Bremer: "I'm Bush's scapegoat."

In his new book, Paul Bremer (former head of the coalition provisional authority in Iraq) says he's being used as a scapegoat by the Bush administration, that he's being blamed for their failures. Particularly, Bremer insists he wanted many more troops to quell the insurgency but was refused. He also says the coalition was of the "unwilling," because of their hesitancy towards fighting.

Bremer indeed deserves some of the blame for the mess in Iraq. He disbanded the Iraqi military, for one thing. But the failures of Bremer are actually the failures of Bush. Bremer had no qualifications for the job. Which may have been his greatest qualification of all. Since it was a virtual certainty that Iraq would immediately devolve into chaos, why put someone valuable in charge? Instead, put in a crony who's expendable and then let him take the blame for what happens.

No doubt, Bush defenders will now dismiss Bremer as a "disgruntled employee" with "an axe to grind" seeking quick cash from a book deal. Well, so what? That retort is exhausted to the point of cliche. All that matters is whether he's telling the truth. And if the truth gives him vindictive satisfaction or fattens his bank account, well bully for him. Because if anything should be profitable in the land of the free, it should be the truth.