Rumsfeld defends Iraq

Wadda load of hooey!
We started that war in Iraq, not terrorists. The “insurgents” he so adamantly defines are just the very citizens of a nation we have nearly decimated. Calling Iraq the front on the war on terror is a total misrepresentation of America’s goals in dominating mid-east oil. Our policies need to change if we are going to be in good relations with developing nations and those we have exploited for their resources over the past 100 years.

The reason why America’s opponents see Iraq as the “epicentre” is that they know that America can’t win.
America has never understood “asymetric” warfare.
And while America lose the rest of the world cheers.
America is losing because America deserves to lose.

Well, Rumsfeld should listen to what he is saying, paraphrased “…this is like no other enemy the US has ever faced, no country to defend, no treaties…” Hmmmm, let’s see… sounds to me like common criminals these terrorists. And what is the best way to fight criminals (listen Rummy, Bush, Cheney it is not to invade another country that had nothing to do with the attack of 9/11)THAT’S RIGHT – With good police work like our friends in GB did a couple weeks ago (and Bush & Co. took credit for) Now, before the October surprise to scare the nation republican again, bombing Iran will not capture Osama either. The question in most American’s minds (mostly the one’s who lost loved one’s in Iraq)Why is Osama still breathing??????????????

We invaded a country that didn’t threaten or attack us, overthrew their leader, destroyed their national infrastructure and now the rival factions are vying for power…simple as that.
The Iraq’s are fighting against other Iraq’s to control the destiny of that country. The vast majority of battles are not against al Qaeda, but against Iraq’ Shia/Sunni’s. Our brave military personnel are caught in the middle of this vacuum of power and we as a country, stand to gain nothing by remaining in this conflict.
We need to immediately redeploy our military in a responsible way to the perimeter and get them out of harms way. Let the Iraqi’s sort out their own future.

The extent to which Secretary Rumsfeld is prepared to lie, obfuscate, propagandize, and attack truth tellers is infinite. This man is not a true American, in the American spirit of honesty, integrity, and indeed democracy.

Oh, we can stomach ANY tough fight that we’re challenged to (Afghanistan), we just can’t stomach a pointless fight that we got lied into. (Iraq).
We’re weaker for it, we know it, and Rumsfeld is partly to blame.
Throw
da
bum
out.

If we are fighting in Iraq as the frontline in the war on terror, when are we going to focus our efforts ond get the number one terrorist, osama bin Laden? The rhetoric from this administration continues to baffle me. Why is no one in the media asking why we are not focused on OBL? Get him, forget Iraq!

What’s the over/under on when they take Rummy off to the loony bin?

Nice camo jacket, Rummy; you sad, little poseur.

Um…Americans didn’t cross oceans, Europeans did.

The USA can not control what happens in Iraq and still claim to be spreading “freedom”.
The Sunnis, Shia , and Kurds will have their conflict, and it is not in the power of the USA to stop it.
The USA will eventually leave Iraq. The only question is how many more people have to die before we accept the fact that the fate of Iraq is beyond the control of the USA.

This administration created the “epicenter of terror”. I see some right wing kool aid drinkers are here. Pick your knuckles up off the ground.

This country is great because of any citizen being able to dissent, especially in time of war, and even more during a war that is so morally rehensible. This is just another pathetic attempt by BushCo to push back against the rising tide of Iraq War critics, including Republican Representative Shay and the majority of citizens.

Why is there a picture of an ICBM missile in a silo associated with this piece? This is totally irrelevant to the topic of the post and is misleading, at best. Is the author caught up in the climate of fear that the administration is promoting with the gleeful cooperation of mainstream media?

“Americans didn’t cross oceans and settle a wilderness and build history’s greatest democracy, only to run away from murderers and extremists who try to kill everyone they cannot convert…”
No, instead, we launched a 300 year war to steal the land from its native people. We killed everyone we couldn’t convert and forced the “converts” into “reservations”. It’s a story of grit, determination, and victory, alright, but not in that good way.
With such a whitewashed history like Rumsfeld’s, no wonder the Bushes want to leave judgment to history instead of a court of law.

