Sometimes, it’s just painful to read such abject nonsense.
Looking back over the past four years, [Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld] acknowledged that the two biggest mistakes or misjudgments that had been made — though not necessarily by him — were the failure to discover any prohibited weapons in Iraq (“that’s clearly a disappointment”) and a lack of intelligence that predicted “the degree of insurgency today.”
He remained defiant in the face of critics who say the United States failed to send enough troops to Iraq initially to handle postwar security and, now, to combat the insurgents.
He contended that the decision on troop levels was largely “out of my control,” since he was following the advice and requests of his regional commanders, first Gen. Tommy R. Franks and now Gen. John P. Abizaid and Gen. George W. Casey Jr.
Bush administration responsibility at its finest. It’s not as if it’s Rumsfeld’s job to set the level of troop deployment, right? Oh wait…
While [it] may be technically true [that the Pentagon was following the advice of regional commanders], Mr. Rumsfeld approves all decisions on troop levels in Iraq, and his commanders and top civilian aides have indicated that he routinely demands detailed explanations for troop increases and movements.
Remember, this is the only cabinet secretary whose job is absolutely safe.
Marshall Whitman, meanwhile, suggests Rumsfeld might need a little counseling.
Can someone please get Secretary Rumsfeld the number of Dr. Phil? This man is incapable of confronting his own errors and taking responsibility for his behavior. If he is going to remain as [Defense Secretary] for the foreseeable future, at least someone can get him professional help so that he can address some serious issues.
It’d be a good start.