The House That Zelmo Built

"You are the government,
You are jurisprudence,
You are the volition,
You are jurisdiction,
And I make a difference too..... ~ 'You Are (The Government)' - Bad Religion




There are many people in this country who are appalled at the recent prison abuse scandal in Iraq. And there are those among them who are calling for Rumsfeld's resignation as a quick fix for the whole thing.

The problem with this stance is that calling for Rumsfeld's resignation, while even in the best of intentions as well as seeing it as setting a good precedent, is that it will also inevitably set an equally bad one.

Let's suppose, for instance, that Rumsfeld does step down, and somebody else were to step up into his place. Suppose that a month or two after the new Secretary Of Defense takes his or her seat in office, a new prisoner scandal were to take place, this time in.....oh, I dunno.....Afghanistan or something. Then we'd hear the same people calling for that Secretary of Defense' resignation.

Give an inch, and people like those seeking Rumsfeld's resignation, will take a mile. And that's why Rumsfeld shouldn't step down, because like it or not, We The People do not run the government. The elected and non-elected officials that we have put into power, run the government. Like him or not; agree with his policies or not; find him guilty of allowing these atrocities to take place or not; Rumsfeld is the best guy for the job. He has the most experience in the position as Secretary Of Defense and has served in the position before during the Ford Administration.

Honestly, I don't like Rumsfeld either. But the way I see it, there is no other option for the position other than him. Do those people calling for his resignation honestly believe that having Rumsfeld step down from the position will solve anything? Do they think that Al Qaeda will set their weapons down once they witness Rumsfeld's dignified resignation? Or that the Iraqi insurgents will suddenly embrace our troops with open arms over there, and elect a Democratic Jesus to rule Iraq the very next day?

Quite frankly, I find this idea of playing musical chairs with the Secretary Of Defense position every time something awful happens in the world as a result of disorderly conduct among our troops even more appalling than the prison scandal itself.


Global politics is not Minute Rice. It ain't ready to serve in five minutes.






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