Does anyone with any sense take this silly little man seriously?

The saddest part isn’t what this cretin says, it’s the fact that ABC News provides an uncritical forum for his drivel. There’s absolutely no context in this story to indicate to readers how wrong Rumsfield has been in the past, or how inaccurate his revisionist history actually is. Thanks for being a rubber stamp for the administration, Luis!

Rummy,has finally fallen off the wacky wagon!!
Save Iraq??? Our military has already pushed this country back to the stone age!! The more Rummy lies the more Iraq and Americans die!!!

As the parent of a soldier, a young National Guard reservist that served a year in Iraq-I have a lot to say about how Rumsfeld has treated our military. My son is an excellent soldier and I am proud of his service record. He has a Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal at age 20. However, the way this administration misused our soldier’s patriotism is disturbing.
First of all this: “And I would — without getting into the details, just simply say to the parents of the young people that are over there fighting for this country, that — that they are, walking away, the best trained and the best equipped army on the face of the earth. They have what they need. They’re well led. And this outcome is assured. “April 1, 2003-DOD news briefing by Rumsfeld and General Myers
Not even close to being true. Perhaps a cruel April fool upon military families.
My son was sent everything except bullets from our family for that war-a war we did not support because the justifications given did not appear to be lawful or truthful. I had to send him ratchets and screwdrivers-just so he could do his job of communications equipment.
As time proved, there were never WMD’s and now Iraq has gone from already bad to even worse from a humanitarian standpoint.
We have parents sending their soldiers food and water-because theirs is rationed. We have Iraqi population with little clean water, few hours of electric and civil war. Now these things are happening, whether or not this administration or even and most shamefully, the top brass which answers to them.
I always thought our soldiers were the “knights in shining armor”- but this administration has badly misused them for ill-gotten gain and as a result inflamed the world opinion against all Americans.
This war is wrong, immoral and must stop before the draft is instituted. We are running out of soldiers and the Guard should always be here at home. Katrina proved that. 911 proved that. In May 2005, Ohio was left with 12% of our Guard in the state. We should never be that vulnerable.
Is a draft what it will take Americans to get off the couch and demand their country back?
If so, that means the 58,000 young Americans and millions of Vietnamese gave their lives for a nation, which learned nothing from the tragedy of that war.

What a dizzy misconstruction of reality by our STILL secretary of defense.
Start with “Americans didn’t cross oceans and settle a wilderness and build history’s greatest democracy, only to run away from murderers and extremists who try to kill everyone they cannot convert and try to tear down what they could never build.”
He’s right of course … these were not Americans at the time they crossed oceans to come to North America .. they were all sort of Europeans and Asians and Africans … they became Americans later …. and oddly enough —- when they came from there to what is now the US — they WERE running away from the extremists who won’t let you believe what you want, let you live as you want
sometimes i actually despise these guys running our country, because i don’t believe they use the words sincerely, or else they are truly as shallow in thought as their words reveal ~ and in nothing of the lead comments attributed to Mr Rumsfeld in the article is there a shred of evidence that he knows how to proceed constructively in Iraq, other than not leaving.

He (Rumsfeld) concludes: “The great story of America is instead one of grit, of determination and victory. And that story is still unfolding. Americans didn’t cross oceans and settle a wilderness and build history’s greatest democracy, only to run away from murderers and extremists who try to kill everyone they cannot convert and try to tear down what they could never build.”
I find it hard to believe he actually said this, though in Rummyspeak it makes perfect sense. Americans actually didn’t “cross oceans and settle a wilderness and build history’s greatest democracy”. Europeans, Africans, Asians and, as pointed out earlier, indigenous civilizations had a hand.
And, it seems that those early immigrants (Americans via Rummy) had no problem killing everyone they could not “convert and try to tear down what they could never build.” Funny, in a Rumsfeldian world.

One more comment about how Rumsfeld operates:
Rummy’s modus operandi is to state the obvious. He leaves you with that. He has no capacity for dialog or interaction. it appears, and his thoughts seem to echo whatever comes out of his mouth. He conveniently forgets (old age? senior moments? deliberate lies?) what he may have said earlier, and denies statements he’s made if they contradict what he’s telling you now. My guess is he had some good ideas once, but that was long ago and in another galaxy.

