Donald Rumsfeld: Just how delusional is he?
In a recent speech to the American Legion, Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld suggested that critics of the War in Iraq and the "War on Terror" were akin to those who advocated appeasement with Hitler.
While the rest of the media swarms all over the idiocy of that comment, I want to call attention to two of Rumsfeld's other comments (you can read the whole transcript here). First:
We hear everyday of new plans, new efforts, to murder Americans and other free people. Indeed, the plot recently discovered that would have killed hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of innocent men, women, and children on planes coming from Britain to the United States should have demonstrated to all that the enemy is serious, lethal, and relentless.
Recall that, just yesterday, the New York Times reported that:
"British investigators have still not determined whether there was a target date for the attacks or how many planes were to be involved. They say the estimate of 10 planes was speculative and exaggerated."
"Officials said they were still unsure of one critical question: whether any of the suspects was technically capable of assembling and detonating liquid explosives while airborne."
“In retrospect,’’ said Michael A. Sheehan, the former deputy commissioner of counterterrorism in the New York Police Department, “there may have been too much hyperventilating going on.”
In other words, we have no idea how serious this particular enemy was, very little indication that they were anywhere near capable of being lethal, and absolutely no evidence of "relentlessness." This is the reason we are at war in Iraq? This is why we are suspending civil liberties with wild abandon? And does Rumsfeld really believe this shit?
Ok, deep breath. Ready for more?
As the nature of the threat and the conflict in Iraq has changed over these past three years, so have the tactics and deployments. But while military tactics have changed and adapted to the realities on the ground, the strategy has not -- which is to empower the Iraqi people to defend, govern, and rebuild their own country.
The extremists themselves have called Iraq the “epicenter” in the War on Terror. They mean it. And our troops know how important completing the mission is.
No shit the extremists call Iraq the epicenter of the War on Terror. We've parked 150,000 legitimite military targets in the heart of the Middle East, with no discernible exit strategy to speak of (other than, you know, "empowering" the Iraqi people). Not only that, we've managed to piss off and offend virtually the entire world, such that no one is rooting for us to succeed (save Tony Blair). Oh, and as an added bonus, we've occupied a country where every citizen seems to own about seventeen firearms.
The "epicenter" is not going to hold in this bullshit "war" on "Terror." And sadly, Rumsfeld will be long gone before our troops have stopped dying.
While the rest of the media swarms all over the idiocy of that comment, I want to call attention to two of Rumsfeld's other comments (you can read the whole transcript here). First:
We hear everyday of new plans, new efforts, to murder Americans and other free people. Indeed, the plot recently discovered that would have killed hundreds -- possibly thousands -- of innocent men, women, and children on planes coming from Britain to the United States should have demonstrated to all that the enemy is serious, lethal, and relentless.
Recall that, just yesterday, the New York Times reported that:
"British investigators have still not determined whether there was a target date for the attacks or how many planes were to be involved. They say the estimate of 10 planes was speculative and exaggerated."
"Officials said they were still unsure of one critical question: whether any of the suspects was technically capable of assembling and detonating liquid explosives while airborne."
“In retrospect,’’ said Michael A. Sheehan, the former deputy commissioner of counterterrorism in the New York Police Department, “there may have been too much hyperventilating going on.”
In other words, we have no idea how serious this particular enemy was, very little indication that they were anywhere near capable of being lethal, and absolutely no evidence of "relentlessness." This is the reason we are at war in Iraq? This is why we are suspending civil liberties with wild abandon? And does Rumsfeld really believe this shit?
Ok, deep breath. Ready for more?
As the nature of the threat and the conflict in Iraq has changed over these past three years, so have the tactics and deployments. But while military tactics have changed and adapted to the realities on the ground, the strategy has not -- which is to empower the Iraqi people to defend, govern, and rebuild their own country.
The extremists themselves have called Iraq the “epicenter” in the War on Terror. They mean it. And our troops know how important completing the mission is.
No shit the extremists call Iraq the epicenter of the War on Terror. We've parked 150,000 legitimite military targets in the heart of the Middle East, with no discernible exit strategy to speak of (other than, you know, "empowering" the Iraqi people). Not only that, we've managed to piss off and offend virtually the entire world, such that no one is rooting for us to succeed (save Tony Blair). Oh, and as an added bonus, we've occupied a country where every citizen seems to own about seventeen firearms.
The "epicenter" is not going to hold in this bullshit "war" on "Terror." And sadly, Rumsfeld will be long gone before our troops have stopped dying.
posted by Ben at 3:45 PM
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