Gates Inherits The Mother Of All Messes

[Purveyor]

Yesterday's swearing-in of Robert Gates as the new Defense Secretary competed for media attention with the release of a Pentagon report showing the number of insurgent attacks in Iraq rose 22% between August and November reaching a record high.

All three networks, as well as some major newspapers, juxtaposed Gates' comments yesterday (a US defeat in Iraq would be a "calamity") with analyses of the new report.

ABC World News, for example, said in its lead story, "Talk about a tough first day on a job." Gates "takes over as Defense Secretary and the first thing he gets is the Pentagon's own assessment of the war in Iraq, saying things are worse than ever."

In addition to the stats on insurgent violence, the Pentagon analysis for the first time characterizes Moqtada al-Sadr as "the most dangerous" force in Iraq currently -- replacing al-Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups.

The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and New York Times focus much of their reporting on that angle of the story. However, the AP notes the report continues to regard the most intractable violence as the responsibility of Sunni insurgents in Anbar.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_061219.htm

[Raine]

1. Just awful

there is nothing more I can say.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Gates also inherits the Mother of all Bad Bosses...Bush43

Gates has to contend with A Bully...a serial Bully with bad charactoristics... Bush Lies, strident, narcissist, abusive, vindictive, unapologetic, a whiner, A decider of wrong ideas, and a DUFUS.... how in the world can Gates work with a person possessing a collection of signs like those just mentioned, the preceding.

The answer is you don't...you just comply..witness Gates coming aboard Team Bush with approval of the Surge and stay the course?

Its another Dummy for Rummy...all we did was change the Dummies....