How nasty and callous IS Don Rumsfeld, who every cartoonist alive should be parodying now?
Since the drooling-at-the-mouth Rummy fans are standing by their man as the Joint Chiefs of Staff make fools of themselves over a cartoon instead of doing their jobs, it's worth recalling this classic moment. One of many in Rummy's recent career. It's things like this that make it obvious that the cartoonist who undoubtedly just went on the list to be kidnapped and "disappeared" was spot on in his reading of our man Rummy.
This took place in a speech to the National Press Club on 09/10/04. The following is part of what I said in a post of 09/11/04 that was long even for me.
In response to one question, Rummy was ready to send somebody to Guantanamo:
DONNELLY: The Financial Times today editorializes that it is, quote, "time to consider Iraq withdrawal," close quote, noting the protracted war is not winnable and it's creating more terrorists than enemies of the West. What is your response, this questioner asks.
RUMSFELD: Who put that question in? He ought to get a life. If he's got time to read that kind of stuff -- (laughter) -- he ought to get a life. (Scattered applause.)
They've been saying things like that for months, and there have always been critics. There have always been people who say it's not worth it. And indeed, if you watch in any conflict in our history, there have always been people who said, "Why? Why should we do that? Another loss of life. Another person wounded. Another limb off." And -- you can't go to the hospitals at Bethesda or Walter Reed and see those folks and not have your heart break for them and the fact that their lives are going to be lived differently; or tomorrow, when we go to Arlington and recall all those who died on September 11th and lives not lived. (my emphasis)
But it is worth it. It is worth it. And those who suggest to the contrary are not only wrong, but they will be proved wrong.
So, if you've lost a loved one or a friend or acquaintance in the Iraq War to get the WMDs that Rummy knew exactly where they were but they actually turned out not to exist, and you ask whether it's worth it to have more soldiers die in the same conflict, the Secretary of Defense has an answer for you: Get a life, wimp!! I'm sick of hearing all you wusses whining about, oh, somebody died, somebody got wounded, somebody lost a couple of limbs. Boo, hoo, hoo. Suck it up and cheer for the war, you gutless whiners!!!
Rummy responded with his usual restraint and delicacy to this question, as well:
DONNELLY: Has the cost of the Iraq war, not just in terms of dollars and lives, but also the extended deployments and resulting impact on civilian careers of guardsmen and reservists, and the hardships on military families, exceeded what the administration had expected and told the nation to expect?
RUMSFELD: Every person serving in the Guard and Reserve and the active force is a volunteer. There's no one who was conscripted. There's no one who was forced to do anything. [Translation: I don't care what some whiny wimps think!] ...
The statement about the -- what the administration told the American people, it needs to be answered, it seems to me, because it seemed to have a little barb in it. (Laughter.) I can't climb into the questioner's mind, but I sense that.
You know, when September 11th came and 3,000 Americans were killed, we went to war. There were people who thought that terrorism was a law enforcement problem, and what you do is you sit around with your finger in your ear and you wait till you get hit, and then like when somebody steals a car you run out and find the person, throw them in the jug and punish them for it. Well, this is not about that. This is about something entirely different, terrorism is. And it isn't a matter of throwing someone in the jug for stealing a car and punishing them; the task here is so fundamentally not law enforcement. It is trying to get the information so that we can go and find and stop the terrorist networks from killing another 3,000 people. That's what this is about. And I understand it's hard for some people to get their heads turned around on that. [Translation: If you criticize our wars or any of our policies, you're an Al Qaeda sympathizer! Plus you're a whiny wimp!!]
So what does the -- any administration tell the American people? Well, the prior administration said we'd be out of Bosnia by Christmas. We're still there. I have not said when we'll be out of Iraq -- (chuckles) -- because I don't know, and I know I don't know. What we have said is there's been criticism of the cost, there's been criticism of the length of time, and it's not knowable precisely. ...
Saddam Hussein (sic), if he's alive, is spending a whale of a lot of time trying to not get caught. And we've not seen him on a video since 2001. Now he's got to be busy. Why is he busy? It's because of the pressure that's being put on him. [Saddam, Osama, what's the difference? Only wusses worry about such things!] ...
People are going to have to be steadfast. They're going to have to reject the kind of counsel that The Financial Times gave this morning. I didn't read this, so I assume you're reasonably right in your quotation, whoever asked the question. We're going to have to say to people, "Don't be faint-hearted. Don't think you can make a separate peace. Don't think you can make a private deal, as a person or a country." You can't. We're in it together. (Applause.) [Translation: I'm sick of this. Somebody dies, somebody gits wounded, somebody loses an arm or a leg, so what? Suck it up and stop your moaning and groaning, you pathetic whiners!]
That's Rummy's just a prince of a guy, isn't he? It's no wonder the Joint Chiefs go into Pinochet mode to defend his delicate, sensitive feelings when a nasty old cartoonists make him sad...
