Rummy, You Won't Be Missed

A reminder of why no one will miss Donald Rumsfeld, senile king of the neocons-

In brief remarks, Rumsfeld described the Iraq conflict as a "little understood, unfamiliar war" that is "complex for people to comprehend."

As Dick Cheney once said, "go fuck yourself". Ohh, and good riddance.

But what about Robert Gates, the new Secretary of Defense (pending confirmation, natch)? Is this a major change or just a cosmetic change only? Let's see-

Gates, a former CIA chief, was a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel that is making recommendations to Bush on how to proceed in Iraq.

Gates traveled with the panel to Iraq earlier this year, an experience, Bush said, that will enable Gates to come up with "new ideas on how America can achieve our goals in Iraq."

This is the encouraging part.

For those out of the loop, the Iraq Study Group is the one run by James Baker, which according to the NY Sun, "has ruled out the prospect of victory for America" and "is considering two option papers, 'Stability First' and 'Redeploy and Contain,' both of which rule out any prospect of making Iraq a stable democracy in the near term...'Stability First' argues that the military should focus on stabilizing Baghdad while the American Embassy should work toward political accommodation with insurgents... The 'Redeploy and Contain' option calls for the phased withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq." That ain't perfect, but it's far more reality-based than Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld.

(He has also advocated direct talks with Iran, rather than the neocon 'blow 'em all up' plan)

The less than encouraging stuff (besides, you know, the Iran-Contra connections)? Well-

Bush heralded Gates' time as deputy director of central intelligence in the Reagan administration, when "he helped lead America's efforts to drive Soviet forces from Afghanistan."

Translation: He helped train Osama bin Laden and his muhjadeen fighters. Not so cool. We are basically trading the guy who helped arm Saddam for the guy who helped arm Osama. Not exactly the change I had hoped for when we called for Rumsfeld's head.

We're all happy over the election, but let's not delude ourselves into thinking the President's position has radically changed. Yes, he was forced to sacrifice Rumsfeld (four years too late for thousands of troops and Iraqis), and yes he has lost his rubberstamp Congress, but the political battle over the war is just beginning. The debate has changed (for the better), but it isn't over.