Friday, June 02, 2006

Next Friday Night Fight: Rumsfeld vs. al Maliki

Dear President Bush,

Will Senators Reid and McCain be ringside for the next big fight? It appears Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with go toe to toe with the new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki over the professionalism of U.S. soldiers operating in Iraq.

Secretary Rumsfeld believes 99.9% of U.S. soldiers are professionals and behave according to high U.S. behavioral standards. The Prime Minister feels otherwise, calling poor treatment of civilians common amongst American soldiers.

Al-Maliki said the list of human rights breaches by coalition forces in Iraq was long. "This is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces," the prime minister said. "No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It's unacceptable." Al-Maliki's remarks bolstered Iraqi complaints that U.S. troops are insensitive to their culture and show disregard for their lives.

So which leader is correct? Is Donald Rumsfeld right with his 99.9% number or is Mr. al Maliki correct that human rights breaches are common? As liars figure and figures lie, I suggest a good old fashioned pugilistic solution. Let the two men square off, mano a mano. The winner gets to push his version of events.

As you pass this idea over to Karl, be thinking about how you can make hay come Election Day. You could have the Nevada Boxing Commission lose Harry Reid’s check. This would open your nemesis to criticism over not fixing past ethical problems. Let me know how Karl reacts to this idea, that is if he is still under your employ. You still have time to fire any staff members charged with a crime in the CIA agent name leak and fix your past ethical breach. But you better act fast if the rumor mill is correct!

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