Rummy misses by a mile

via Sullivan, here's an interesting didactic from our Secretary of Defense at The Belgavia Dispatch.

Rumsfeld on the Shia "security force abuses" (not yet officially deathsquads):

SEC. RUMSFELD: I -- my sense is I don't know. And it's obviously something that one has to be attentive to. It's obviously something that the -- General Casey and his troops are attentive to and have to be concerned about. It -- I'm not going to be judging it from 4,000 miles away -- how many miles away?
--
GEN. PACE: It's a long ways.
SEC. RUMSFELD: It's a long way -- 5,000, 6,000 maybe.

Excuse me...what the fuck is the point? It doesn't matter how far away it is!!!! We as a country have 160,000 troops deployed in a war zone. If you're in charge of the military, that's probably the most important mission on your agenda. So stop coming up with quirky little excuses for why you can't do your job, and do it. Or resign.