Political Ramblings and Ventings

I've been having a really good weekend, but for a small event that took place Friday night:

My father and I went to pick up my sister from the bus stop (she's visiting from Montreal for a few days and it's SOOOOOOOOOOO nice to have her here. A big thank you goes out to my currently-alone-in-Montreal-brother-in-law for being such a good sport :DDD) and we listened to 580 CFRA in the car on the way over. This is Ottawa's news talk radio station, and it's ridiculously right leaning, but for a small handful of reporters that don't spew out the first Republican-endorsed sentence they can think of. I personally prefer listening to CBC Radio One, but this station (CFRA) is my father's station of choice, not because he's right-wing himself, but because he likes to know what others are saying and thinking, so I respect that when I'm in the car with him. Anyway, it turns out last Friday was Donald Rumsfeld's last day on the job as U.S. Defense Secretary, and so, as reported by CFRA, it turns out they had some sort of party for him, involving full military honours and speeches and what-not.

Okay, let's stop, look back, and consider what might be wrong with this picture.... Rumsfeld was one of the architects of the war in Iraq when the majority of the world was screaming "WAIT, there are no WMD's" (I'm not naive enough to believe he was THE guy. Usually those truly responsible and really running the show are in the background, nowhere near the public fame of elected officials), he's the guy who barely flinched when the disgusting abuses (which he probably ordered) at Abu Ghraib were publicized, he's the guy who's stood by and refused to look for other tactics to deal with Iraq as the country deteriorated into the insurgency and flat out civil war that it's currently facing. He's the guy who, on a visit to "motivate" troops in Iraq, actually told them to "settle down" and that he'd "had a long day" when they complained that they weren't properly equipped and were dying needlessly. and we're having a PARTY to celebrate him before he leaves after all the disgusting stuff he's "accomplished"???

In case you're not already sick to your stomach, here are some details: at the goodbye ceremony for Rumsfeld, Bush said "The man knows how to lead, and he did, and the country is better off for it." (oh really? Tell that to the families of close to 3000 U.S. soldiers who've died in Iraq. Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis, and we'll never know the true number because the government won't keep statistics on the Iraqi dead; not important enough I suppose)

Cheney called Rumsfeld "the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had." (Hmmm, I'll have to disagree Dick. I'd have liked him better if he'd managed to invade Iran and Syria during his 6 years too. Oh wait, I suppose you're still working on that).

As if the goodbye party wasn't enough, Rumsfeld went to Iraq last weekend to see the troops one last time. Of course, this is definitely going to help them and the Iraqis! This will improve everything. Let's waste more money on an old man who's managed to participate in the destruction of a country and countless lives, so he can leave with dignity and a false sense of accomplishment. What about all those who's dignity was taken away from them for nothing? What about those who never got a chance to accomplish what they wanted to in their lives because their lives were taken away?

If it were me in charge, I would sent Rumsfeld to jail, not throw him a party.