In its best imitation of Emily Litella, the Defense Department inflicted whiplash on millions of Americans by releasing a letter to the Iraqi government that US and coalition forces were repositioning in preparation of withdrawing from Iraq.  Amidst the uproar that followed, defense secretary Mark Esper held a news conference to claim the letter was “an honest mistake”.  An “honest mistake”?  Oh, please.  This letter could only be one of three things:

1. Gross incompetence under Trump’s fake presidency.
2. A trial balloon to gauge public response to withdrawal.
3. Sabotage by someone high up in the defense department.

In the old days, way back in 2016 and before, official government communications were carefully vetted, going through many layers of approval before being issued.  Even then things weren’t perfectly communicated (like the explanations of the Benghazi attack), but mistakes were kept to a minimum.  Under Trump there is apparently so much chaos that it seems just anyone can turn the US government on its head with an unapproved (or completely botched) official communication.

Geez.