Wolfowitz in Baghdad

Jesus Tap Dancing Christ, are the Bushies insane? Juan Cole is reporting a rumor, which I saw mentioned in today’s Times, that Paul Wolfowitz, deputy Secretary of Defense, is up for the next ambassador to Iraq.
Granted, Wolfie is only one of several names being discussed, with the others including retired Gen. George A. Joulwan, a former NATO commander; Robert Blackwill, a former ambassador to India who now directs Iraq policy at the White House; and two veteran diplomats, Thomas R. Pickering and Frank G. Wisner.
But Wolfowitz? I mean, _come on._ He’s a Likudnik as Prof. Cole snarks, which would do little to ease suspicions among the Iraqis that this whole adventure was to grab Iraq’s oil and make the Middle East safe for Ariel Sharon‘s Israel.
Kevin Drum immediately had two thoughts, namely:

• It serves him right. After all, he’s the one who thought we’d be greeted as liberators and that 100,000 troops would be more than enough to mop things up after the war. Since his rosy estimates got us into this, it’s only fair to make him put his money where his mouth is.
• Paul Wolfowitz as an ambassador!?! What the hell are they thinking?

I gotta side with Prof. Cole and Drum on this one. It’s an insane, silly idea and can only be one of those crazy Washington rumors that roll around sometimes. But damn!