I think Rummy needs to get a new perspective on Iraq. Like, maybe, from the streets of Baghdad, so he can get a better look at the mess he created.

For someone who is best known for his incessant chorus of “Who knows?”, Mr. Rumsfeld’s new found focus is only the recitation of a masterfully crafted speech, that I’m sure he did not write.

If the so called terrorists are “An enemy that has no country to defend”, what in hell are we doing in Iraq? I’m afraid the real terrorists are in Washington D.C.

The hallmark of a poor leader is inability to asses risk. If a leader says, or his people do, that they were surprized about ANY outcome, then they are poor leaders. Observe this guy from Hezbollah remarks (at least he has the personal honesty to make a negative assesment), conserning a miss assesment of Israel’s response to the murder and capture of it’s military personel. If he knew then what the outcome of his actions, he wouldn’t have done it. He is a poor leader because he led his people into disaster.
Rumsfield had been unpleasently suprised at every turn in the results of every assesment he has made, in prosecuting this war. By this definition he is a poor leader just like Nazrallah of Hezbollah. They (Rumsfield and Nazrallah) may be admired by thier constituents but they have done thier jobs poorly and have caused many deaths among thier charges by miscalculation.

BJS, are you really comparing Rumsfeld to Eisenhower, Marshall, Patton and MacArther?!
You’ve got to be kidding.
Hey, wait a minute…Rumsfeld, is that you?

The 911 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia and trained – in Afghanistan? No. Florida.
I hardly think Iraq is the frontline in the war on terror. As Rumsfeld himself implies: there is no frontline.
I’m wondering how a family of old men and women with a couple of kids and a donkey would act as a shield against a rocket fired from an Apache helicopter. But I suppose Rummy knows, he’s the expert.

Rumsfeld has missed who is being blamed, not America but the Bushites
With the lock step GOP and it misinformation machine fronted on the FOX Regurgitated Propaganda Network? Or “FRPN” OR FOX RegurProNet
He (Rumsfeld) argues the ongoing debate could give
“the enemy the false impression that Americans cannot stomach a tough Fight. We must work hard to keep a “Blame America First” mentality from
undermining our efforts in another long war against a determined enemy.”
Rumsfeld and the Bushites have lost the Iraq war a few years ago.
The Proxy War the Bushites lost in Lebanon in the fight with Hezbollah was pushed up form Oct./Nov. because they thought it could take the heat off the Iraqi problem thinking it would be a cakewalk for the proxy army in Israel!!
Some Bushites were saying it would be another slam-dunk.
Some of the Bushites only watching FOX regurgitated propaganda news (Cheney for one) where a considerable campaign is waged to let us know about the school that will get a new coat of paint.
Now if we have to find out from Hezbollah that we are told that the Israeli attack is planed for Oct. Hezbollah was a little surprised when Israel jumped the gun on the WAR.
SO for Rumsfeld thinks that the Homeland Liberation Forces of Iraq don’t have a better idea about who has won the War is a little myopic.

In the past year doesn’t it seem like Bush just isn’t having any fun being the thinktank puppetboy anymore? Like he’s tired of the game and wants to go home?
Rumsfeld (and Cheney) however have endless enthusiasm for this. They tend to preach even more to the converted when things get rough (so much for American grit). No accountability, they’ve kept themselves shielded from any disagreeable opinion from the start of this administration. He’ll be out before any attack on Iran, just scares the hell out of me who’ll take his place.

unbelievable,
has this fool been right about anything concerning the iraq war? someone please take the microphone away from him

So, the terrorists lie.. but when they say Iraq is the “epicenter” that’s accepted as 100% truth..

BJS: “Cheney didn’t lie.”
No he didn’t lie. When he didn’t like what the intel community was really saying, he created his own “intel” office to interpret it the way *he* wanted it interpreted.

