Donald Rumsfeld called his memos "snowflakes"? Are you kidding me?
WaPo:
In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to "keep elevating the threat," "link Iraq to Iran" and develop "bumper sticker statements" to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.
I always wondered who Bush was tlaking about when he said that "some people" don't believe Arabs and Muslims will do that heard work necessary to create democracy. Now I know. He was talking about his own SecDef.
This part was good too:
Under siege in April 2006, when a series of retired generals denounced him and called for his resignation in newspaper op-ed pieces, Rumsfeld produced a memo after a conference call with military analysts. "Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," he wrote.People will "rally" to sacrifice, he noted after the meeting. "They are looking for leadership. Sacrifice = Victory."
... In one of his longer ruminations, in May 2004, Rumsfeld considered whether to redefine the terrorism fight as a "worldwide insurgency." The goal of the enemy, he wrote, is to "end the state system, using terrorism, to drive the non-radicals from the world." He then advised aides "to test what the results could be" if the war on terrorism were renamed.
We are "surrounded" by violent extremists who are fighting to "end the state system." Wow. I bet that's news to them. And let's be honest here - even if that's what they want, there is absolutely no indication whatsoever that they have the means to make that dream a reality. I'd love to grow wings and fly, but if I organized my life around that desire I'd rightly be labeled crazy.
At some point we need to get over our fear of scary words and focus on reality.
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