AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

On Molly Ivins: 10 Mistakes responsible for getting us into Iraq.

Columnist Molly Ivans wrote on May 27, 2004 giving 10 mistakes responsible for getting us into Iraq. Her 10 reasons are well worth reading. I got a kick out of the anecdote that she threw in parenthetically:

Another citizen with some valuable suggestions is New York lawyer Neal Johnston, who was moved to write Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld concerning "proper controls upon the interrogation techniques of detainees held by our military forces abroad." Since we are extremely interested in getting the truth out of reluctant witnesses who may be covering up something, and since the Pentagon apparently feels it knows how to do this, Johnston wonders what would happen if the methods were more broadly applied. For example, he writes Rumsfeld, "When next you testify before a congressional committee, would your testimony be any more credible were you required to deliver it stripped naked? I think not.

"When our plans for Iraq are next explored at a Cabinet meeting, would your observations be any more insightful if delivered while strapped to a board and irregularly submerged in a vat of water? Doubtful at best."

Even, Johnston suggests, shoving a rolled copy of the Bill of Rights up a delicate place on the secretary's person would not necessarily improve Rumsfeld's truthfulness at his next press conference. "My solution is really quite simple: The Iraqi scum should be handled with much the same restraint we would all want to be applied to you, should the present criminal investigations wind up reaching even deeper into your office than is already the case



Naples Daily News: Columnists