Rumsfeld reaches out to Democrats (Guest Post by Noise)

In a letter to Congress's top Democrats, Rumsfeld said recent remarks he made during a speech in Salt Lake City were misrepresented by the media, including by the Associated Press. Rumsfeld said he was "concerned" by the reaction of Democrats, many of whom called for his resignation and said he was treading on dangerous territory.

"I know you agree that with America under attack and U.S. troops in the field, our national debate on this should be constructive," Rumsfeld wrote Friday.

During his speech before thousands of veterans Tuesday, Rumsfeld said the world faces "a new type of fascism" and warned against repeating the pre-World War II mistake of appeasement. He alluded to critics of the Bush administration's war policies in terms associated with the failure to stop Nazism in the 1930s, "a time when a certain amount of cynicism and moral confusion set in among the Western democracies."

Without explicitly citing Bush critics at home or abroad, he said "it is apparent that many have still not learned history's lessons." Aides to Rumsfeld said later he was not accusing the administration's critics of trying to appease the terrorists but was cautioning against a repeat of errors made in earlier eras.

"Thought and careful preparation went into what I said," Rumsfeld wrote in the letter. "It is absolutely essential for us to look at lessons of history in this critical moment in the war on terror." I was honored by the reception my statements received from our veterans. Link

1) Public opinion is the extent of Rumsfeld's worries? Remember the old days when there was such a thing as Congressional oversight? I still don't understand why Congress is putting up with this crap. The Iraq policy doesn't hurt politicians. It hurts soldiers and Iraqi civilians. They deserve much better than this.

2) It's an occupation. The architects of the occupation policy have not been held accountable for their "mistakes." If the stakes are as high as Rumsfeld suggests, why are his personal failures tolerated?

3) Anyone remember the Battle of Mogadishu (the book/movie Black Hawk Down was based on this battle)? SoD Aspin lost his job due to the political pressure. I don't recall Aspin blaming the public for "not getting it."

Update. Rimone from the comments section:

Remember the old days when there was such a thing as Congressional oversight? I still don't understand why Congress is putting up with this crap.

NSA snooping and blackmail threats? just a guess.

The Iraq policy doesn't hurt politicians.

not yet, goddammit.

It hurts soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

meh! those soldiers are all expendable and shit and as for iraqi civilians? TERRORISTS ALL!

i could scream.
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Would blackmail explain the betrayal of soldiers? Possibly. But what could be more shameful than doing nothing in the face of a grossly incompetent/possibly sinister occupation policy?

The talking points are geared for the Democrats. The problem is the "cut and run" BS doesn't affect Nancy Pelosi at all, instead it affects a national guard soldier on a 3rd tour who has been stop lossed. Obvious? Not to many Americans. The Bush administration is very good at making the tangible consequences of their policy appear to be abstract.

Re: Expendable

"These people are volunteers," he told reporters Saturday. "They all signed up. They all are there doing what they're doing because they want to."

Re: Iraqi civilians

Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum and an unrepentant hawk, complained about "the ingratitude of the Iraqis for the extraordinary favor we gave them: to release them from the bondage of Saddam Hussein's tyranny."