And now for something unexpected: a vigorous defense of our Secretary of Defense. Some lefty hippies think he ought to be fired. Well, I think he's done a swell job. Let's not forget that it is his responsibility to oversee battle plans and to keep our country adequately defended. Now, the President ordered him to plunge hundreds of thousands of troops into the cradle of civilization. The President ordered him to invade a country that posed no immediate or discernable threat to the United States; to topple its leadership and decimate its military. The President gave these orders without asking Rummy for his opinion on the matter. It's also important to note that this President misconstrued the lessons of Vietnam; he believed we lost that war because the military wasn't permitted to unleash a great nuclear firestorm of destruction (a/k/a "victory"). He didn't understand that Vietnam was not winnable for political and cultural reasons; he doesn't read thick books on policy. So Rummy was directed to blast the little sand monkeys straight to hell without regard for political considerations (i.e., protests, Sean Penn, the French, prison-related fetishes, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Goggle search for the "Grand Opening of the #1 Vacation Hotspot for International Terrorists", etc.). So Rummy did as he was told. Did Rummy know that Iraq would turn into a cesspit of anti-Americanism in the post-war period? Maybe. But who cares. His job ain't "nation building"; it's make sure that once the enemy falls, he don't get up no more after that. See? Bush thought his job was to delegate, like a good MBA. He thought he was supposed to point to Rummy and say, "win that war"; then take a nap. So that's exactly what he did.