Rummy Spins Russ

Sunday morning, Donald Rumsfeld made the rounds of the TV yakfests, talking up the war. One of the questions he was predictably asked about was the story in the Times of London, which, despite its Murdochian pedigree, has been raising plenty of Iraq dust lately. This story gave new details to the two-week-old report that the US has been talking with representatives of the insurgency.

One of Rumsfeld's stops was on Meet the Press where, just before going on the air, the old master administered a bit of crucial spin to the host and moderator (and NBC Washington bureau chief). It appeared to work: during the broadcast, Russert let the "no blood on their hands" remark go unchallenged.

Apparently unspun was Bill Kristol on Fox News Sunday, who, despite his history as one of the war's godfathers, noticed and commented upon this crucial paragraph in the Times story:

On the rebel side were representatives of insurgent groups including Ansar al-Sunna, which has carried out numerous suicide bombings and killed 22 people in the dining hall of an American base at Mosul last Christmas.

Don't tell Tim Russert, but we're talking to the terrorists. Unless blood doesn't stay on your hands at Christmastime.