On his last day as Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld sent one last “snowflake” announcing the “blizzard is over.” His dispatch of thousands of memos, asking for answers and seeking action—usually tagged with aggressive deadlines—over the past six years became one of his signature trademarks. This last snowflake absolved those who had yet to respond to his latest flurry. Rumsfeld invoked the “spirit of the season” and offered a “general amnesty for any outstanding snowflakes.”
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…



