Rumsfeld portrayal raises eyebrows

Re “His own worst enemy,” Opinion, Nov. 15

Max Boot states that outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is no neoconservative but rather a traditional Midwestern Republican. If so, how did Rumsfeld’s name appear on the signatory list for the statement of principles of the neoconservative flagship think tank Project for a New American Century? Is this a case of Boot trying to obfuscate, by distancing the think tank from the perception of foul-ups and mistakes in planning and prosecuting the war in Iraq?

NIK GREEN

Isla Vista, Calif.

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Boot says Rumsfeld was uncommitted to neocon plans to bring democracy to Iraq: “It was no accident that he neglected the kind of post-invasion planning needed to implement the sweeping changes envisioned by his boss, George W. Bush, and his erstwhile deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.”

Wolfowitz said that the general who testified to Congress that a force of several hundred thousand troops would be necessary to successfully occupy Iraq was wrong. It appears that Boot is trying to convey the notion that President Bush and the neocons anticipated the need for a large post-invasion force and that Rumsfeld opposed this. Where is the evidence for this peculiar notion?

PHILIP S. HICKS

San Rafael