The Buck Stops Over There

"If I thought a change at the top of the Pentagon would change the policy of this administration, I'd be all for it. I was opposed to going to war unilaterally. I voted against that because I thought it was a mistake...

"So I've had a lot of differences with Secretary Rumsfeld. I'm a critic of much of his rhetoric. I think he does try to pass the buck, but that pass-the-buck philosophy starts right at the top in the White House. That's where the buck should stop. That's where the policies are made. And as far as I'm concerned, unless those policies change, which is a presidential decision, it's not going to help just simply to change the leadership in the Pentagon."

- U.S. Senator Carl Levin, "Meet the Press", 12/19/2004

Senator Levin is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.