfeld said.

But Bill Sulzman, one of three dozen anti-war protesters at the north gate of the academy, said Rumsfeld had misidentified the extremists.

"There's the modern war on terrorism," said Sulzman, gesturing to the security force that outnumbered the protesters.

On a hill behind them, four mounted police officers watched. Across the street, officers in patrol cars trained their binoculars on the protesters. Armed guards in camouflage and bulletproof vests stood nearby.

The protesters carried signs that said, "Send Rumsfeld to Abu Ghraib" and "Because Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney lied, 2,468 of our children have died."

Some families of cadets told the protesters to move to Mexico or Canada. Many offered the single-finger salute of contempt. But others held up two fingers for peace or proffered a thumbs-up.

In his address, Rumsfeld invoked the spirit of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II, who made a raid on Tokyo flying heavy, land-based bombers off the deck of an aircraft carrier. The new cadets will be asked to find the same kind of determination, Rumsfeld said.

He described the work of U.S. Special Operations forces in the early days of the Afghanistan war in 2001, who were riding missions on horseback against the Taliban and al-Qaida in the treacherous terrain of that country.

"Some of those forces operating in Afghanistan were combat controllers from the Air Force. Those airmen likely thought they would have sooner found themselves riding jets rather than horses," he said.

"Your charge will be to challenge inherited assumptions and cherished habits and seek out better approaches," he said. "I urge you to make that the bedrock of your career."

Cadets celebrated their day with big cigars, back slapping and embraces as the Thunderbirds precision flying team roared overhead. But even in their elation, most had taken Rumsfeld's words to heart.

"Like he said, it's a big responsibility," said Michael Napolitano, of Riverside, Calif., who will begin pilot's school in Texas. "Everybody who graduates from here has got to be up to the challenge."

Sandra Rashash stood in her Air Force cadet uniform flanked by two Marine sergeants in their dark dress blues.

"I definitely wanted to help out after Sept. 11. I wanted to be able to do something, and I was dead set on coming here after that," she said.

The Marines were her brother, Sgt. Alex Rashash, and a friend, Gunnery Sgt. John Carlsson, both Iraq war veterans who had traveled from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to attend Sandra's graduation.

"My dad was in the Marine Corps, too," she said. "But I want to fly planes." She'll go to pilot training to fly helicopters.

Rumsfeld, after shaking each graduate's hand, went to Peterson Air Force Base and met with reporters.

Ending the war in Iraq "is not a military problem," he said. Instead, stopping the insurgency is "political, economic, law enforcement and military."

Historically, insurgencies may take "eight, 10, 12, 13 years" to end. But they don't end with a battle, he said. "They end when the population is so supportive of the government and feels that they have the right, an opportunity, to participate" and "they get fed up" with all the women and children getting killed.

Rumsfeld also admitted that "it's unnatural to have foreign forces in a country. To the extent that you have too many, you can feed an insurgency."

"To the extent that you have too few, political progress can't go forward. Economic progress can't go forward."

The Pentagon chief said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki intends "to fashion a reconciliation process," and he praised this plan. "That will be important in taking some of the sting out of the insurgency."

Asked what he would say to the people of Colorado Springs who have sent so many people to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rumsfeld said, "Thank you very much for volunteering. The country is deeply in your debt."

While in Colorado Springs, Rumsfeld was briefed at the Northern Command about its plans to react to a disaster, whether natural or not, on the eve of the hurricane season.

fosterd@RockyMountainNews.com or 719-633-4442

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News