When Jon Stewart asks Rumsfeld about something in the book he wrote about Erlichman,  “Certainty without power can be interesting ; even amusing,  but certainty with power is dangerous”.   Jon said that “if there was ever a solid critique that expressed how I felt about the administration you served under,  it was that.”  Rumsfeld says “if you look at my website you’ll see thousands of documents where we ask probing questions;  do we have enough information…. what you will see is an ABSENCE of certainty”.  Somehow,  Mr. Rumsfeld,  that failed to come across in the Bush administration’s representation of it.  Sorry.  Excuse #FAIL.

Yeah.  Also questions like,  “how much ‘information’ will get us the ‘pass’ from the public to do this thing,  and how can we use what we have already been told is “low confidence” intelligence ,  and leave that “low-intelligence” part out,  so  that it just appears to be ‘intelligence’ that is all on an equal footing as far as confidence goes?

Rumsfeld gets mad at Jon at one point for “making fun of ‘oh my goodness’,  (Stewart had replied “now I feel like we’re sitting on the front porch sipping lemonade” ) because “there are a lot of people in the heartland of America who talk like I do;  but…on the coast……”.  Jon retorts: “Yeah, On the coast,  we just curse and have gay sex”

Rumsfeld still blames “the intelligence community”.  What a LIAR.  We KNOW now that that WAS NOT TRUE.  And now curveball has admitted that he indeed lied,  just as the intelligence community clearly told the administration with their extremely low mark for that bit of intelligence.

DR: one item on my list  (things that might go wrong)  was: “it might last 6-8 years”….more like “6 days, 6 weeks,  6 months, 6 years,  north and south,  east and west….blah blah blah…..what a horrible jumble of stammering through trying to pass this off as feasible.

Rumsfeld now says re: the linkage between Saddam Hussein and Al Quieda,  “not much of a linkage at all”.  Jon:  “Thank you.  We didn’t hear that”.  No we didn’t.

Jon:  “The White House and the State Department and the defense department had to coordinate a pretty extraordinary effort to gather information and convince America that this was in our best interest to do so,  and would it be fair to consider that,  in the effort that it took to sell us this

Rumsfeld didn’t like the word “sell” as in “the effort it took to sell us this”…for the head of sales , that’s another “state of denial”

Stewart:  “OK,  too strong…let me back up,  in the effort that it took to ……” Rumsfeld  interjects:  “present” (Stewart smiles )….crowd laughs…Rumsfeld:  “I’m just trying to help you”…..Jon:  “Thank you,  I appreciate that”….

When Jon confronts him with how so many in the CIA and intelligence people TOLD them;  WARNED them that Curveball WAS NOT CREDIBLE,  Rumsfeld rattles on once again about how this was THE INTELLIGENCE at fault.

Dude.  STATE-OF-DENIAL   STATE-OF-DEFLECTION   STATE-OF-MISDIRECTION.  East, west , south,  and north of here;  you sir,  are a complete mess.

YOU GUYS knew that what you used as your main case was in all probability,  wrong.  Very likely wrong,  but you used it anyway.  You are criminals.  8 years later,  it  is not “living in the past” to still be upset at this,  when there are people like YOU and Bush and Cheney still in a state of denial (actually,  that is too kind.  You’re not in denial.  You are LYING.  You knew it was all based  on most certainly lies,  and you went with it.  That is a criminal act against not only the world and the people of Iraq,  but against the people who trusted you.

“ I don’t think it’s correct to say we pushed hard to make it happen”.  Another doozy.

In 1994,  Dick Cheney was saying you don’t go into Iraq because there would be chaos when you took it,  and who would you give it over to?”  What changed?

OMG.   to question:  “Isn’t that a legitimate criticsm to be made of an administration that is accountable for this planning”?”

Rumsfeld says: “It is certainly a criticism that is made”

STATE OF DENIAL.  STATE of NO-ACCOUNTABILITY.  State-of-WE-WERE-NOT-AT-FAULT.  Unbelievable.

Not only did Bush present a front of certainty,  he did it with such certainty that his loyalists STILL BELIEVE he was right.  STATE OF DENIAL.  Once again,  that is better applied to his supporters who still think he did no wrong.  Who still think he didn’t lie to us.  The state of the White House was one of deception and THE SALE,  so they could proceed with their “brilliant” plan for Iraq: a haven for commerce and democracy and a model for the Middle East.  Their “CEO” Paul Bremer was the impetus for what caused the insurgency.  When the people of Iraq saw that their “freedom from Saddam” was unemployment and selling their workplaces to foreign investors,  they rebelled.

It was Rumsfeld who said that “Iraq has better targets than Afghanistan”,  prior not only to Iraq,  but prior to Afghanistan itself.  He was talking Iraq on September  12th!

Listening to Rumsfeld talk about his anguish about the lives that were lost,  realizing that he was an architect of the campaign;  the “sell”;  I don’t know to describe my anger.  It’s not just that the world is a better place without Saddam in it.  But maybe,  and I would say almost certainly,  the world certainly would have been better  off if you had never been secretary of state,  and there had been no Bush W. administration.

The interview clips :  http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-23-2011/exclusive—donald-rumsfeld-extended-interview-pt–1?xrs=share_copy