Donald Rumsfeld today announced we are woefully behind our "dead-ender" counterparts in Iraq and Al Qaeda (you know, the guys living in caves) in terms of being tech savvy.
All I can muster is ... huh?
I feel like a movie reel has been switched and I'm watching the second half of a completely different movie than the one I walked into. Kinda like starting out in the Last of the Mohicans and ending up in The Matrix.
Here's Rumsfeld today:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States lags dangerously behind al Qaeda and other enemies in getting out information in the digital media age and must update its old-fashioned methods, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Friday.
...
The Pentagon chief said today's weapons of war included e-mail, Blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras and Web logs, or blogs.
"Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but ... our country has not adapted," Rumsfeld said.
So let me see if I have this straight. These same "dead-enders," "remnants of defeated regimes," "small number of terrorists, a small number of militias, coupled with some demonstrations and some lawlessness," these are the same losers who now are suddenly relegated to some category of Blackberry-wielding, VOIP-using, IM'ing wizzes, operating in a country with a few hours of electricity per day? Is that the scenario? Or am I missing an episode in a trilogy?
You know, every time Rumsfeld speaks, I feel a little stupider. Here we are, arguably the most industrialized nation in the world, the home of Silicon Valley and Bill Gates and NASA, and our defense secretary is trying to sell us on the idea that we're getting our asses whupped by people he'd previously designated as unaffiliated, dying-gasp, disgruntled losers who are reluctant to enter the 21st century and partake of the fruits of democracy and capitalism with us.
If I missed a transitional phase, forgive me. Still, I have some advice for Mr. Rumsfeld. Check with your defense department's propaganda sub-contractors, because something's seriously amiss here. You can start with The Lincoln Group, which garnered a sweet $20 million for a two-month contract (that's $10 million a month for those too busy to do the math) that was supposed to propagandize the Iraqis into handing over their hearts and minds to the U.S. I'll await your email notification of the investigative result, Mr. Rumsfeld.