Discussion: Donald Rumsfeld: George W. Bush Was 'Unrealistic' About Iraq War

[dr_coyote]

Love it. Rumsfeld throws the Shrub under the bus.

War profiteers and war criminals.

[khaaannn]

“It was a bad call Ripley, a bad call…”

[forkedtongue]

What the-- How can he-- That’s not-- What the hell did I just read???

[wwss]

Alzheimers? Senior on-set senility? Pathological lying? Take your pick.

[inlabsitrust]

Translation: “I was only in it for the oil… Like Cheney.”

[dwward]

So what did Rumy say about this in his book? Did he say in his book he never bought in?

Democratizing Iraq was an idiotic idea so I wouldn’t be surprised if Rumy never bought in to the policy but I’d like to know if this is the first time he’s ever said so.

[clauscph]

Why is Donald Rumsfield saying this now ? Has he a new book out ?

[meta]

“The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. I was concerned about it when I first heard those words,” Rumsfeld told the newspaper.

But, he might have added, we don’t let that stand in the way of thinking that we can get away with it again.

For More Wars, For More Wars, For More Wars…

[cincypix]

Speaking reality, GW found the one on the ground too librul, and wanted to give the Iraqis a form of evangelism and neo-con rule.

In a sad way, they accomplished their mission… Problem is the Iraqi evangelists are blowing up the pre-Islam part of the country, and their neo cons [in this case, the pro Shia majority in Parliament] believe the Sunnis to be defective, fraudulent people [like the Tea Partiers believe Dems and minorities are].

[rich_in_nj]

Only a decade late, almost 200,000 lives lost (and many others ruined), and $2 trillion dollars wasted.

[wrs]

That was !#$% Cheney. And to be fair, not that he deserves it, that statement doesn’t say that Iraqis would immediately set up a working democracy.

The Iraqis in general were no doubt happy to be rid of Saddam, but uneasy about who or what would replace him, what happens to all of the disbanded army & Republican Guard members and their families, how basic services would be provided, how order would be maintained, etc., all of which proved to be well-founded concerns.

[marby]

Even if we considered the architects of this disastrous foreign policy to be well-intentioned but wrong (a much larger concession than I am willing to offer), I don’t understand how they live with themselves. Most of us chastise ourselves repeatedly for small mistakes that hurt others but, as you so aptly note, these fools just “move on.” There is some evil lack of humanity in these folks.

[trippin]

Yeah, Donny my man, we went to war with the President we had, not the President we wanted.

In fact, had we had the President we elected, I believe we wouldn’t have had the war in the first place. Rather, we would have been engaged in the competition of ideas you so pathetically tout in useless retrospect now that you and your PNAC pals have fucked up the entire Middle East.

[irasdad]

“I’m not one who thinks that our particular template of democracy is appropriate for other countries at every moment of their histories,” [Rumsfeld] added.

In the case of the Bush administration, the “particular template of democracy” was:

• Bussing political operatives to Florida to intimidate election officials
• Quashing the vote count
• Declaring W to be President by judicial fiat

So, all in all, a template that has been quite popular throughout the history of Iraq.

[tomanjeri]

There are probably lots of people from the Bush administration that should be in prison, but few top the list more so than Donald Rumsfeld.

[jkrogman]

Hmm, first SecDef McNamara claimed that he secretly opposed the Vietnam war that he publicly led. Now SecDef Rumsfeld makes a similar claim about the Iraq war that he led.

So, these guys are admitted moral cowards.

Why?

[jkrogman]

Umm, there are few “Iraqis in general.” Instead there are the Sunnis who ruled Iraq under Hussein, and the Shia who rule Iraq now, plus the Sunnis who want to regain their rule.

You commit the fallacy of assuming that Iraq has a clear national identity. It has not, it does not, and it will not anytime in the foreseeable future.

Nations are a lot more complicated than you assume. Look at the US and the deep and bitter divisions that we have now. There is no single US either.

[arc_of_the_universe]

Narcissists like Rumsfeld never believe anything is their fault. Note that he doesn’t blame Cheney, Wolfowitz, Addison or any of his other neocon bed mates – just the moron who they were always using to front their maniacal disaster.

[ronbyers]

The reason Cheney and the neocons put GWB out as their front man was to blame him if anything went wrong.

[pickwick]

Don’t you just love how they turn on each other, and stab each other in the back. Like rats jumping off a sinking ship.