Iraq III: Donald Rumsfeld & The Politics of Fear

The Decider is said to have made a big deal this week about retaining Defense Secretary Rumsfeld no matter the outcome of the U.S. mid-term election because he wants to shore up his political base.

I'm not quite sure what to make of this because the president's base looks more like a bowl of raisins these days.

Polls show that a majority of Americans, including a goodly number of Republicans, want Rummy axed for his utterly indept planning and handling of the Iraq war, and a sizeable minority of once reliable Christian conservatibes may stay home on Election Day.

More importantly, the man who campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" and has been anything but remains determinedly unwilling to be a uniter instead of a divider.

Witness his appearance on Rush Limbaugh's radio show this week where he said he was "pleased with the progress we're making" in Iraq and repeated the shopworn mantra that people who disagree with his war policies are aiding and abetting terrorists.

Polls show that a majority of Americans no longer buy into the spurious linkage between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks, but there is that political base to be molified no matter its size, and there is no better way to do so than through the politics of fear.

Meanwhile, Representative John Boehner, the No. 2 Republican in the House, has the temerity to blamed the uniformed military and not Rumsfeld for the train wreck.

Said Boehner in a CNN interview:

“Let’s not blame what’s happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld. But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president.”

More here.

THE SCALES FALL FROM ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE'S EYES

They don't come more pro-war or more conservative than Ralph Peters, but he has now joined the growing list of pundits of his ilk who have seen the light:

"I supported the removal of Saddam Hussein. I believed that Arabs deserved a chance to build a rule-of-law democracy in the Middle East. Based upon firsthand experience, I was convinced that the Middle East was so politically, socially, morally and intellectually stagnant that we had to risk intervention — or face generations of terrorism and tumult. I still believe that our removal of Hussein was a noble act.

"I only wish the administration had done it competently. Iraq is failing. No honest observer can conclude otherwise."

More here.