Rumsfeld the next scape goat?

A sixth former general joined the criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday, saying Rumsfeld should resign for mishandling the war in Iraq."We need a new secretary of Defense," retired major general Charles Swannack, former commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, said on CNN.

He said Rumsfeld had micromanaged the war.Retired major general John Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 agreed. He told USA TODAY on Thursday that Rumsfeld should step down because he ignored sound military advice about how to secure Iraq after Baghdad fell.

Batiste first criticized Rumsfeld in a speech last week."Sadly, we started something we weren't prepared to finish," Batiste said Thursday, adding that many senior officers shared his feelings on Rumsfeld.White House spokesman

Scott McClellan said that President Bush still "believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job." Remember when he said “you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie”

Swannack and Batiste are the latest additions to the retired generals who have criticized Rumsfeld. They include:• Marine lieutenant general Greg Newbold, the former Pentagon top operations officer, who called Iraq an "unnecessary war" in a Time magazine column this week.

• Major general Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training Iraqi troops in 2003 and 2004, wrote last month in The New York Times that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."Army major general John Riggs, who told The Washington Post that his former colleagues in the military believe Rumsfeld and his close aides "should be cleared out."

Marine general Anthony Zinni, the former command of U.S. Central Command and a longtime critic, said Rumsfeld should retire.

Despite Bush's support, such criticism could be enough to help force out Rumsfeld, said Loren Thompson, a military expert at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia think tank.

"It is so uncommon for senior military officers in the United States to criticize civilian leaders that it has to make an impression on the White House"Thompson said.

However, Kurt Campbell at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he doesn't "see any sign that the secretary is contemplating stepping down." and I wouldn't bet the farm on it.