Condi’s Civil War

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice recently compared Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee:

"When you hear people say … ‘If you kill one of them, they’ll just replace him with another leader,’ remember that that’s like saying, ‘If you take out Robert E. Lee or Ulysses S. Grant, well, they’ll just replace them with another leader,’" Rice said.

I guess when it comes to the Bush administration history is whatever you choose to make of it.

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4 comments… add one
  • Warren Sep 28, 2007 @ 22:15

    I’m afraid I’d have to agree with Rice on this one. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been a very different person to Lee or Grant, but the concept she is putting forth- that death of a leader can have strategic implications- is pretty valid.

    Interestingly, there where some advanced plans proposed in 1944 by the Brits for killing Hitler. A decision was made not to try it, because he was seen as more of a hindrance to intelligent war fighting by Germany whilst he was in charge. When I saw Bin Laden’s rather bizarre recent video- silly dyed beard and all- I wondered if someone was applying the same idea and leaving him alive.

  • d Sep 27, 2007 @ 22:50

    Good grief, these folks will draw analogies no pretty much anything….

    I hadn’t heard about this one, though. Can’t wait until the Osama bin Laden-Jefferson Davis analogies show up.

  • Jim McGhee Sep 26, 2007 @ 23:08

    “I guess when it comes to the Bush administration history is whatever you choose to make of it.”

    Actually, history is whatever historians choose to make of it isn’t it?

  • section9 Sep 26, 2007 @ 19:57

    I’ve actually heard Rice panned all day about this remark. Upon reflection, however, I find myself agreeing with her about this.

    Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was, without question, al-Qaeda’s best field commander and bin Laden’s most operationally talented person. He has yet to be replaced by someone of equal talent. Rice’s comparison was clumsily put, but roughly accurate. Things have been going downhill in Iraq for the AQ organization ever since AMZ’s death last year.

    A closer comparison might be to Lee losing Jackson after Chancellorsville. Still, the clumsiness comes in because the way she put it makes it look as if she’s comparing two great Americans to a “diabolically brilliant” terrorist, but a terrorist nonetheless, and thus defaming the memories of two great men. Knowing what I know of Rice, I know that wasn’t her intent.

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