Three retired military officers who served in Iraq called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Monday. This is retired Major General John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq.

• Maj. Gen. John Batiste: “Donald Rumsfeld is not a competent war-time leader. He knows everything except how to win. He surrounds himself with like-minded and compliant s subordinates who do not grasp the importance of the principles of war, the complexities of Iraq or the human dimension of warfare… Bottom line is, his plan allowed the insurgency to take root and metastasized to where it is today.”

General Batiste went on to say that the Iraq war has fueled Islamic fundamentalism across the globe and created more enemies for the United States. Retired Major General Paul Eaton also testified on Monday and called for Rumsfeld’s resignation.

• Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton: “The President is not well served by his Secretary of Defense, a man history will not treat kindly. So what to do? Replace the Secretary of Defense with a proven leader who has a vision to get the country’s defense establishment back on track. The army is in terrible shape, the marines are not much better. A Secretary who understands how to build alliances at home and abroad, who understands the operational art and understands the contemporary environment we live in.”