Its no surprise that Sec. Rumsfeld would resort to using divisive lies and smears to defend his military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has nothing else to fall back on. Its also not surprising that Sec. Rumsfeld accuses those who disagree with him of emboldening the enemy:
And that is important in this “long war,” where any moral or intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere.
American's are not questioning who is morally right in this conflict. The majority of Americans who disaprove of the handling of the war in Iraq are questioning the strategy of the war, they way the war was rushed into, the intelligence that led us there, and the current strategy on the ground which every day we are reminded is just not working the way that it should be.
As WAPO columnist William M. Arkin notes:
Either Rumsfeld has delivered one of the most important speeches of the modern era, or he's gone crazy.
I think crazy, not just because I think the Secretary is wrong on his intellectual characterization of terrorism, and not because he is wrong about the media and its intentions, and not because he is so pugnacious, or because he has been wrong so many times because.
Rumsfeld is so wrong about America. His use of World War I history and the specter of fascism and appeasement, and his argument about moral weakness or even treason in any who oppose him, is not only polarizing but ineffective in provoking debate and discussion about the proper course this nation must take to "fight" terrorism.
Not only has Sec. Rumsfeld been wrong so repeatedly, but he has repeatedly wronged the American people. Sec. Rumsfeld is the definition of paranoid. He is terrified by those who disagree with him. His worst fear is oversight, be it congressional, public, even internal. Arkin points out:
This is not the first time that Rumsfeld has shown himself to be so out of touch, so contemptuous of America. Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense has displayed a contempt from long before 9/11 for anyone who disagrees with him, particularly in his initial wars against those in the uniformed military.
Moreover, Rumsfeld's declaration of war yesterday follows from his basic view that the Defense Department has to do it all: He has created an intelligence bureaucracy because he is distrustful and contemptuous of the CIA and all others. He has built up a secret army and covert capabilities in special operations forces because he wants to control and to rely only upon his own warriors. He has created a homeland security apparatus that looks over the shoulder of the Department of Homeland Security and is the ultimate arbiter of security. He has created his own FBI in the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), and fought to ensure that the NSA stays under Pentagon control. He has created his own law and his own human rights policy. He has subverted Congress through unexamined supplemental budgets and super-secret programs.
Arkin concludes that Rumsfeld's lack of faith in the American people is what has led him to consolidate so much power to himself. Rumsfeld thinks he has to save America, and Americans, from themselves. Of course, he is the Sec. of Defense, so this could be a good thing, had Sec. Rumsfeld not mishandled every task he has been given in the realm of defense.
So please Sec. Rumsfeld, before youf try to save the American people with another mishandled, trumped up foreign war, think about saving yourself some embarassment and resign. Before you try to convince your critics (a majority of American citizens by the way) that we are wrong to criticize by comparing us to Nazi sympathizers, you should stop trying to convince yourself of your own relevancy to any worthwhile debate on foreign policy solutions. Your failed military policy mirrors your president's failed domestic policy.
Mr. Secretary, it is time to resign.
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