Rumsfeld: Bush foes lack courage on terror

A rare commentary from the publisher of this blog is preamble to today's entry:






Dear Mr. Secretary,

Bring us Bin Laden's head on a pike, and parade it through Times Square. At that time you may lecture us about "moral and intellectual confusion" and what threatens our nation's security. In the meanwhile, please quit blaming the messenger for the bad news of your failures.

Sincerely yours,

- M. Peach

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror.

In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral and intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.

Addressing several thousand veterans at the American Legion's national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failed efforts to appease the Adolf Hitler regime in the 1930s.

- more -