A note to Sander “about not much balance from your readers”. It is a worn out line from the elite that liberal bias exist in the media. The reality is the majority of the people agree the costs of the war exceeded the benefits and that Iraq is NOT part of the war on terror.
The people that believe Rumsfield is successful are a dwindling minority or to use his words “dead enders”. That is not a surprise, given the administration is trying to “balance” a pound of manure with an ounce of gold.

If Iraq is now the “front line” in the war on terror, the U.S. has made it that way. There were no foreign fighters in Iraq prior to the invasion, and in fact when Saddam was pulled out of his “spider hole”, a communique was found to his generals, not to trust any foreign fighters. Rumsfeld is delusional at best. Iraq needs to be broken up into three countries, which it is now, and effectivly, has always been.The U.S. needs to withdraw and let the Iraqis figure it out or fight it out. This administration has succeded in one aspect tho; it has made Iran the dominate force in the region. I’d like to hear what Rumsfeld has to say about that!

“The extremists openly call Iraq the ‘epicenter’ in the War on Terror.” Finally he speaks the truth.

Freedom is not a “thing” to be presented to a people like a birthday present. It is a concept that must be understood in the context of that people’s culture and national sense of ethics.
One man’s monarchy is another man’s paradise, while one man’s overtaxed republic is another man’s prison.
The heart and soul of the Middle East has remain pretty much unchanged for several thousand years. Only the oil dollars available in the last hundred years or less have made them appear Westernized as they purchase bluejeans and fighter planes.
The concepts of freedom and democracy must be embraced by the Middle East as individuals as well as nations. Elections and flag waving prove nothing. It requires a fundamental change of long held attitudes so that the people themselves believe that freedom and democracy are worth the price they will have to pay for them.
Unless these people will lay down their lives for Democracy more willingly than for Islam, their country will revert to business as usual before the dust of our departure can settle.
We as a people are diminished by the ill conceived policies of this administration.
We as a generation have been brutalized by the many politically motivated excursions since WWII.

US Government can’t defeat lightly armed fighters. The only option is to go after American civilians.

Cut and run will do nothing but endanger every one here and in the Middle East. It is a negative approach to a real problem and has no basis in any thoughtful discussion.
Things are not good in Iraq, but to imply that Islamofascists are not a part of the ongoing conflict in Baghdad is not reasonable. The remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq continue to be a large part of the violence. Iran’s extremists mullahs are actively sponsoring the Shiites in Baghdad and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Patriot Act and the actions of the NSA are important weapons to fight an unconventional enemy. To claim that the discovery of the plot to blow up planes taking off from London had nothing to do with these tools is also unreasonable.
For years during the 90′s we ignored and then responded very weakly to a Osama bin Laden’s declaration of war; now that we’ve engaged the enemy, pissing and moaning about the errors inherent in any war will do nothing to solve the problem of a eliminating a small group dedicated to destroying everything we stand for and have accomplished.

First, to the person who called your readers unbalanced, that person posted nothing but blanket statements, with nary a single conclusive shred of backup to their mouth. Nothing new. Nothing impactful. Sounds like a Spin Doc for Rummy’s camp.
In related news. Rummy is an indignant idiot. His smarmy, self-assured presentation is wearing thin on many actual red-blooded Americans (that has 2 other meanings besides the obvious one).
People “dying for my freedom” included a list of people during the Revolutionary War, and World War Two. Baghdad has never been a threat to Texas, where I am a native. Baghdad has never invaded Austin, where I grew up. Baghdad has never “jihaded” Pizza Hut on a Sunday morning.
The lies are stacking, and it’s getting harder and harder to keep the herd sedated, eh Rummy?
I do not care who you are, you cannot deny the overarching power of an angry mob. Tanks cannot withstand one. Troops cannot withstand one. You can hear the chorus rising now =)

