In the Washington Post today, Dan Senor and Roman Martinez correct another instance of Donald Rumsfeld’s revisionism — in this case, the former defense secretary’s blaming the Coalitions Provisional Authority (CPA) for its alleged mishandling of Iraq’s political transition in 2003-2004.
Senor and Martinez cite Rumsfeld’s own contemporaneous memoranda to show that what he is now claiming (that he favored a swift transition of power to an Iraqi transitional government) is belied by the facts. Rumsfeld advocated then (having the CPA “assert authority over [Iraq]”) what he criticizes now. “We at the CPA certainly made our share of mistakes,” Senor and Martinez conclude. “We only wish Rumsfeld would accept responsibility for his.”
Unfortunately, that seems to be a forlorn hope. When it comes to Iraq, at least, Mr. Rumsfeld is intent on revising the historical record in order to make himself look much better than he deserves.
