Iraq insight eludes John Howard

Will Prime Minister John Howard ever get around to slating home responsibility for the debacle in Iraq?

So, sure, [the US mid-term elections outcome is] a judgment, an adverse judgement, in part because of the way Iraq has gone.

Okay, so it’s just “the way Iraq has gone”. It’s all Iraq’s fault – that perverse, quirky little country! But wait, there’s more...

It was obvious that the President decided that a gesture acknowledging the unease that some people feel about the way the operation is going in Iraq, that he had to do that [sack Rumsfeld], and I would see Rumsfeld’s departure very much in that context.

So then, “the operation” is to blame for “the way” itself “is going”. Will Mr Howard ask himself who bears responsibility for “the operation”? Will he let us in on his conclusion, if and when he ever does come to a conclusion? Oh, hang on, there’s more...

What has happened in relation to Donald Rumsfeld is ... a recognition that there had to be something done by the President to acknowledge that there is concern about the conduct of the war.

So then, “the conduct of the war” is to blame for itself. Will Mr Howard identify who is responsible for “the conduct”?

If Mr Howard ever comes to some kind of judgement about what went wrong, it seems assured that we, his loyal subjects, will be the last to know.