To: Bradley Graham of the Washington Post
I enjoyed your article On Rumsfeld and his upcoming book.
I recall, a year into the Iraq war, when things were not going too well and our troops were dying daily at an alarming rate due to roadside bombs, Rumsfeld took the stage at a press briefing and said these unforgettable words, "quite frankly, we did not anticipate this level of insurgency".
"Holy shit!", I thought. . .how could they, Rumsfeld and the Pentagon, have not anticipated this insurgency? Every student of history knows that in occupied countries the insurgency builds with every passing day. I knew that going in. . .why in the hell did not those in charge whose job it is to be a lot smarter than me? How could the carreer military and even the President not see that the insurgency would become an ever increasing problem? Isn't it the Pentagons job to not only anticipate but to over-anticipate such threats?
I had become captive myself of the rhetoric that we needed to invade for the purposes of protecting our "homeland". It was very powerful rhetoric indeed in the days following 9/11. And, I knew of the horrible atrocities committed towards the Iraqi people including death (and a horrible one at that) for simply owning a satellite dish antenna. So, I had reluctantly thought that invasion was necessary but only if we had a good strategy for the aftermath including plans to counter the inevitable growing insurgency.
So, in watching Rumsfeld, I was immediately struck with the ignorance of a world leader that knew even less about the war than me, an admitted armchair General. "How could this be", I thought?
It then occured to me that, if President Bush was the least bit competant, he would fire Rumsfeld on the spot for simply making such an ignorant statement. But, of course, Bush did not fire Rumsfeld. It would be many years, as the country decended into even greater chaos and the death and dismemebering of our brave soldiers continued unimpeded, before Bush would finally replace Rumsfeld and, almost immediately, things improved profoundly.
The incompetance of both Bush and Rumsfeld regarding these matters and many more is striking. That they both have books out which are both destined to be best sellers is even more astounding.
We reward and in some cases even worship the truely ignorant in this country.
The titles of both books are infuriating ("Decision Points", by George Bush, and "Known and Unknown" by Donald Rumsfeld").