In soccer and hockey, an “own goal” is when a player mistakenly puts the ball or puck into their team’s net, scoring a point for the other team. I think that’s what former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld did when he tweeted this in response to the embassy attacks in Egypt and Libya:
The attacks on our embassies & diplomats are a result of perceived American weakness. Mitt Romney is right to point that out.
And the punchline:
Actually, there were twelve terrorist attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities abroad during George W. Bush’s tenure — the most of any president in history — and eight of those occurred while Donald Rumsfeld was in office.
To be fair to Rumsfeld, though, neither he nor President Bush are black or Democrats. So it’s totally different.
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Raging Bee
September 17, 2012 at 1:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The attacks on our embassies & diplomats are a result of perceived American weakness.
No, Dumbsfeld, they’re a result of political turmoil in that part of the world — and that turmoil was partly caused by incompetent, aggressive, and needlessly destructive actions by the US, back when you were SecDef and that smirking chimp Bush Jr. was President. The recent attacks on embassies are nothing but icing on a pile of turd you and your cowboy-crusader-wannabee chums have been dumping all over the region since 2001.
busterggi
September 17, 2012 at 1:18 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I believe there may even have been at least one terrorist attack on US soil when Bush and Rummy were in Washington – maybe they were seen as weak.
lofgren
September 17, 2012 at 1:20 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yeah, but we all know Rumsfeld and Bush had their hands tied by bleeding-heart hippies who wouldn’t let them simply nuke Iraq as a warning to the rest of the world, the way a truly strong country would have.
Nancy New, Queen of your Regulatory Nightmare
September 17, 2012 at 1:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Might want to check your headline spelling, Ed.
Marcus Ranum
September 17, 2012 at 1:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Rumsfeld, as an egotistical asshole of the first degree, will no doubt spend the rest of his life writhing in pain from history’s accurate assessment of his role in the US government.
neonsequitur
September 17, 2012 at 1:57 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Bring ‘em on” he said.
d cwilson
September 17, 2012 at 2:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
This is the same guy who dismissed rampant looting in the wake of the Iraqi invasion as “stuff happens”.
Olav
September 17, 2012 at 2:12 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Raging Bee, #1:
True, but do not forget that the current US leadership did nothing to improve the situation either. To the contrary. Murder by dronestrike does nothing to win hearts and minds.
Randomfactor
September 17, 2012 at 2:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The attacks on our embassies & diplomats are a result of perceived American weakness.
That might be because the guy who ordered 9/11 is still alive. Oh, wait, no he’s not.
matty1
September 17, 2012 at 2:31 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
*Insert conspiracy theory here*
Marcus Ranum
September 17, 2012 at 2:33 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
the guy who ordered 9/11 is still alive
Yes, Khalid Shayk Mohammed is still alive.
davem
September 17, 2012 at 3:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
FIFY.
matthewhodson
September 17, 2012 at 8:00 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
To be even fairer and more balanced: Rumsfeld and Bush are both natural born American citizens and neither of them are Muslims.
StevoR
September 18, 2012 at 7:18 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
To be even fairer – and more accurate – we could look at how many attempted but foiled Jihadist terror attacks there have been and note that that’s a non-sequiteur anyhow.
Why?
Because Jihadist Muslims aren’t attacking us because they perceive a weakness – they’re attacking us because of their own htareds and for their own warped and evil reasons.
Which do NOT have anything really to do with skin colour but dohave an awful lot with delusions about imposing some global Sharia law run theocratic Khaliphate upon the planet – which will never happen but that doesn’t stop them. They aren’t realistic thinkers.
Rumsfeld got a lot wrong. There’s a lot that can be blamed on him.
But he occasionally does have a point.
Percieved US weakness? I don’t know. You’d have to ask our enemies.
I doubt its a major factor either way. They hate us because they hate us.
But I certainly don’t think appeasement is any sort of helpful answer either.
matty1
September 18, 2012 at 7:26 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Really?
StevoR
September 18, 2012 at 7:27 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Actually on second thoughts; they hate us because we (Gasp! Shock! Horror!) dared to send women troops to “holy” Arabia and non-Muslim troops too when we Westerners went and liberated the Emir’s Islamic Kuwait from Saddam’s Islamic Iraq’s invasion and occupation back in 1991.
At least I gather that was Al Quaeda’s main foundational motivation. That’s the reason Osama bin laden launched his jihad. Nonsensical as it is.
Oh yes and also teh Jooz .. because, because .. teh Jooz!!! Teh Jooooozzzz!!! Teh Jooooooooooooooooooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
Of course.
StevoR
September 18, 2012 at 7:37 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Plus, of course, said womenz troops weren’t “properly” Burka clad and dared to show their ankles when they went and saved Muslims lives from other Muslims. Unforgivable, amirite??
Oh & teh Joozzz! (Its always Teh Jooz!!!1! for the Muslims ain’t it?)
@11.Marcus Ranum :
Khalid Sheik Mohammd planned and organised sure but I think it was Bin Laden that gave the actual order to make it happen. Osama sleeps with the fishes now. Pity there is (probably) no hell for him.
The slow pace of legal justice here is kinda infuriating though I’ll grant you. Wish we’d speed it up.