Damage Control

Donald Rumsfeld has been sent on a dangerous damage control mission buy the Karl Rove PR/spin machine.

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid a surprise Christmas visit to troops in the Iraqi city of Mosul, scene this week of the deadliest attack on Americans since last year's war to oust Saddam Hussein.

Rumsfeld, who flew in on Thursday amid great secrecy, visited staff and patients in a hospital at the U.S. base where a suicide bomber infiltrated and killed 22 people, including 14 U.S. military personnel and four American contractors.

"The purpose of the trip is to thank the troops and wish them a merry Christmas," Rumsfeld, who has been criticized in some quarters for not showing sufficient concern for troops' welfare, told reporters during the flight from Washington.

Rumsfeld said his trip to Iraq had been planned for a while but was kept secret for security reasons and that Tuesday's attack had not been a factor in selecting the northern city for a visit.

"Rumsfeld said his trip to Iraq had been planned for a while...", do they really think anyone will believe that? Of course they do and they should, 51% of the American voters cast a vote for this lying cabal. Think about the security required, not only most of the Iraqis would like to take Rumsfeld out a big chunk of the US troops probably would too. Maybe Rove saw this as an opportunity for some PR and a chance to get rid of a problem, Rumsfeld.

Update
Joe Gandelman is a bit suspicious as well.