(CAMP
DAVID) With the situation in Iraq “not
exactly 100%,” administration officials
are recognizing the need for combat training
for senior level cabinet officers who will
be visiting the region.
The
President himself has taken some of the
basic training now offered at this mountain
retreat in Maryland.
On
a recent visit to Iraq, Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz’ enjoyed
the friendly cheering of a group of villagers
in the north, where photo opportunities
were perfect. Later, however, his hotel
in Baghdad was hit by a rocket. Had Wolfowitz
been ready, an even better photo-op was
there.
“It’s
like Bush and the aircraft carrier. Leaders
in combat are very, very cool to the uninformed
voter,” says an unidentified consultant
to the White House, “Any time you
can put a politician in a flak jacket or
a helmet or even put a gun in his hand,
you’ve got a winner.
|
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"Rummy," "GW" and "Wolfman" in
training in Maryland. White House sources
say the Basic Training for Bush Admnistration
officials was implemented after Paul
Wolfowitz' hotel was attacked on a recent
visit to Baghdad. |
"Granted,
it’s got to be real combat. Michael Dukasis
riding around in a tank with a helmet on was
very, very stupid. Next time a senior administration
official's hotel is hit by a rocket, we'll
have killer footage of a man of action, taking
charge, not some whimpering simp, cowering and
being covered by armed guards."
The
President “is like a big teenager playing
paintball,” said First Lady Laura Bush, who
has joined her husband on numerous recent excursions
to Camp David, where Marine Corps drill instructors
are training top-level white House and Defense
Department personnel in the basics of combat.
“The
President is a fine marksman,” said SGT Thurston
Howell, a 12-year veteran of the Marines, “and
I think if he were actually in a rough situation,
he could get off a shot or two without a problem.”
Asked
who has been his best student, SGT Howell responds
without hesitation, “That would be the Wolfman.
I mean Secretary Wolfowtiz. He was an animal. He
wanted to do hand-to-hand, bayonet, old-school
stuff. He slept with his gun the entire time he
was up here.”
