Word: rumsfeldism
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Person of the Week STAR WARRIOR? When U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld pledged to boost the Pentagon's space programs, citing America's ever-increasing dependency on satellites, he stopped short of calling for weapons in orbit. But critics fear his script for the future was inspired by George Lucas...
...surprisingly, China reacted most vehemently to the Bush-Rumsfeld speech, saying the U.S. "has violated the ABM Treaty, will destroy the balance of international security forces and could cause a new arms race." Beijing knows even the initially modest system proposed by Clinton--a fleet of 100 missiles designed to knock out as many as 25 warheads from the heavens--could render obsolete their 20 single-warhead, long-range missiles, which can reach the West Coast of America. Once that system is in place, Beijing's leverage with the U.S.--especially on the touchy topic of Taiwan--could be crippled...
...officials suggest that the only logical way around China's opposition is for Washington and Beijing to agree, at least tacitly, to allow China to have enough nukes to trump whatever missile shield the U.S. deploys. That won't endear Bush and Rumsfeld to G.O.P. conservatives, but Washington insists the shield is not aimed at China anyway. "They may even double the number" of their missiles aimed at the U.S., Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Other government arms experts believe a U.S. missile shield could trigger a tenfold increase in Chinese missiles aimed at the U.S. China...
...nearly enough to build Bush's system, which could top $200 billion. Military leaders fear their planes, tanks and ships would have greater utility against future threats than a missile shield. And Powell, reflecting his military background and his new post, is cooler to missile defense than the hawkish Rumsfeld...
...part, Rummy seems assured that he has the President's ear. At a recent weekend retreat to Camp David in the Maryland mountains, when the President and his entourage were headed off for a movie in the grounds' comfortable, couch-lined theater, Rumsfeld skipped the flick and thereby a chance to buddy up to the President. He shocked younger Bush aides by returning to his small cabin to catch up on some paperwork. Only the truly confident Washington player would have made such a choice...