User “John”‘s comments:
“Cut and run will do nothing but endanger every one here and in the Middle East. It is a negative approach to a real problem and has no basis in any thoughtful discussion”
Another blanket statement that does not offer any constructive examples to back it up.
Cut and run? Isn’t that what the republicans did with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan?
“…..Islamofascists…….”
Do you even know what a fascist government looks like? Fascism, as defined, is the merging of government and corporations. Sounds a hell of a lot more like America than Iraq to me. Just sayin…
“The Patriot Act and the actions of the NSA are important weapons …. To claim that the discovery of the plot to blow up planes taking off from London had nothing to do with these tools is also unreasonable.”
The discovery of the plot had to do with good police work. There is absolutely no proodf that it had anything to do with Bush’s illegal spying on American citizens. I implore you to prove otherwise.
As for the Patriot Act, to paraphrase Ben Franklin, if you are willing to give up certain freedoms to attain temporary security, then you deserve NEITHER.
“For years during the 90′s we ignored and then responded very weakly to a Osama bin Laden’s declaration of war; now that we’ve engaged the enemy………..”
Please, please just quit already. Nobody is buying the ‘engaging the enemy’ bullcrap anymore. Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11.
I’ll write that again since it seems to not get through to seom of you fantasy-island dwellers:
Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11.
Al Qaeda and Sadaam’s western-style government were ENEMIES. There was no Qaeda presence in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion. They did not threaten to attack us, or anyone else in the region for that matter.
People like the poster above calling himself “John” would rather we cower in fear and give up our freedoms in the name of ‘freedom’. If the all-powerful Bush tells us Iraq is the war on terror, then it must be so. Nevermind the fact that there were no 9/11 connections, no WMD’s, Osama and the Taliban were in Afghanistan, etc.
Make sense? No, it doesnt make any sense to me either.

Lets change that slightly Donald Rumsfeldt, it’s not the “blame America first” mentality, it’s the “blame this incompetant administration first” mentality or even the “Blame the incompetant and evil Secretary of Defense” mentality. Get it right!

To Mr. John Stone. Who gave Saddam the ability to make those weapons. Was it not the United States, when Iraq was at war with Iran. Also, after the first Gulf war, which everyone in America along with the rst of the world supported, was it not the current President’s father that told the Kurds to rise up and toppel Saddam, and that they wiould have the support of America. What was t he end result, when they rose up, we turned our back on them, only to have Saddam use the same chemuical that America helped him produce on the Kurds. Had we supproted them, we would not have been Iraq today.

To Mr John Stone. Well written John, finally there are some out there that can see the light.
Most of the comments seem utterly biased and very
illogical. I am sure there are many who would agree with John, but prefer to be part of the silent majority.

Is this guy something or what? I can not believe anyone can talk such rubbish and stupid.No wonder America is in so much trouble because of him. Rise up America.

Years ago, President Clinton called Sadaam an evil tyrant who must be confronted and removed. He called terrorisim a terrible scourge that must be confronted. But what did he do? Nothing. Because of his passivity and appeasement philosphy, the terrorists disrespect and boldness grew until more than 2,000 Americans were killed in New York City. The terrorists have declared war on us, so what is the correct response to that? A) Hide under the covers, like a child, and act like it doesn’t exist or that it will go away. B) Take action and confront the menace head on that wants to kill and destroy us … just because of who we are.
Richard

They say “People in Glass Houses should not throw stones” and extreme right-wing activists should not throw around the word “fascist”.
I know this is an ABC post but did anyone see Keith Olberman rebutt Rumsfeld last night he even closed quoting Edward R Murrow — he says everything I have wanted to say and more.

For Rumsfeld to associate the anti-war movement to Nazi appeasers is the ultimate in gall. After all, it was the New York and Chicago-based banker and industrialists who were the Hitler appeasers. And, ironically, they used the American Legion as their fascist storm troopers — it was proposed that Gerald MacGuire, a former New York City bond and securities dealer with whom Brown Brothers Nazi financier Prescott Bush had more than a casual relationship, organize 500,000 American Legionnaires to march on Washington in the summer of 1933 and militarily overthrow President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The new Department of General Affairs (akin to the modern Homeland Security Department, only with greater powers) would end the New Deal initiatives and make common cause with Adolf Hitler’s Germany and Benito Mussolini’s Italy. The plot of the Wall Street bankers was revealed by retired Marine Corps General Smedley Butler who turned down an offer to lead the military coup.
The love affair between Wall Street and Nazi Germany continued long after the planned coup against FDR. On May 6, 1937, the Nazi German airship Hindenburg proudly flew over lower Manhattan (ironically, over the location of the future World Trade Center) displaying its swastika symbol for all the bankers and financiers to see. One of them was Prescott Bush, whose financial dealings with Nazi German banks and companies, was in full swing.
A little history for Rumsfeld: It was your boss’s grandfather who not only appeased Hitler and the Nazis but funded them. The SS Hindenburg made it a point of flying over Wall Street as a token of thanks to Prescott Bush and his fellow pro-Nazi supporters. And the American Legion, before which Rumsfeld made his “Nazi” remarks, was part of the 1933 Wall Street coup plans to overthrow Franklin Roosevelt. The American Legion should have long ago lost its congressional charter.

