Donald Rumsfeld Sent Douglas Feith A 'Honey Do' List Asking Him To Handle All Of The Bush Administration's Geopolitical Problems

Before I left work Tuesday evening, I got an email from my wife asking me to pick up some things from the grocery store on the way home. You know, some grape tomatoes, some tortellini, pasta sauce, a few cucumbers ... no big deal. Then I get home and see that Matt Yglesias has posted an item on the most magical foreign policy memo in U.S. history, where then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld basically asked his undersecretary for policy, Douglas Feith, to go and solve all of the world's thorny geopolitical situations with all the casualness of the grocery list my wife had sent me.

Yes, that's right: the memo -- available with many others in Rumsfeld's new online document archive -- is titled "Issues w/ Various Countries," and basically takes the easygoing tone of someone who basically wants to have the TPS reports on his desk by Monday morning, except that in this case, "TPS" stands for "Trouble in Pakistan, Solve."

This is probably an excellent time to remind you that Douglas Feith was a man who CENTCOM commander Gen. Tommy Franks once referred to as "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth." You normally wouldn't trust the guy to bring home the tortellini. Over at the Village Voice, Joe Coscarelli has more.

RELATED:
Donald Rumsfeld Presents The Greatest Memo Of All Time [Matt Yglesias]
Donald Rumsfeld Memo: Super Dumb! [Runnin' Scared @ The Village Voice]

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Comments

[Rogo99]

10:36 AM on 02/24/2011

Ron Susskind's book "The Price of Loyalty" about Paul O'Neill's tenure as Secy of the Treasury, he recounted the first W cabinet meeting's agenda was totally about going into Iraq and dividing up the oil bounty.

[Michael Doane]

10:15 AM on 02/24/2011

Rummy is wrapping up his no-apologies-rewritten-history book tour and thus far the only truly tough questioning has come from Andrea Mitchell of all people. Stewart continually backed off. Not only can we not prosecute these people (W, Rummy, Condi, Dick) we let them all off the interview hook.

[getoffmedz]

08:43 AM on 02/24/2011

"If you mess up Iraq, it will delay bringing the troops home." - Love, Donald.

[demorick]

07:29 AM on 02/24/2011

"Coercive diplomacy"? Isn't that just a PC way of saying "strong arm"? Why Bush, Cheney, Rummy, Feith, Wolfowitz, Perl, Rice, Powell, Gonzales and the rest of those thugs aren't behind bars is beyond me!

[getoffmedz]

08:44 AM on 02/24/2011

Using psyops through the corporate-owned media to get us into Iraq is clearly treason.

[argocee]

03:19 AM on 02/24/2011

No joke, I had to double-check to make sure I hadn't clicked into the Comedy section.

[viewfromsnohomish]

01:44 AM on 02/24/2011

When you launch a war of unprovoked aggression and cost the loss of thousands of lives in the process, you do it with the Secretary of Defense you have. Note that this arrogant dissembler and his boss, GWB, have not a word to say about Pat Tillman in their memoirs.

[missmanners]

10:17 PM on 02/23/2011

“If they mess up Iraq”

...then they ALL went on to mess up Iraq Big Time

[repugnicansfearme]

10:11 PM on 02/23/2011

Well, Feith is supposed to be a pure genius. Some other memos, written by W to be passed on by Rummy to Herr Feith:
1. Sunspots... look into stopping these. They are waaaay scary.
2. Find husbands for my daughters.
3. Pick up chainsaw oil.
4. Let's put the whole "which was first, the chicken or the egg?" question behind us
5. National Guard records depository-- humongous fire breaks out.
6. Rummy was never in Iraq-- that was a look alike who took matters into his own hands and was shot
7. Remove all pretzels from WH and Ranch

[missmanners]

10:08 PM on 02/23/2011

I agree with Franks, Douglas Feith is "the ------- stupidest guy on the face of the earth", that is next to Rumsfeld of course.

[djdeleon]

08:47 PM on 02/23/2011

Disgusting !!

[dutch163]

07:26 PM on 02/23/2011

scary that this guy was in any position of power...but then it was the Bush administration..and some people want Repubs back??!!

[Cleverboots]

07:05 PM on 02/23/2011

I hope there is a special place in Hell for Donald Rumsfeld,Douglas Feith and all of the other Bushies who dragged this country into war and destroyed our economy.

[dutch163]

07:26 PM on 02/23/2011

me,too..
I am with you on this..

[Cleverboots]

11:04 PM on 02/23/2011

Than you! F&F

[amblush617]

08:22 PM on 02/23/2011

~~ f&f Agree, hope there is ... all those men & women who died for a lie .. makes me sick ~~~

[Cleverboots]

11:02 PM on 02/23/2011

Thanks for the F&F Faved.

[wlkcrk]

05:16 PM on 02/23/2011

This is proof of the PETER PRINCIPLE for these two people.

[ClintBMD]

09:37 AM on 02/24/2011

Yes. They are indeed, both peters.

[Helloise]

04:56 PM on 02/23/2011

Do we need any more evidence that Republicans hate governing? I'd love to see the to do lists in that administration. Cheeni: Gin up wars, hire contractors, senate and CIA intimidation, energy lobbying. Rovingeye: devise advertising strategy from whole cloth, bully congress, entertain lobbyists, run office of schemes and plots. Rumdum: cheerlead, work on outdated aphorisms, delegate. Georgy: remember to sign documents marked OSP, ASAP. Remake SCOTUS. Glad hand. Wear red tie.

[Cleverboots]

10:49 PM on 02/23/2011

Do the really hate governing or just the work involved? Faved.

[Helloise]

09:14 AM on 02/24/2011

You're right. Work is for underlings, dictating for governance.

[Tristram Draper]

03:23 PM on 02/23/2011

"oh, and pick up some milk"