Paul Eaton
Paul Eaton is Senior Advisor to the National Security Network and a retired major general, U.S. Army.
His penultimate military assignment was training Iraqi security forces as Commanding General of the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team (CMATT), and then was assigned to a senior staff position, where retired in protest over Donald Rumsfeld's policies and went public with criticisms. Subsequently, he was an adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Previously, he was Chief of Infantry for the Army, and had including combat and post-combat assignments in Iraq, Bosnia and Somalia.
Current defense policy
Speaking for the National Security Network, he praised the U.S. Senate, President Barack Obama, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for capping production of the F-22 Raptor aircraft. In the press release, he wrote ""Misplaced defense budget priorities such as additional funding for the F-22 both constrained America's military from adequately addressing the threats we face today and took money away from more essential strategic imperatives."[1]
Rumsfeld and Iraq
He was one of the earlier critics of Rumsfeld, joining with other generals. [2] and writing, in an opinion article in the New York Times,
...Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead America's armed forces. First, his failure to build coalitions with U.S. allies from what he dismissively called "old Europe" has imposed far greater demands and risks on American soldiers in Iraq than necessary. Second, he alienated his allies in the U.S. military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input. In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to America's mission in Iraq. Rumsfeld must step down.[3]
General counterinsurgency issues
Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he said that the U.S. had a practical and moral commitment to grant more visas to Iraqis that had cooperated with U.S. forces, and might be at risk when U.S. troops left.[4]
Education
- bachelor's degree from West Point
- master's in French from Middlebury College
References
- ↑ Paul Eaton (21 July 2009), Gen. Paul Eaton Praises Senate for Stripping F-22 from Defense Authorization, National Security Network
- ↑ Deary, David S. (February 23, 2007), Six agaist the Secretary: the Retired Generals and Donald Rumsfeld, Air War College
- ↑ Paul Eaton (19 March 2006), "For his failures, Rumsfeld must go", New York Times
- ↑ Testimony of Paul Eaton, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, 26 March 2007