December 25, 2004

Opinion:

Timing is everything, but it is not the only thing

    By Jack Grant

Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice writes in a post about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's current visit to Iraq in the wake of the recent "armor question" and "signature machine" imbroglios:

It is NOT unusual for an administration member in any wartime adminstration to visit troops during Thanksgiving or Christmas. And while Rumseld's trip is laudable, the timing is..ahem...a tad suspect.
While Joe is using some of his dry wit here, and while I have been no fan of Rumsfeld in his performance as Secretary of Defense, especially in light of the recent revelations that Colin Powell stated there have been too few troops in Iraq to properly control the country, I think it is rather unfair to "question the timing" of Rumsfeld's visit as solely a cynical ploy.

I disagree with many of the actions of the Bush administration, but I do not feel that they are entirely cynical and cold-hearted. While I am sure there was some discussion of the political benefits of a visit with the troops over Christmas, I do not think the sole or even the primary reason for this visit was for PR value in the US.

Posted by Jack Grant at 06:05 on 25 December 2004
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