Whatever the reasons for invading Iraq, there was one that was denied like it was Rumsfeld’s bastard child.

“We won’t take forces and go around the world and try to take other people’s oil … that’s not how democracies operate,” he said during the buildup to the war.

Mr. Rumsfeld’s tenure as Secretary of Defense yielded some marvelous quotes. Who can forget the “As you know, you go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want” line? This was a response to a soldier who asked about the status of armored humvees. Now we can use this logic and Rumsfeld’s quote on how our democracy works becomes clearer. You go to war with the democracy you have, not the democracy you want. So if that means that I can hoodwink you into thinking that oil has nothing to do with our invasion of Iraq, then Joe Six-Pack should give the hooch a rest. (Note: I am good friends with Joe Six-Pack and I take personal offense to any insults directed his way).

Then there is this quote he made on 9/11/06. “The fact of the matter is, if Saddam Hussein were still in power in Iraq, he would be rolling in petrol dollars. Think of the price of oil today. He would have so much money. And he would be seeing the Iranians interested in a nuclear program, he would be seeing the North Koreans developing a nuclear program, and he’d say well why shouldn’t he – and he would. So we’re fortunate that he’s gone.”

You are absolutely right, Mr. Rumsfeld. Saddam Hussein would be making bank. But he was already generating a substantial income from oil before he was ousted. Does this mean that oil may have been a consideration in our rational for invading?

And what is this about Saddam Hussein supplying the Iranians with nuclear technology? Do you mean the same Iran that fought against him for eight years? The same Iran that funded, supplied and trained militias to topple his regime? Is that the Iran that he would have provided North Korean nuclear technology? Iran is making billions off of their oil. What would have kept them from getting their nuclear technology directly from North Korea? Honestly man! From where do you think?

It’s not so much that Donald Rumsfeld was a hyper-arrogant jerk that bothers me after all of this time. It is that from the beginning of this war we had an ostensibly free media, a literate public (in that they can read), and a party that was supposed to provide some opposition. But no one did what they were supposed to do in a democracy. No one asked tough questions and pursued them doggedly. No. Instead we became part of Bush’s cult of personality. Rumsfeld was the high priest and Cheney was whatever the Darth Vader equivalent is in this cult. So we went to war with the democracy we had and we have no one to blame but you, me, and Joe Six-Pack.

Othman says you read the columns you have, not the ones you want or wish you had.