On the Iraq Memo Donald Rumsfeld Wrote as He Was About to Be Fired

So who among us ever could have known
That Rumsfeld, who in public's always shown
Such confidence that triumph was for sure,
Could, in his private heart of hearts, abjure
This policy with which he'd been entrusted
And say it'd busted and must be adjusted?
And who among us ever could have dreamt
That notions Rumsfeld treated with contempt--
Like pulling back our troops to, say, Kuwait,v A plan he called unworthy of debate--
Would be among the options he'd present
To George Bush in this memo that he sent?
And who among us possibly can tell
If this man who tried desperately to sell
This war was simply faking all these years
Or now is faking so that it appears
He wasn't such a zealot after all
And shouldn't be the one to take the fall?
There isn't any way of knowing,
But either way we're glad he's going.

Subscriber Login

User Name

Password

Subscribe Now!

The only way to read this article and the full contents of each week's issue of The Nation online is by subscribing to the magazine. Subscribe now and read this article -- and every article published since for the past five years -- right now.

There's no obligation -- try The Nation for four weeks free.

• Get The Nation at home (and online!) for 68 cents a week!
• If you like this article, consider making a donation to The Nation.
• Reprint this article. Click here for rights and information.