Hurry Up and Wait

I'm late, I'm late
For a very important date
No time to say "Hello," "Good-bye"
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!

I run and then I hop hop hop
I wish that I could fly
There's danger if I dare to stop
and here's the reason why
--I'm Late, from Alice, by Hilliard/Fain
_________

That the Pentagon has asked for funding to airlift Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPs) vehicles 5+ years into this slog is a travesty and reprehensible ("750M Sought to Airlift Armored Vehicles.") Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution, called the rush job "bad planning," "ridiculous," and, "a bad mistake verging on the unconscionable." Altogether slipshod, basically. But this slipshod behavior kills.

But wait--is this the same Michael O'Hanlon who told us last week in the New York Times that this was "A War We Just Might Win"? Well, things do change quickly up there in Foggy Bottom. Else I'd be inclined to label Mr. O'Hanlon fickle.

Mr. "Army Light" Rumsfeld has already taken his fall and exited stage right. On whom can they pin this one? With this fantastical deux ex machina, the makings of large-scale Greek tragedy are in place.

Later in the same article, "The House of Representatives did not include war funding in the $459.6 billion defense budget bill approved Sunday." Ranger is trying to wrap his mind around $459 Billion for defense, sans war funding. Maybe money really does grow on trees.

--Lisa