Rummy's Ruminations

This story is a few days old, but I think it speaks volumes about the Bush(whacked) Administration…

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave an extensive interview with GQ magazine recently and had some very interesting and enlightening things to say.

Ignoring for the moment that he said he had no regrets, he said this about the war in Afghanistan;

“Look at Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, 28 million people are free. They have their own president, they have their own parliament. Improved a lot on the streets. […] “It’s been a big success!”

Um… okay… though I guess if you compare the Afghan war to the Iraq war it’s been, in his words, a “big success”.. but is it really?Well, if you decide to do something radical and, I don’t know, look at facts, it’s far from being a success and instead remains an abandoned war on terrorism… consider:

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president said recently that the level of security in his country has “definitely deteriorated”, but a former national security official called that “a very diplomatic understatement.”
The Taliban has carried out “103 suicide bombings in Afghanistan in the first eight months of 2007”, which is an increase from last year of 69%
For the second straight year Afghanistan has “produced record levels of opium” thanks to a “staggering 45 percent increase in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province.”

But ‘it was a success’… though I guess that depends on what your definition of success is… if it’s allowing the Taliban to get back to pre-war strength than, by all means, it’s been a success.

And if you look even deeper, you can find proof that Rummy had a role in the deterioration of the country considening that back in February 2002, then Secretary of State Colin “Wish I never joined Bush’s cabinet” Powell made a proposal that “American troops join the small international peacekeeping force patrolling Kabul and help Karzai extend his influence beyond the capital.”

Rumsfeld blocked his proposal.

While his boasts of success in Afghanistan are good, his best quote came when the interviewer asked him whether he misses President Bush… said Rumsfeld; “Um, no.”

Ouch… that’s gotta hoit…

But he said he still sees Cheney… no word if he plans to go hunting with the him though…

And the most revealing moments came when Rumsfeld admitted that not only did he try to resign three times before he actually left. But that he wrote a memo before the Iraq invasion that contained “at least” two-dozen warnings about what might happen.

Despite everything, Rummy still thinks that Bush will be vindicated someday and, over time, will be appreciated for his strengths and national security accomplishments…

I would write more, but my sides hurt from laughing too much…