Wolfowitz - So Pre-Tsunami

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Wolfowitz - So Pre-Tsunami - Tom Watson

Meet Paul Wolfowitz, neo-con, discredited claimant of WMDs, incompetent war planner, and now - exhibit No. 1 of the Bush Administration's stubborn pre-Tsunami thinking. Quoth DepSecDef in his typical humanist fashion on tour of ravaged region:

"We'd like to be out of this business as soon as we responsibly can. The U.S. military has a lot of other work to do."

Wolfy, that is soooo pre-Tsunami. You're still trapped in that pre-Tsunami fetal position, legs tucked, that unfortunately typifies your pre-Tsunami ways. Reaching out to the wider world still feels so wrong. The U.S. military in regions where our young soldiers are welcomed - it doesn't sit well. Not from Wolfie, who said this: "The reconstruction of Iraq will largely pay for itself." Oh, and who wrote the briefing memo that caused our President to say this: "Any military presence, should it be necessary, will be temporary and intended to promote security and elimination of weapons of mass destruction; the delivery of humanitarian aid; and the conditions for the reconstruction of Iraq."

The U.S. military has 24 Navy ships, one Coast Guard vessel and about 15,000 military personnel involved in the relief effort in southern Asia. The effort includes 2,000 Marines who are ferrying aid workers and transporting food to victims in Indonesia, the hardest-hit country, where more than 110,000 people died. But let's face it, with National Guard tours stretched to the breaking point and beyond, casualties mounting, and dishonest partial vote slated, and civil war looming, Iraq beckons for our troops - a quagmire with no end in sight. And yet our troops have done an incredible job in South Asia, leading a powerful relief effort in a region that - let's face it - needs some positive leadership from America. Sure, Wolfowitz praised the troops - but then he showed the pathetic tin ear he has, and the arrogance that intonates it, by calling for a quick exit. And here's a sampling of the headlines he spawned around the world, headlines that really don't represent true U.S. commitment to help, but an administration still in denial:

US seeks quick exit from quake relief
- Daily Times, Pakistan

Tsunami aid: US wants to quit 'as soon as it can'
- Times of India, India

US Defense Official Vows Quick Exit From Tsunami Relief Work
- Voice of America

US military seeking quick exit from tsunami relief: Wolfowitz
- Turkish Press, Turkey

US military seeks quick exit from tsunami relief
- Japan Today, Japan

Pity Wolfowitz, and his bosses, not ready for the post-tsunami world.