Retirement Time? {rollin'eyes}

The Old Man on the Hill certainly isn't applying for it yet.

Senator Robert Byrd, not generally my favorite bird in DC, had strong words in the face of Rummie's attitude and denials of the extent to which Iraq has become a quagmire today. From Reuters via Yahoo:

Rumsfeld was chastised by the Senate's senior member, 87-year-old Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who objected to what he called the secretary's "sneer" and disdain toward lawmakers' questions. "So get off your high horse when you come up here," Byrd told Rumsfeld, who later testified before a House of Representatives panel.

The old guy still has the same fire that has kept his 87 year old, pork-pullin' butt on in the Senate for, dang mang!, how long now??? Well, at least he acts like a modern Democrat on this issue.

Rummie didn't fare any better with any body else in the upper house. Kennedy came out with the "Isn't it time for you to resign?" blast. The Administration's own top commander in the Mid East, Gen John Abizaid, has "declined to endorse" Veep Cheney's assessment of the Iraqi insurgency as in its "last throes." He wasn't very encouraging as to which "throes" it might be in either. CNN.com reports this from Abizaid at the hearings:

In terms of comparison from six months ago, in terms of foreign fighters, I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago," Abizaid said. "In terms of overall strength of the insurgency, I would say it is the same as it was.

How wonderful... Does anybody have a timeline for withdrawal? Isn't this lack of information from all the inhabitants of Gitmo and such places evidence enough that "extraordinary interrogational methods" don't work?

Maybe Osama bin Laden knows. Why don't they ask him already? Maybe King Fahd isn't ready for him to be caught yet...