"Dickens"

It was the best of Rummy (so) it was the worst of Rummy.

"I have never painted a rosy picture” about Iraq. Rumsfeld insisted that he has been “very measured” and told Clinton “you would have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I have been overly optimistic.”

Yes so tough that I spent no time on it and stumbled upon another blogger doing just a tad of the work that could be done on the topic.

It's time to revisit a few choice tidbits from the February 2006 report to Congress on Iraq, as submitted by the Secretary of Defense:

1. "Terrorist attacks have failed to create and spread sectarian conflict." (page 3)

2. "Increasingly robust Iraqi political institutions will provide peaceful means for reconciliation and bridging divides." (page 9)

3. Insurgents have "failed to deter development of the Iraq Security forces" and "failed to damage Iraqi public trust in the Iraq security forces." (page 23)

4. "The overarching term 'insurgency' is less of a useful construct today" because "previous synergy among enemy groups is breaking apart." (page 24)

The above wasn't written in 2003, 2004, or even "last throes" mid-2005. It was written six months ago.

That's but one Friedman Unit (F.U.) ago.