Since he first went public with his opposition to former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld last spring, “I’ve had nothing but absolute support” from his colleagues inside the military, Batiste told NEWSWEEK. “No one has objected.” He said he had sent his complaints about too few troops and resources in Iraq “up the chain of command.” But Raymond DuBois, former top assist-ant to Rumsfeld, says that Batiste, while he was serving, never registered his unhappiness about Iraq directly with either Rumsfeld or the then Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. DuBois says the military must “speak truth” to its civilian commanders—“not impertinently, not with disdain, but you have an obligation.” Scarred by Iraq, the military is less and less shy about speaking out.
