Upon reflection of what the world is going through now and the people in the center of this conflict, there seem to be a few classes of people:
1. People not interested in the conflict with Islamic Fascism (a good portion of the world and the US)
2. People interested in the conflict, but don’t understand why we are at war or what to do about it (probably between 30-60% of Americans)
3. People who understand why we are at conflict and the threat the conflict is to the West, but don’t understand what to do about it (a good deal of the Iraq war supporters)
4. People who understand why we are at war and the threat the conflict is to the West, AND understand what we need to do about it
In this last category there are very few people. Donald Rumsfeld is one of them. He understands the conflict, knew how to fight and knew what is needed to begin to defeat Islamic murderers. He was fought against from all sides, and wasn’t given free reign when he should have been. Powell restricted him in the beginning when he immediately wanted to give control to Iraq to the Iraqi’s (not to the provincial government), and even some of the “good guys” who seem to get it, like Jim Woolsey and Bill Kristol, called for his resignation. But when push came to shove, this straight-talking, clear-thinking Secretary of Defense has steered us in the right course. It is too bad that the country hasn’t yet shown to really understand what we are facing.
By the way, there are a few others who understand the risks we face and what we can begin to do about it: Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Charles Krauthammer, and to a large extent, George W. Bush.
UPDATE: Read what Hanson has to say about Rummy.