Actually, it [firing Rumsfeld] would be the absolute wrong thing to do now, anyway, given, as has been noted, the damage that would be done to civilian rule. ~Dan Thomasson, Scripps-Howard

Let me see if I follow Mr. Thomasson here: even though the generals’ criticisms may be perfectly accurate, and even though the generals here are retired, it would be damaging to civilian rule for the President to remove his Secretary of Defense and select another one? At what point can the President accept the advice of retired military officers, including that given in public, without damaging “civilian rule,” if even this scenario is considered damaging?