The next time US Defense Secretary Robert Gates gets a Cindy Sheehan moment against NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, accusing them of being ill-prepared to fight off an insurgency, he should keep it to himself.
Gates, who unleashed a storm in harsh NATO criticism on Wednesday, was already back-pedaling on Thursday.
But by the time he was rephrasing his intemperate remarks, Canadian, anti-troop, publicity hound New Democrat Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton had already seized upon the moment.