The first thing that came to mind when I read Rumsfeld's comments was a promise LBJ made during the 1964 Presidential election to not "send American boys to do the fighting that Vietnamese boys should be doing." Of course, one year later after he was elected, he broke that promise. By my count we've "broken the back" of the insurgency about four or five times now, two of those times in the past 7months alone (Fallujah I and II, anyone?)

Forget WMD and Al Qaeda... this is the same man who described the widespread looting in Baghdad in April/May 2003 as "untidiness" and denied that we were in a guerilla war in Iraq until Gen. Abizaid contradicted him in the summer of 2003 (Gen. Abizaid also indirectly contradicted VP Cheney's "last throes" remark this past week on the Hill... notice a patter in what comes from the uniformed servicemen vs. civilian leadership?)

How can the insurgency be in its "last throes", Mr. Vice President, when simultaneously it can last "five, six, eight, 10, 12 years," as Rumsfeld says. And let's not play cute and parse statements with glib "Well, he actually didn't say THIS insurgency."

Please... I guess it depends on what the meaning of "quagmire" is.

So we're established from Mr. Rumsfeld that:

1) we are in the middle of an "Iraqiazation" of the fighting forces in Iraq, modeled I'm sure after the FAILED program of "Vietnamization" 35 years ago.

This is sold as the solution to "liberating" Iraq and brining the boys home... sometime by the end of the decade.

2) There is no way that we're going to beat the insurgency. I agree with that, no matter what lofty rhetoic about the power of demoraacy AEI scholars want to spout, that doesn't stop a bullet from an insurgent or the shrapnel from a car bomb. And THAT is what Iraqi soldiers and civilians are worried about.

What I don't agree with is the pie-in-the-sky notion that this weak Iraqi Defense Force, with a strong but very small special operations corps that is actually competent, can hold a candle tactically to the insurgents running roughshod over the country right now. We can sing the Iraqi's praise and kiss their ass all we want to... that isn't going to make them shoot any straighter or not run away any more than they are now. Until we stop kidding ourselves that the Iraqi military is a suitable replacement to fight the insurgents, we will continue to waste more time, money and American lives in Iraq.

3) The insurgency in Iraq, and thus our involvement in this guerilla war, will last many more years. Well... no shit, Sherlock. Anyone without a presidential appointment and the required lobotomy could tell you that.

Where are the Paul Wolfowitzs, Douglas Feiths, and Ken Adelmans who declared this to be a "cakewalk" and viciously attacked anyone who stated otherwise?

By settng artificially optimistic goals and then failing time and time again to meet them, this Administration has lost the faith and confidence of the American people. Don't accuse those who oppose your bass-ackwards policies of not supporting the troops, Mr. Rumsfeld. You do the men and women in uniform a great disservice through your regular deceptions and CYA antics on Capitol Hill.

By the way, whenever this administration says "it's not going to cost much,"

I want to feel for my wallet. Likewise, when Rummy says "I would not make a big deal out of" negotiating with the insurgents and terrorists regularly villified by this administration as the personification of evil, there really is something there there.

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