The majority of these posts are by the very same people that Mr. Rumsfeld correctly points out as to aiding the enemy. We are under attack because we are weak, corrupt and delusional. There is nothing wrong with debate. There is however an inherant personality flaw in blindly following a left wing agenda, or a right one. Seperate feelings from facts, political leanings and look at the picture from a perspective greater than your own that may include you missing American Idol or the Apprentice.
This is a game of sorts of chess, not checkers or hi -lo. The people that are trying to kill us invented chess.
I would say that if you’re unhappy with the way the country is, clean up your own house first. Then help your neighbor, then your neighborhood and so on.
We are in this position because jimmy carter didn’t have the guts to do what needed to be done. He was put in that position because of France and we lost our best ally in the middle east.
” There are no permenant alliances, only permenant interests ”
I will wager there is not a single person on this board taking personal shots at the Secratary of Defense who can recognize that quote because it would mean that they have some grasp of American history without the public school political correctness misinformation as the guiding force of delusion.
Cowards.

I voted for Al Gore when he was running against George Bush Jr. , and yet I wasn’t really sorry in the final analysis when he (and the democrats,supposedly) lost. I felt that George Bush Jr. was possibly more exposed to extremely sophisticated scenarios in world affairs than Al Gore might have been. I believe that under the rule of Saddham Hussein, Iraq was a hotbed of terrorist, or potential terrorist conspiracies. In the Gulf War under the senior George Bush,eg. Saddham was lobbing missiles towards Israel. The reason I didn’t like him however, especially, was because he used chemical weapons against the Kurds in his own northern country, and allowed rape and murder, even from his own sons. I now feel remotely sorry for Saddham Hussein, as a human being, despite all. I believe he tried to censure, and/or even punish his sons. I think he was very confused, believing himself to be perfect and without fault, whatever his actions. I agree with George Bush Jr. that all these terrorists, are basically like fascists, or Hitler Youth, trained as they are from childhood.We, the USA want clean energy, not oil. We want alternatives to oil, gasoline, diesel,toxic chemicals,and global warning. We didn’t want to hurt the oil rich countries’ innocent peoples in the process of change. They just don’t get it, Osama Bin Laden, et. al, et. al, (and some so cruel, and senseless in their vicious brutality against certain individuals) that even Osama, and his advisors censored them, or cut them off from their terrorist schemes, and/or mutual plans of engagement. I think that is why Zawaquiri, or whatever his name was, after beheading innocent Western citizens and/or businessmen, hoping to play a role in the re-construction of Iraq was enabled to be assassinated. I wonder perhaps if Osama Bin Laden did not almost agree? But I don’t know. The World Trade Center, The Twin Towers ? All those many innocents ? People of all ages? From babies, to children, to adults, and from countries all around the world? Many tourists? How could he smile, and laugh at this?!! The man is clearly deranged! Just as was Hitler ?! That is why I am writing this long, long note. I have not been able to understand all these many years how to categorize this insanity of war in the Mid East.
There is one last thing, the U.S. forces, the commanders in charge, and the training in general. I believe that our U.S.A forces themselves, the young men, and the young women, and all the rest, young and old, and the Pentagon, itself has to remain ever strong and true to the concept of the highest morality attainable as human beings, and then to be certain and sure that all missions are accomplished in same kind, with the utmost compassion and humanitarian treatment of all prisoners. In other words : Innocent until proven guilty. Always.