Rummy and Cheney on Iraq's New Government

This just in: those wack Iraqis can't hatch some gov'ment that will get all up in our grill. No, sir: Cheney and Rumsfeld agree on this point. Saith the Veep: "I don't think, at this stage, that there's anything like justification for hand-wringing or concern on the part of Americans that somehow they're going to produce a result we won't like." Yeah, 150,000 American troops will ensure that, right? Quoth the SecDef: "The Shia in Iraq are Iraqis. They're not Iranians. And the idea that they're going to end up with a government like Iran, with a handful of mullahs controlling much of the country, I think, is unlikely."

Rummy, there are known knowns, like the national appellation of people who live in Iran versus those who live in Iraq. Then there are unknown unknowns, like whether Shia on the west side of the border think that Iran is a good model. And I don't think you're the best guide here. After all, once upon a time, you said that "Saddam Hussein possesses chemical and biological weapons... He has an active program to acquire and develop nuclear weapons." You also said, "the area… that coalition forces control… happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed. We know where they are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." So shut your cake hole about the Iraqi government. And that goes double for you, Cheney.