Ann McFeatters: Rumsfeld under fire

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05177/528269.stm

When the white-maned lion of the Senate engaged the steely-eyed defense chief in verbal combat over the war in Iraq this past week, Americans saw the terms of our dilemma in sharp relief.

<snip>

At one point, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said he couldn't take it any more. He said Americans have a right to know what's happening in Iraq because they're paying for the war with the lives of their young men and women and billions of tax dollars.

Looking at Rumsfeld, Byrd accused him of sneering. "I don't mean to be discourteous, but I've heard enough of your smart answers. Get off your high horse when you come up here. I have to run for reelection and you don't. We represent the American people and they are asking questions. They haven't been told the truth. The administration says we're unpatriotic if we ask questions, but that's our job."

<snip>

Bush is about to give a series of speeches about the war. They had better be persuasive. They had better have some hard and new facts. They had better be built on the premise that the only way the United States can lose this war is if the American people demand withdrawal, which is no longer inconceivable. Six out of 10 Americans say the dream of democratizing Iraq has become a nightmare.

Rumsfeld has nothing to sneer about.

[Gronk Groks]

1. How in the Hell....

Read down the Post-Gazette.com article and you run into...

"As a new poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project shows, China is now more popular than the United States in 11 countries that are our allies."

I knew world opinion was bad but...
:wtf:

[Mythsaje]

2. Remember right after 9/11?

Everybody championed us. All the mutterings about America were briefly silenced and we were the Sleeping Giant that everyone respected once again.

In less than four goddam years Bush fucked us out of the best diplomatic capital we'd had since the end of WWII.

This people are just plain nuts.

[Frederik]

5. And Britain is one of those countries

65% of Britons have a favorable view of China, 55% of the US.

[LiberalAndProud]

3. I adore Sen. Byrd. He is a mighty warrior on the Hill.

[DisassemblingHisLies]

4. "Classified" - the most trite, over-used word in this administration.

Why is it that the information regarding the percentage of trained Iraqis that are combat-ready falls under the category of "classified"?

As for McCain's advice to Rumsfeld about laying out the unvarnished truth to the American public, it's way too late to turn the tide. It's the lies that have caught up with this administration. And the secrecy.