

The Rumsfeld Hazard - j_baker
http://jasonmbaker.com/the-rumsfeld-hazard

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philwelch
I always thought it was unfair that Rumsfeld got criticized for that quote.

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stretchwithme
What was the nature of the criticism anyway?

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j_baker
Rumsfeld wasn't exactly known for being straightforward with reporters, and
it's easy to get the impression that it's an evasive, nonsensical answer. It
even won an award for that!

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3254852.stm>

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stretchwithme
I'll buy that. It makes sense that one who evades the facts of reality would
evade questions as well.

EDIT: Rumsfeld was in denial over what it took to do the job of invading Iraq.
And he never caught on. The "surge" was simply sending enough manpower to do
the job. Finally.

Not to say it made any sense to invade Iraq to begin with.

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jordanb
It's worth observing that the surge was part of Condoleezza Rice's "clear,
hold build" strategy. Rumsfeld was fired and she was brought in to implement
it.

I think that should help put Rumsfeld and criticism of him in a little bit of
context. Yes, he was a Bush administration official heavily involved in the
Iraq war and got a lot of criticism from that. But he was in rare company by
being someone who was fired in disgrace from the Bush administration as things
came apart under his watch. The only other guy I can think of offhand who is
in that group is Micheal Brown.

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stretchwithme
Rumsfeld was replaced by Robert Gates after the mid term election in 2006.
Rice was secretary of state for the entire second term.

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jordanb
Sorry, yes, you're correct, Rice remained Secretary of State.

But Rumsefeld's firing was a repudiation of his "Light Footprint" strategy in
favor of the "Clear, Hold, Build" strategy being championed by Rice.

[http://books.google.com/books?id=dhff3C6xhvkC&pg=PA271&#...</a>

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jamesbkel
I've always found it unfortunate how many people joke about this quote while
at the same time praising folks such as Nassim Taleb. I think it's fair to say
that a Black Swan is analogous to an unknown unknown. I'm no fan of Rumsfeld,
but the idea itself seems valid to me.

