Civilian leaders in the Department of Defense urged President

Civilian leaders in the Department of Defense urged President Bush to put Chalabi in power, despite concerns raised by the State Department.

Chalabi returned to Iraq for the first time since leaving in 1958. He carried a subsidy in excess of $300,000 a month from the U.S. government. And he carried the hopes of the administration that he would be the one to open the door that lets U.S. troops walk out.

Instead, he has became just another embarrassment for the administration: he has reached out to government officials in Iran, the world leader in spreading hatred of the U.S.

Since the contacts became public, he was cut off by the Pentagon and is on the verge of losing his power. He counters that he could explain it all, if given the chance.

Oh, please. Isn’t it enough that we have President Bush and his hawks filling the airwaves with explanations of the administration’s missteps?

It’s time for more than words. It’s time for the President to face the fact that the people giving him advice are steering him wrong.

A good start would be to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.

Rumsfeld tried since January to keep the lid on the prison torture scandal. When the torture images finally leaked into public view, Rumsfeld tried to smooth it all out with a trusty PR extravaganza: the drop-in to the battlefront in Iraq.

Wolfowitz was the primary reason that Chabali became the U.S.-supported leader of the new Iraq. Obviously, that failed.

They must go. Now.

The American people deserve leadership. Too many flag-draped coffins are landing at Dover Air Force Base. Too many families are going to bed at night wondering whether their loved one will be safe on the ground in Iraq. Too much of our national treasury is being poured into this effort.

The stumbling and bumbling can not be ignored. It’s time to clean house.