For those of you keeping track at home, President Bush has appointed yet another Iran-Contra retread (Salon Premium link) to an important post:

And now there’s Elliot Abrams, another major Iran-contra villain who was convicted of lying to Congress (this resume seems to be virtually required for Bush appointees lately), but was saved from iron sorrows by Bush the First, who pardoned him on Christmas Eve. Abrams, in fact, had already been rehabilitated last year, when Bush appointed him to head the National Security Council’s democracy, human rights and international operations division. Recently, however, Abrams has been promoted to one of the most crucial jobs in the administration: making NSC policy on the Middle East.