(This column appeared in THE LONE STAR ICONOCLAST, Crawford, Texas, and at www.LoneStarIcon.com the week of August 7, 2006.)
These past few weeks I had begun to wonder if the "war" in Iraq was still in progress.
Virtually every minute of news time seemed to be dedicated to the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
To be perfectly honest, I've really been getting burned out on the whole Israel versus Hezbollah tragedy. Morning, noon and night, as if nothing else has been taking place on the Planet.
Not even so much as a runaway fiance' in Atlanta.
What a pleasant surprise was in store for me today, don'cha know.
This morning (Thursday, August 3, 2006) I turned the television on just in time to catch Hillary Clinton give Donald Rumsfeld a thorough going over, roasting him on a spit about 18 inches above red hot coals.
The Secretary of Defense was clearly out of his league.
"Under your leadership, there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan," the junior Democratic Senator from New York chided Rummy.
"You underestimated the nature and strength of the insurgency, the sectarian violence, and the spread of Iranian influence."
Among Donny's plethora of failures Mrs. Clinton listed the lack of U.S. troop numbers, the poor planning for stabilization following Saddam Hussein's ouster, and the snail's pace progress in rebuilding the Iraqi military.
Flanked on either side by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Peter Pace, USMC, and the head of U.S. Central Command Gen. John Abizaid, USA, Rummy was not having a real good day visiting with the Senators.
Yet, his defensive demeanor and flippant responses attempted to hide the icy arrogance with which Rummy sends brave young Americans to senseless, unnecessary death and dismemberment.
Were we not previously privy to this routine from Donny so often -- as Sen. Clinton pointed out when she stated, "There's a track record here. This is not 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented many assurances that have frankly proven to be unfulfilled." - it's possible that the American public might buy his pathos.
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