The politics of the leaked Rumsfeld memo are fascinating. Its truthfulness is refreshing

Newsweek ^ | 10-24-03 | Eleanor Clift - <auto barf>

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Oct. 24 — Welcome to Rumsfeld’s reality. It’s a brave new world in Washington now that Donald Rumsfeld has revealed the true nature of the conflict in Iraq. Americans didn’t sign on for a “long, hard slog,” as Rumsfeld put it so memorably in a memo to his top generals.

RUMSFELD’S WORDS CONFIRM what critics of the war have been saying. The invasion of Iraq was a costly diversion from the broader war on terrorism, and not the central front as President Bush has claimed. Rumsfeld frets that the religious schools known as madrassas are turning out terrorists at a faster clip than U.S. forces can capture them.

[snip]

Rumsfeld and Bush are cut from the same cloth. Neither can bear to admit a mistake. That’s why Rumsfeld’s memo conceding mixed results in the war on terrorism is so remarkable. The administration is trying to pass this off as just another example of Rumsfeld’s in-your-face style. He asks the tough questions. He likes to provoke people to think outside the box. That may be accurate, but the hard truths he put out there for public consumption are prompting a reevaluation of the war, and may be the beginning of the end for Rumsfeld and for U.S. engagement in Iraq. Let’s hope Rumsfeld’s next memo is titled: Exit Strategy

[lainde]

BTTT

[marktwain]

Americans didn’t sign on for a “long, hard slog,” as Rumsfeld put it so memorably in a memo to his top generals.

No? That is what the President Bush has been telling us the war on terror would be from the beginning. The lies that are put out by the OldDominantLiberalMedia are insane.

The question is, is there enough "new media" to counteract the "big lie" strategy of the left.

[OESY]

The administration is trying to pass this off as just another example of Rumsfeld’s in-your-face style.

As if Eleanor Clift's style was not in-your-face. She's gone over the Clift again -- and is a definite on "auto barf". (Doncha just love the term?)

Meanwhile, Dems would never dare ask tough questions. Remember, everything had to be done at 15,000 feet, metaphorically speaking -- even if the facts on the ground don't warrant it and the policy needs reexamination.

[PhilipFreneau]

Not once in the article did Eleanor mention the fact that Bush and Rumsfeld have been working diligently to clean up the international mess the Clinton administration left them. It was probably an honest omission.