Does this guy ever get tired of being fucking wrong all the time?

WaPo:

FALLON NAVAL AIR STATION, Nev. -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday he is deeply troubled by the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media" to influence Westerners.

"That's the thing that keeps me up at night," he said during a question-and-answer session with about 200 naval aviators and other Navy personnel at this flight training base for Navy and Marine pilots.

Really? That's THE THING keeps him up? Does the number of dead and wounded US servicemen & women and Iraqi civilians at least make the top ten?

Rumsfeld was asked whether the criticism he draws as Pentagon chief and a leading advocate of the war in Iraq is an impediment to performing his job. He said it was not and he knows from history that wars are normally unpopular with many Americans. "I expect that," he said. "I understand that."

Does "many" mean "more than 60%"?

"What bothers me the most is how clever the enemy is," he continued, launching an extensive broadside at Islamic extremist groups which he said are trying to undermine Western support for the war on terror.

Yes, clever enemies are troublesome. And clearly you were not expecting them to be clever. You were expecting them to be nonexistent, right?

"They are actively manipulating the media in this country" by, for example, falsely blaming U.S. troops for civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

Ummm...did anyone tell Rumsfeld what the term "collateral damage" means in all those reports he reads?

"They can lie with impunity," he said, while U.S. troops are held to a high standard of conduct.

By "high standard of conduct," does he mean "not rape and kill civilians"? Because, well, um, again, are his generals keeping him in the loop?

"The enemy lies constantly - almost totally without penalty."

Meanwhile, we always punish those who perpetrate lies upon our people.

"They portray our cause as a war on Islam when in fact the overwhelming majority of victims of their terrorism have been the thousands and thousands of innocent Muslims - men, women and children - that they have killed."

So he wants credit for killing fewer civilians that our enemy does? I'm not sure that contest really has a winner.

He added, "While some at home argue for tossing in the towel, the enemy is waiting and hoping that we will do just that."

Me too!

Rumsfeld often complains about what he calls the terrorists' success in persuading Westerners that the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of a crusade against Islam.

Wow, where did we get THAT idea?