Rudderless Ships Inc. The government has turned over all military operations to a private contractor: Rudderless Ships Inc.: A wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton. A few days ago, President Bush denied knowledge of the Iraqi prisoner atrocities: White House aides said President Bush [related, bio] let Rumsfeld know yesterday he was not pleased with the way he was informed about the unfolding controversy. In particular, they said, Bush was unhappy he was not told about incriminating pictures before they were shown on television or about a 2-month-old Pentagon report on the abuses before it turned up in the news. Attribution: Yesterday, it was reported that Rumsfeld was heading to capitol hill to explain why congress wasn't told: Congress demanded he appear before the hearing to answer when he knew about the crisis, how high up it goes, and why Congress was not told. Attribution: Today, I read that Rumsfeld had told everone about the investigation... Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress on Friday that the U.S. military had "told everyone in the world" in January it was investigating alleged abuses of prisoners in Iraq. Attribution: Rumsfeld claims he told everyone in the world--with the exception of the Armed Services Committee and President Bush. These omissions require a radical redefinition of the term "everyone in the world". The conclusion is troubling. Either we have a rudderless ship, or we have leadership that condones torture and prevaricates at every turn.