Here in the United States, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has joined the growing chorus of lawmakers and former military officials calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Clinton made the announcement Thursday just hours after she questioned Rumsfeld as he testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

• Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton: “Under your leadership there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a full fledged insurgency and full blow sectarian conflict in Iraq. Now, whether you label it a civil war or not it is a situation that has created extreme violence and continuing loss among our troops and the Iraqis.”

• U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: “I have never painted a rosy picture. I have been very measured in my words and you would have dickens of a time showing where I have been excessively optimistic. Understand this is tough stuff.”