Don Rumsfeld

Via Kevin Drum, Fred Kaplan on Don Rumsfeld’s efforts at rehabilitation:

During his six years as defense secretary, Rumsfeld famously wrote hundreds, maybe thousands, of memos to subordinates — they fell so rapidly from on high that his aides called them “snowflakes.” According to several officials, many of these snowflakes contradicted one another; he seemed to be staking out several positions on key issues so that he could later claim that he’d taken the right side. In his forthcoming memoirs, he will no doubt quote chapter and verse from just the right snowflakes. Readers, be forewarned — he’s blotting out the full storm.

Indeed. Relatedly, I reviewed Doug Feith’s book. The difference, though, is that I think Feith is much more dimwitted which leads to a different brand of dishonesty.