December 5, 2005
Rumsfeld Redux
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
Our thanks to a BuzzFlash reader who reminded us of the wisdom of our Secretary of Defense by sending the article below. He writes: "Just a reminder of just how completely WRONG the Bush Regime has been. It's now past 2 1/2 years and closing in on 3 years, with over 2,130 US soldier deaths."
Then:
Rumsfeld: It Would Be A Short War
Nov. 15, 2002(CBS) There will be no World War III starting with Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared Thursday, and rejected concerns that a war would be a quagmire.
"The idea that it's going to be a long, long, long battle of some kind I think is belied by the fact of what happened in 1990," he said on an Infinity Radio call-in program.
He said the U.S. military is stronger than it was during the Persian Gulf War, while Iraq's armed forces are weaker.
"Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that," he said. "It won't be a World War III."
(snip)
On the Infinity Radio call-in program, Rumsfeld sidestepped a question on whether the United States would respond with nuclear weapons if Iraq were to use chemical or biological weapons.
"The United States government, the president and others, are communicating with people in Iraq, in the military, very forcefully that they ought not to use those weapons," Rumsfeld said. "Anyone in any way connected with weapons of mass destruction and their use will be held accountable, and people who helped avoid that would be advantaged."
(snip)
Rumsfeld also told radio listeners it is impossible Iraq does not have weapons of mass destruction. "What it would prove is that the inspections process had been successfully defeated by the Iraqis if they find nothing."
The conflict with Iraq is about weapons of mass destruction, Rumsfeld insisted.
"It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil. It has nothing to do with the religion."
Rumsfeld defended the notion of a pre-emptive strike, saying the world has changed since the Sept. 11 attacks. The danger, the defense secretary warned, is that countries such as Iraq might give terrorist groups weapons of mass destruction, producing imminent threats can't always be seen.
"People say 'Where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction," he said. "With a weapon of mass destruction you're not talking about 300 people or 3,000 people being killed, but 30,000 or a hundred thousand."
Rumsfeld said the U.S. military at present is capable "to do the job and finish it fast.
"There is absolutely no need for the present for us to even think about returning to a draft." ...
Infinity and CBSNews.com are part of Viacom, Inc.
Now:
Rumsfeld Points Out Positives About Iraq (December 5, 2005, AP/Yahoo)
... The Iraqis, [Rumsfeld] said, are more upbeat about their country, their security forces are growing, and they are on the road to democracy.
... He denounced as unsubstantiated recent reports out of Iraq, including allegations from two former Iraqi detainees who said they were thrust into a cage of lions in Baghdad and then pulled out as an interrogation technique.
... Rumsfeld also questioned stories about a military propaganda program that secretly paid Iraqi newspapers and journalists to publish favorable articles about the war and rebuilding in Iraq. He said he didn't know if the allegations were true ...
... Rumsfeld acknowledged that the war has not gone according to plan, but said many things that were feared — including destruction of oil fields — have not happened.
He said the insurgency was larger than some had expected ...
... The administration has said Iraqi security forces are growing — one of the prerequisites to drawing down U.S. troops. But in an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Iraqi Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer said the training of Iraqi forces has been troubled in recent months because some security units are being used to go after political rivals.
Some Democrats renewed calls for Rumsfeld to be removed from his post. ...
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS