The Daily Background

Well, this is somewhat unbelievable. Turns out that hours before he was fired by President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote one last top secret memo, and it outlined a grave disconnect with his public statements and those of the President about the Iraq war. Set to splash on the Sunday New York Times front page tomorrow is an article which reveals the contents of the memo. In a rare step by the Times, the story and full text of the memo was posted on their website a full day early– as opposed to the customary four or five hours that major stories get posted on their website before they go to press.

It is unclear how much the memo is worth now that the Secretary of Defense will be replaced soon. NYT notes that “With Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation, the options no longer have the same weight.”

The classified memo, which was dated November 6th and whose veracity has been confirmed to the Times, is titled “Iraq- Illustrative New Courses of Action.” It is structured as a list of several “above the line” options which are attractive ones, and “below the line” options which are less attractive. Among the less attractive ones, include “continue on the current path” and send in a large number of more combat troops.

In a clear confirmation of one of Bob Woodward’s central claims about Rumsfeld’s Iraq doctrine, the SecDef recommends that the US “Begin modest withdrawals of U.S. and Coalition forces (start “taking our hand off the bicycle seat”), so Iraqis know they have to pull up their socks, step up and take responsibility for their country.” Also recommended is giving the Iraqis more equipment which currently belongs to US troops.

In its article, the Times notes that “the memo calls for examination of ideas that roughly parallel troop withdrawal proposals presented by some of the White House’s sharpest Democratic critics.” At another point, the Times writes Rumsfeld seems to be “Taking a leaf out of Mr. Hussein’s book” in suggesting paying off Iraqi leaders in order to get them on ‘America’s side.’ The Times also notes that some parts of the memo “reflect exasperation.”

Near the end of the article, the Times remembers that “On Oct. 31, just a week before finishing the memo, Mr. Rumsfeld told a radio interviewer, “I feel that we are making good progress with the piece of it the Defense Department has.”

Filed under: Rumsfeld Related, Iraq Related, Z-TDB Blog