The Last Laugh..
From what I see on TV, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has an eye for humour. He has shown himself to be someone adept in coming up regularly with carefully constructed tautologies, beautiful contradictions and amazing absurdities.

The latest from him beats all his previous ones for the simple reason that it has the "last-laugh" ring to it.

As some people find it ultra-fashionable to call these days, Victory changes everything. Whatever it changes or doesn't change, it does give the victors a chance to have the proverbial "last-laugh". Now they can say whatever they feel like, not thinking about criticism of any sort.

Rumsfeld yesterday announced, with his usual wry smile on his face, that he never believed that American troops could find the WMDs! He said, never ever, did he think or say that the troops could find what the UN inspectors could not.

There was silence in the press room. Well, if you thought someone was going to jump up and say, "Holy Heavens, that was what we were telling you all the time, Mr Rumsfeld!" - wait! He had an add-on to his statement.

He said the troops' job was not to locate the WMDs but rather to locate those Iraqis who knew where the WMDs were!

One sure way of solving a problem, is to eliminate the problem. Say that the problem does not exist. Rumsfeld is playing a prolonged variation of the same game. Shifting the target. Keep a target and if looks like you wont get there, say that, that wasn't my target in the first place, and continue as things come along.

As a wonderful next step in this gambit, let me suggest this to Mr Rumsfeld -

"As you all know, the aim was never to locate the WMDs, but rather to locate the Iraqis who knew where the WMDs were. Our war time intelligence reports tell us now, that all the Iraqis who actually knew that, have died in the War!"

Check-Mate!

"Oh, how unfortunate for you, Mr Secretary!!", let us all reply, nodding our acknowledgement!