Rumsfeld at the show

The headline out of the Senate hearing today is Generals raise fears of Iraq civil war, but that's not all that was there. I didn't see Rumsfeld's opening statement, but an excerpt from Reuters. (This is Rumsfeld's justification for staying in Iraq. If we leave Iraq, Americans would no longer be allowed in Spain.)

"If we left Iraq prematurely as the terrorists demand, the enemy would tell us to leave Afghanistan and then withdraw from the Middle East," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee at a hearing.

"And if we left the Middle East, they'd order us and all those who don't share their militant ideology to leave what they call the occupied Muslim lands from Spain to the Philippines," he said.

"And then we would face not only the evil ideology of these extremists, but an enemy that will have grown accustomed to succeeding in telling free people everywhere what to do."

This is the thinking that's running the war. It's not about winning, it's about proving we can take casualties.

(And, it's no wonder Rumsfeld looked cowed, a new poll shows 55% of Americans want a complete troop withdrawal within a year.)

Last, something crossed my mind as I watched Rumsfeld defending himself from Hillary Clinton's scathing indictment. The Iraqis are not fighting against "freedom," they are fighting for self-determination.

Later: I forgot about the odd section where Republican committee chair Sen. Warner was asking whether Congress's original force authorization extended to the current circumstance.

(Again, sorry for so much Iraq today, but that's the story that's got my interest.)