House Editorial: Rumsfeld mismanages his way to the door
The president’s biggest mistake this year was not firing this guy in August
Posted on December 4, 2006

Even on the eve of his dismissal, Donald Rumsfeld is playing backseat driver. Two days before he resigned — and one day before the Election Day of reckoning — the former defense secretary sent a classified memo to the White House suggesting that the Bush administration’s strategy in Iraq was increasingly ineffective. “Clearly,” he said, “what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough.”

His master plan, however, hinges primarily on the idea that the administration should lower public expectations, the same game plan Karl Rove used to “win” the Bush-Gore debates in 2000. Rumsfeld said, “This will give us the ability to readjust and move to another course, if necessary, and therefore not ‘lose.’”

It was a brilliant strategy six years ago, though it is hopelessly misapplied in this case. Unlike elections (directly), significant numbers of people, including American soldiers, are dying as a result of policies in Iraq. And the Iraq war is in a very different place in our national consciousness; to think the American public will respond to a lowering of standards is to grossly underestimate our intelligence. Not to mention that to lower standards in order call something a “success” is to cheat.

As for Iraq, Rumsfeld’s suggestions hinged on the consistently patronizing ideas he has stated about the Iraqis since the war began. When suggesting a moderate troop withdrawal (apparently the makeup of Congress wasn’t the only thing to dramatically change that week), he did so, “so Iraqis know they have to pull up their socks, step up and take responsibility for their country.”

Another option called for punishing uncooperative provinces with a withdrawal of economic assistance and security. This ingenious gem of an idea will work as well as punishing underperforming schools by cutting their funding, effectively punishing them by removing the necessary infrastructure needed to bring about the ideal behavior. And even that is predicated upon the idea that we can punish Iraq like a disrespectful child who uses potty language. “Who’s your daddy?” does not make for effective international policy.

What Rumsfeld’s memo does suggest, however, is that the administration should “announce that whatever new approach the U.S. decides on, the U.S. is doing so on a trial basis.” Sure. That way, no one can really be blamed for the fallout because it was, after all, just an experiment.  This designated M.O. of the Bush administration is getting a little old.

First, Bush needs to take the wheel. Second, he does need to slow things down in Iraq. Third, we need to buckle our seat belts — even with Rumsfeld gone, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride until November 2008, at the very least.