MILWAUKEE, May 21 (UPI) -- Retired U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks used his appearance at a National Rifle Association banquet in Milwaukee to defend the administration's Iraq war polices.
Franks, the keynote speaker of the event, spoke candidly Saturday in defense of Bush and U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. He denounced six other retired generals who have publicly criticized the Bush administration, calling Rumsfeld a "patriot."
Franks himself has been criticized for failing to adopt a post-war strategy for Iraq. Many placed the blame for insufficient troop levels on Franks.
Franks retired in 2003, and has been making appearances to discuss the global war on terror since. Shortly after his retirement, he speculated that a terrorist attack on American soil involving weapons of mass destruction could render the U.S. Constitution obsolete.
Franks made no similar remarks in his speech to the NRA, which was the culmination of their three-day convention.
