Lawrence Di Rita on Rumsfeld & Army on National Review Online

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MWQyMmUzZDk4MGYzN2RjMDAzNDdiM2UxYTliNmFkOGM=&w=MA==

Sen. John McCain has run against "Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon" in a fashion reminiscent of Bill Clinton's use of a short recession in 1991 to paint the entire Reagan era as a failure.

But whoever occupies the Oval Office after next January will have benefited immeasurably from the tough, even controversial decisions by Rumsfeld that led to many of the capabilities we see in Iraq — and Afghanistan — today. In particular, two widely criticized decisions within the first two years of the Bush administration — canceling an out-moded and costly (but politically popular) weapon system and naming a retired four-star general to become the first Army Chief of Staff with roots deep in the special-operations community — helped accelerate the Army's transformation.

Also, the expansion in the numbers and capabilities of U.S. Special Forces and their centrality to key achievements in Iraq had no stronger push behind it than from Rumsfeld; ditto with the growing use of increasingly capable unmanned aircraft by the Air Force.