Gavin, 9 May 04
If there’s a failure, it’s me.
It’s my failure for not understanding and knowing that there were hundreds or however many there are of these things that could eventually end up in the public and do the damage they’ve done.
Donald Rumsfeld (7 May 04).
So the problem wasn’t the invasion. The problem wasn’t the imprisonment of hundreds of Iraqis for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The problem wasn’t the confused command structures. The problem wasn’t rogue ‘contractors’ in charge of interrogations. The problem wasn’t the lack of training or instruction to reservists charged to guard the prisoners. The problem wasn’t saying, with Guantanamo, that the Geneva conventions were optional. The problem wasn’t even the awful torture that the prisoners suffered.
No, Rummy made it clear what the problem was: they got caught. That was Rumsfeld’s only admitted failing.
