Rumsfeld The Pathetic

There he was again today, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was asking his rhetorical questions about Iraq. "Are people dying? " He answers his own question, just in case there is one person in the world who does not know the answer. "Yes," he says. He goes on. "This is not a classic civil war." Let's see. The Shias and the Sunnis are cutting each other's throats and blowing up each other's children. About 100 Iraqi civilians are killed every day. So how many have to die in a day to merit the title of "classic?" And just how did Rumsfeld sum up this bloody mess today? "It is unfortunate," he said.

Meanwhile, not so very far to the west, Lebanon -- so praised not long ago in Washington for becoming a Syria-free democracy -- is falling apart. At least 40% of the country supports Hezbollah. Comandante Bush, who for so long seemed almost paralyzed in the face of the endless Israeli-Palestinian standoff, continues to stall while the rest of the world clamors for a cease-fire. Today there was acceleration on both sides, with Hezbollah firing a record number of rockets into Israel and Israeli soldiers and tanks massing at the Lebanese border for a huge land invasion. And that voice in the background? Condi sounds almost as pathetic as Rummy.