Lugar Breaks With Bush

If there is any Republican currently in the Senate who understands foreign relations, it would have to be Richard Lugar of Indiana. Being a Hoosier, I’ve enjoyed meeting the Senator once or twice and I have a lot of respect for him, despite his party affiliation. And my admiration has only grown as a result of his comments last night on the Iraq War. Read all about it in the New York Times.

Among other things, the Senator said: “In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved. Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term.” Exactly. President Bush has very little time to shift our strategy to a sounder footing, and it would be in his interest -- and ours -- to listen to folks like Senator Lugar who know a hell of a lot more about the world than he does.

Truth Hurts

More shameful behavior on the part of the Bush administration.

Donald Rumsfeld is a snake and he should never have been Secretary of Defense. I’m looking forward to war crimes indictments for Rummy, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, and even Boy George. In the meantime, check out this story in the New Yorker about the report on Abu Ghraib authored by General Antonio Taguba. The man was doing his duty, trying to find the truth, and of course Rumsfeld denied all knowledge of what was uncovered. Deniability, but hardly plausible. For his efforts, Taguba was forced to retire. Disgraceful.