wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

c'mon folks -- the reason why Rumsfeld ignored Shinseki and warnings from intelligence about the mess they were getting into is (drum roll please): He, Cheney and the rest of BushCo WANTED the Iraq invasion to be a long-term, protracted mess. More military contracts for buddies/partners in the Military Industrial Complex, huge profits for weapons/aircraft manufacturers, PLEASE journalists/writers/'experts'--stop acting like it's such a mystery!!

Mr. Graham seems to be scratching his head at Rumsfeld's "contradictions." What about torture? What about Rumsfeld's role in the SERES techniques applied in Guantanamo and Bagram, and extraordinary rendition? Does Mr. Graham think this was all Cheney? Rumsfeld had no role in any of that? I'm a bit sceptical of this thesis.

Does he mention Rumsfeld's reaction to Katrina at all? Apparently, he wouldn't give orders to release help in the form of helicopters nearby unless somebody asked him nicely.

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_9217

What was Rumsfeld's opinion about the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filing a criminal complaint with the German Federal Prosecutor about possible war crimes involving Abbu Ghraib?

Rumsfeld DID try to reform the Pentagon and break down much of the bureaucracy, particularly in terms of weapons procurement....which ironically aligns with a direction liberals would want. I believe Pres. Clinton also tried similar "modernization" initiatives at the Pentagon.

If the Secretary of Defense knew exactly where Iraq's WMDs were during the invasion, why couldn't the military working under him locate and secure them?

Was Rumsfeld lying? Or can this failure be attributed to the incompetence of the soldiers on the ground - perhaps their inability to read the maps that Rumsfeld was using?

Which were the more consequential rules that he broke?

BTW, not to compare the two men, but since he was a young man, George Washington laid out rules to live by for himself and was very faithful to them.