SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of trying to appease "a new type of fascism."
In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security and accused them of lacking the courage to fight back. . . .
"I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," he said. . . .
Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from 9/11 to bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.
"But some seem not to have learned history's lessons," he said, adding that part of the problem is that the American news media have tended to emphasize the negative rather than the positive.
He said, for example, that more media attention was given to U.S. soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib than to the fact that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith received the Medal of Honor. . . .
"Can we truly afford to believe somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?" he asked.
"Those who know the truth need to speak out against these kinds of myths and lies and distortions being told about our troops and about our country," he added. . . .
Rumsfeld made similar arguments in Reno about doubters of the administration's approach to fighting terrorism, saying too many in this country want to "blame America first" and ignore the enemy.
I'm not entirely certain that Donald Rumsfeld should still be heading up the Department of Defense (seems like after all the Bush administration has been through a new face heading up the Pentagon might be a good thing), but he nails it on this subject.