I think you're needlessly complicating the question, gb. It's really pretty straightforward.

Last Fall, they set out to build a coalition much like the genuine coalition that Bush I built for the Gulf War: Significant direct participation by many countries, and abundant financial support from many more; and with the enthusiastic approval of the UN. They failed miserably, and so this talk now of a "coalition" is dishonest spin to try and paper over that failure.

As for Rummy, let's not forget that he's the darling of the Right for, among other things, tossing diplomacy out the window and insulting the erstwhile allies whose support we were courting. Why praise him now for dishonest dissembling?

--Robert