Rumsfeld goes "off-message"

18 months and 1000 US fighters dead, we no longer control the major cities in Iraq. The 3 weeks to Baghdad romp was a trap--the enemy encircled us--as Saddam said it would in this interview.

...if the Iraqis are subjected to aggression or humiliation they would fight bravely.

Other memorable quotes:

Saddam: If the purpose was to make sure that Iraq is free of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons then they can do that. These weapons do not come in small pills that you can hide in your pocket.

Benn: I have another which has been raised: Do you have links with al-Qaeda?

Saddam: If we had a relationship with al-Qaeda and we believed in that relationship we wouldn't be ashamed to admit it. Therefore I would like to tell you directly and also through you to anyone who is interested to know that we have no relationship with al-Qaeda.

Yesterday, Rumsfeld: No "hard evidence" of Iraq Al Qaeda link.

BBC has more on this.

"To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two."

His statement was in marked contrast to what he said in September 2002 when he described the evidence of a link as "bullet-proof."

Looks like John Kerry has a friend.

Rumsfeld was courageous to go off message and say what he did. The rest of the world doesn't believe the earth is flat, saying so merely to stay on message doesn't make it so or buy us credibility.

That Bush did not challenge Kerry's assertions about WMD or Al Qaeda connection in the first debate is also revealing, coming as it did only days after that comment about the war on terror being unwinnable. (Well, duh, you can't defeat terrorists with conventional military tactics.)

This is now no longer a question of credibility but one of competence. Using wildly exaggerated WMD evidence and discredited Al Qaeda links to invade Iraq has shattered our credibility. The word of the United States is no good.

Invading an Islamic nation with 130,000 troops when most were advising double that number, not planning for
the postwar period, Abu Ghraib, etc are signs of gross incompetence.

We need to regain credibility if we are ever to have another "De Gaulle moment".

"I mean, we can remember when President Kennedy in the Cuban missile crisis sent his secretary of state to Paris to meet with DeGaulle. And in the middle of the discussion, to tell them about the missiles in Cuba, he said, "Here, let me show you the photos." And DeGaulle waved them off and said, "No, no, no, no. The word of the president of the United States is good enough for me."" --Kerry, first Presidential Debate.