Appoint Baker President

So, turns out Rumsfeld was not fired because he was doing a poor job... it was his memo that suggested change. Looks like Rumsfeld has moved to the Bush I/Scowcroft/Baker side?

"Indeed, Bush's cavalier dismissal of the key Baker-Hamilton recommendations creates a possible framework for a bipartisan impeachment effort.

A less confrontational approach could be Republican and Democratic pressure on Bush and Cheney to agree to sequential resignations, replacing Cheney first with a new Vice President who would then assume the presidency upon Bush's resignation."

Unlikely (read the whole interesting article from Alternet, by Robert Parry), but imagine a bipartisan group of Congress going to the White House, threatning impeachment unless there are sequential resignations. I suggest they appoint Baker, give him 2 years to work his diplomatic magic...

Newbold: USMC Issue

"Two senior military officers are known to have challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the planning of the Iraq war. Army General Eric Shinseki publicly dissented and found himself marginalized. Marine Lieut. General Greg Newbold, the Pentagon's top operations officer, voiced his objections internally and then retired, in part out of opposition to the war. Here, for the first time, Newbold goes public with a full-throated critique:

In 1971, the rock group The Who released the antiwar anthem Won't Get Fooled Again. To most in my generation, the song conveyed a sense of betrayal by the nation's leaders, who had led our country into a costly and unnecessary war in Vietnam. To those of us who were truly counterculture--who became career members of the military during those rough times--the song conveyed a very different message. To us, its lyrics evoked a feeling that we must never again stand by quietly while those ignorant of and casual about war lead us into another one and then mismanage the conduct of it. Never again, we thought, would our military's senior leaders remain silent as American troops were marched off to an ill-considered engagement. It's 35 years later, and the judgment is in: the Who had it wrong. We have been fooled again."

There's been a lot of "I told you so's" to hand out since the invasion ended and the occupation began. This one comes from a powerful source and he's right...we should not have invaded and we can't leave yet. He doesn't offer a lot of suggestions on what to do now though...we're stuck in a moment and we can't get out of it.

At least it's kept gas prices low....oh wait, the gas is paying for the war, or wait....

Here's a way to kill two birds with one stone....we can send the "undocumented workers" to fight in Iraq....Americans don't want those jobs, right? Just thinking outside the box...

Saddam-lite

WorldNetDaily: Time to face facts in Iraq:

"...perhaps we should consider empowering a military junta (which can operate behind the facade of a nominal democracy). We can arm it, finance it, and do business with such an entity. In exchange, this junta – or strong man as the case may eventually turn out – will grant us the petroleum we seek, the bases we need, and will agree, if we (and the Iraqi people) are especially lucky, to govern with a kinder, gentler face than was the case with Saddam."

Hey, why not just put a neutered Saddam back in power? Rumsfeld & Co. dealt with him well enough in the 80's...when he was committing the crimes he's on trial for now.

Is this the best we can expect from our war now?
I hate to say it, but it looks like we were all better off before we dethroned Saddam, even if he was a madman. For a while there though, back in the 80's, he was our madman....killing those pesky Iranians and befuddling the Soviets, establishing a non-Islamic government in the heart of the Middle East. Oh Saddam, we had it so good till you invaded Kuwait. Oh, and the Kurd killing, we didn't like that either. And the detentions. Well, Saddam was pretty much your typical a-hole dictator type....you know, about the best thing we could hope for in Iraq now, so we can eventually, someday begin leaving.

update 11/13/06: more Alternet:

"Rumseld met with Hussein in December 1983 and returned again on March 24, 1984--the very same day the United Nations released a report that Iraq had committed war crimes by using mustard gas and tabun nerve agent against Iranian troops. "American diplomats pronounce themselves satisfied with Iraq and the U.S., and suggest that normal diplomatic ties have been established in all but name," The New York Times reported five days later.The official transcripts of Rumsfeld's report on his meetings with then Iraq Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and Hussein himself make clear that our defense secretary never even mentioned the brutal suppression of the Dujail Shiites, which has now earned the dictator a death sentence. The diplomatic message was clear: Hussein's brutality, and even his use of chemical weapons, was not an obstacle to warm relations between the United States and Iraq."

Hey, I know Saddam was a brutal dictator, but the reality is that he was better for US than what we have now. Even Rummy knew this 20+ years ago....I guess he forgot?

Rumsfeld and Bono

Sunday, June 26 - Meet the Press, online at MSNBC - MSNBC.com:

"Rumsfeld and Bono — only on this Sunday's 'Meet the Press with Tim Russert.'"