I guess the guys at the Pentagon, of which Rumsfeld is the boss, are Neville Chemberlains too

Rummy and Bush may be out there calling this war the moral equivalent of WWII and those who say enough is enough appeasers, but Rummy's own guys paint a picture of a country gone completely FUBAR under the tender mercies of the Bush Administration:

Sectarian violence is spreading in Iraq and the security problems have become more complex than at any time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, a Pentagon report said Friday.

In a notably gloomy report to Congress, the Pentagon reported that illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of both security and basic social services.

The report described a rising tide of sectarian violence, fed in part by interference from neighboring Iran and Syria and driven by a "vocal minority" of religious extremists who oppose the idea of a democratic Iraq.

Death squads targeting mainly Iraqi civilians are a growing problem, heightening the risk of civil war, the report said.

"Death squads and terrorists are locked in mutually reinforcing cycles of sectarian strife," the report said, adding that the Sunni-led insurgency "remains potent and viable" even as it is overshadowed by the sect-on-sect killing.

"Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq, specifically in and around Baghdad, and concern about civil war within the Iraqi civilian population has increased in recent months," the report said. It is the latest in a series of quarterly reports required by Congress to assess economic, political and security progress.

Why are they so reluctant to call what's going on there a civil war? These are not conditions that lead to civil war, this IS civil war. As for sectarian violence fed by Iran and Syria, well, I hate to tell you this, guys, but this is exactly what the presence of Saddam Hussein, as loathsome as he was, prevented.

But because George W. Bush had his little psychodrama with his dad, in which he thought he could simultaneously avenge an alleged plan to assassinate Bush Sr. and thereby win the old man's affection, AND prove that he's a bigger man than daddy, this is the result.

And all BushCo can do is call those of us -- the majority of Americans -- who do NOT live in their little bubble of delusion, appeasers and traitors.

In fact, the real traitors to America are the guys who made these statements:

We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly... (in) weeks rather than months.” – Vice President Cheney [3/16/03]

“The notion that it would take several hundred thousand American troops just seems outlandish.” -Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, [3/4/03]

“There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more…Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons agent. That is enough agent to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets.” – Colin Powell, 2/5/03

“Saddam has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of biological weapons, including Anthrax, botulism, toxins and possibly smallpox. He's amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons, including VX, Sarin and mustard gas.” - Don Rumsfeld, 9/19/02

“Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.” - Vice President Cheney, 8/26/02

“The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons…And according to the British government, the Iraqi regime could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes.” – President Bush, 9/26/02

“Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.” – President Bush, 1/28/03

“We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories.” -President Bush, on locating the mobile biological weapons labs, 5/29/03

“We know where the [WMD] are.” - Don Rumsfeld, 3/30/03

“I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it now.” - Colin Powell, 5/4/03

“Evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program…Iraq could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year.” - President Bush, 10/7/02

“Saddam is actively pursuing nuclear weapons at this time.” - V.P. Cheney, 3/24/02

“We do know that Saddam is actively pursuing a nuclear weapon.” - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 9/10/02

“The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” – President Bush, 1/28/03

“We found the weapons of mass destruction.” – President Bush, 5/29/03

"We know where the WMDs are.” – Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 3/30/03

“The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.” – President Bush, 3/19/03

There's overwhelming evidence there was a connection between al Qaeda and the Iraqi government. I am very confident that there was an established relationship there." - Vice President Cheney, 1/22/04

“The regime of Saddam Hussein cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction.” - President Bush's UN speech, 9/23/03

“ Iraq [is] the central front in the war on terror.” -President Bush's UN speech, 9/23/03

“You can't distinguish between al-Qaida and Saddam.” President Bush, 9/25/02

“There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties.” – President Bush, 9/17/03