crossposted at mediocrisDonald Rumsfeld once again proved that he either has little to no understanding of the insurgency in Iraq, or is willing to flat out lie at a Pentagon news conference. His claim that the insurgency is "on the run" is, of course, laughable, but sort of standard blind rhetoric from the administration. What is really concerning is this:
They clearly have a lot of pressure on them." But "it doesn't mean they can't go kill people, it doesn't mean they can't hire people to go out and blow themselves up."
That the Secretary of Defense actually thinks that Suicide bombers are recruited for pay would be laughable were it not so dangerous.
As anyone who has studied terrorism (or really, anyone at all) can tell you, money is not the reason that someone goes out and commits suicide. In an
interview with a would-be suicide bomber, the AP reveals as much:
Most attackers are driven not by poverty or ignorance, but by a lethal mix of nationalism, zealotry and humiliation.
When a prominent official thinks otherwise, more than
four years after 9/11, this administration's willful misunderstanding of the situation in Iraq and elsewhere becomes crystal clear.
That we continue to misunderstand the roots of terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere gives evidence to the fact that the Administration has no plan for victory in Iraq. Any plans that they would have would be grounded in this sheer and utter failure to understand the motivation of the enemy. As all successful armies have known since the time of the Chinese strategist Sunzi, you can't be victorious if you don't understand your enemy.
Updated to reflect the sentiments of many that he is both. Although I refer to the question below: in this instance, is he lying (in that he knows that no one is paying the suicide bombers) or is he bearing witness to the fact that he doesn't know that suicide bombers aren't in it for the benjamins?