The man responsible for the Iraq war is IDENTIFIED

Via AmericaBlog I read this DefenseTech post.

This adds further credence to the idea in an excellent diary here by revolute. (See also this well-done diary by PatsBard).

Yet the biggest news - as often is the case with blogs - is buried in the comments. The man responsible for the Iraq war.

I'll point him out below.

Before I get to the big news, let's review how Donald Rumself, the secretary of defense, is sadly being blamed for his role in the Iraq war debacle.

Poor man.

Sure, he was part of the neoconservative group in 1998 pushing President Clinton to go to war in Iraq.

Yes, he signed an open letter touting the idea.

And he was pushing the idea of bombing Iraq on the day of the Sept. 11th attacks even though counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke pointed out that Al Quaeda was in another country called Afghanistan.

And sure, Rumsfeld didn't provide enough ground forces in Afghanistan to finish the job there against Osama bin Laden.

And as early as October 2001, he was telling Tommy Franks to stop asking for so many forces because they needed to get ready for Iraq.

And bin Laden escaped from Tora Bora.

And the professional military told Rumsfeld that more troops would be needed to secure Iraq after the war.

And so he fired them.

And so the invasion occurred and the soldiers almost ran out of ammunition and went in without everyone equipped with body armor and armored humvees.

But he gloated and strutted before the press.

Then Iraqis began looting and crime broke out because there weren't enough troops to secure the country just as the professionals had warned would happen.

So Rumsfeld said democracy is messy shit happens.

And the reporters at the Pentagon laughed.

But the Iraqis waited for power to be restored and for water pipes to be fixed and for someone to stop the criminals from kidnapping and robbing.

But there weren't enough troops.

So they got frustrated and began increasing attacks about a year after the invasion -- exactly as the professionals at the War College had warned earlier.

But the president said, "Bring it on."

And people began dying.

So Rumsfeld blamed the press.

And he blamed the Iraqis.

Then he blamed the troops.

But you go into a war with the commander in chief and the defense secretary you have and not the one you want.

And soldiers had cameras and took pictures of things that Rumsfeld and Cheney wanted to occur, but didn't want us to see.

So it's gotten ugly.

And old career hand Rumsfeld, the backslapping, glad handing, ego stroking, backroom dealing old corporate pro has decided it's time for him to cut himself out.

Must prepare his golden parachute.

So the war was never his idea.

He's not to blame.

And just as the torture and secret detainments and prison rapes of children were ALL the fault of a few privates and sergeants from the hills of western Maryland and West Virginia, the debacle is not the fault of Rumsfeld.

In the Washington Post he tried to pin it on Bush, saying he just supported the president's plan.

But Robert nailed it with a beautiful piece of snark:

Rumself to take the blame? Naaa.

The whole blame for the Iraq Debacle is PFC John Shmedlap, 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, C Company, 1-16 Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.

Posted by: Robert at November 15, 2005 05:47 PM

And though the name will be different, you know that's where the Bush Cult, from Dear Leader to High Priest Donald Rumsfeld to the acolytes throughout the rightwing blogotopia will place the blame. On the soldiers who fought in the war that Bush and Rumsfeld lost before the first shot that never should have been fired.

For you see, it's not Rumsfeld's fault.