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September 05, 2006
Rummy takes some flak
Last week, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld addressed members of the American Legion at its National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite Iran’s defiance of the U.N. deadline to end nuclear pursuits, a tense stand-off between Israel and Lebanon, and little semblance of support for the war in Iraq, Rumsfeld had other concerns on his mind.
After the usual pleasantries, Rumsfeld briefly recounted history from 1919--the year the Legion was founded--to 1939, the year Hitler invaded Poland to begin World War II. He recalled the rise of fascism (the Bush administration’s latest buzzword, coincidentally) in Europe and efforts by the West to pacify dictators. Critics of these policies were ignored or ridiculed, Rumsfeld continued.
Obviously, these critics were vindicated by history as World War II ended in unprecedented bloodshed.
Which brings us to the next point: support the War on Terror, the war in Iraq and the war on whatever we deem to be a threat. What?
No, I’m serious. “... We face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism. Today, another enemy, a different kind of enemyčhas made clear its intentions with attacks in places like New York and Washington, D.C., Bali, London, Madrid, Moscow and so many other places. But some seem not to have learned history’s lessons.”
Indeed, one could almost hear the villainous cartoon music being cued as Rumsfeld reached the unspoken crux of his argument: that those who do not support the U.S. effort in the Global War on Terror¬ are essentially today’s Hitler appeasers.
Brilliant.
Rummy, as he is affectionately known in some circles, poses some rhetorical questions to the audience. “With the growing lethality and the increasing availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?” (Sorry about the rationale for invading Iraq being completely baseless, but at least we’re not like those dirty appeasers.) “And can we really afford to return to the destructive view that America, not the enemy, but America, is the source of the world’s troubles?”
I like to think of this line as the “America...Hell Yeah!” argument.
Next, Rumsfeld directs his venom toward the usual suspects: the media and human rights organizations. He attacks the goons at Newsweek for referring to members of the armed forces as a “mercenary army.”
For the record, the reporter in question was criticizing the way some refer to the military as strictly “volunteer,” a fair critique in my eyes.
Rumsfeld then blasts Amnesty International for calling Guantanamo Bay “the gulag of our times.” I’m happy that Donald has changed his opinion on unfair World War II allusions, though a gulag is really any prison or detention camp, so I’m not sure I can even give him that victory.
Closing remarks consisted of the Secretary warning Americans to heed the lessons of history and persevere toward “victory” against terror and other such bad things.
Benito Mussolini, who popularized the term “fascism,” believed that a perpetual war was necessary for the preservation and success of the State.
Hey...it’s just an allusion.
Posted by dwright at September 5, 2006 09:07 PM
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