It wouldn’t matter if we publicly executed Rumsfeld, the Arab world will never forgive the U.S. for those images (and the many more to come). The neo-conservative mission of ‘re-imagining’ the Middle East is not just more difficult, it’s now impossible. If we stay, the insurgents (many of whom probably see themselves as fighting for the freedom of Iraqis, not the other way around) will bleed us until we quit. Our intentions are no longer relevent, andI’m surprised that more ‘real politik’ enthusiasts from the Republican side of the aisle don’t see that.

The fact that the Pentagon has known about the abuses for six months (thank you, Red Cross, for staying true to your mission), undercuts anything this administration says about it’s intentions in Iraq. Bush has never been clear about our mission in Iraq, and this is the result. Are we safer now? In the blink of an eye, those images have created more future terrorists than the next 10 years with Hussein would have done. We are wasting the lives of our military in Iraq, and I hold Bush responsible for every individual killed following his stupid orders. Personally, I hope Bush keeps Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and the rest of those criminals close — they’ll hang like an albatross around his neck come November.