The Administration "Re-Wronging" History
Published November 30, 2005
Now, we move to the Nov. 20 This Week interview, where Rumsfeld directly repudiates his 2004 statement and contradicts the generals' testimony before the Senate. On troop levels he says, in part: "The Iraqi Security Forces are now up to 212,000... They are engaged in the fight... They've got over 100 battalions that are functioning in one way or another."
Rumsfeld was asked by George Stephanopoulos about the number of 700 Iraqi troops being reported as ready with 20,000 that can lead but that need to be heavily supported. His answer: "Most of our forces need support... the comparison you're casting is clearly confusing to the listener... The argument is...is... the US has a plan. They have a strategy. They are implementing that. They have trained over 212,000 Iraqi Security Forces. ... We currently have about 159,000 troops in Iraq. We plan to bring that down to 137,000-138,000 after the election which has been our baseline."
Rumsfeld goes on to explain his opinion and position on the war, which directly contradicts his 2004 statement.
Stephanopoulos: If you had known that no WMDs would be found, would you still advocate invasion?
Rumsfeld: I didn't advocate invasion.
Stephanopoulos: You didn't?
Rumsfeld: No. I wasn't asked. If you read all the books on the thing...
Stephanopoulos: You weren't? But why weren't you asked? That's very puzzling.
Rumsfeld: No. I'm sure that the president understood what my views were... but... but... as a technical matter, did he ever look and say, "What should we do - should we do this or not do that" - this is something that the president thought through very carefully.
Stephanopoulos: Are you trying to distance yourself on the war with that...
Rumsfeld: Of course not. I agreed completely with the decision to go to war. And I've said that 100 times and don't even suggest that...
Stephanopoulos: I'm just asking...
Rumsfeld: Yeah. Well you know better.... uhhh... Look, the interesting thing to me about the pre-war intelligence is clearly it was wrong. It was wrong (inaudible). But everyone saw the same thing in the Executive branch, in the Legislative branch, in the other countries, it was presented at the UN.. uhhh...
Stephanopoulos: But would you have been for an invasion if we had known that?
Rumsfeld: If I... I... the answer is probably yes. Our planes were being shot at every day, every week in the no fly zone. Here was a man who was giving $25,000 to the families of suicide killers. Murderers who were doing it. Zarqawi was in that country during that period. He's a person that used chemical weapons against his own people and against his neighbors, had invaded Kuwait...
Asked about reasons for how and on what basis the US decided to invade Iraq, Rumsfeld offers another opinion:
I think the kind of re-hashing and suggesting that there was anything manipulative about the intelligence is really a disservice to the country.
- The Administration "Re-Wronging" History
- Published: November 30, 2005
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Politics
- Writer: AmeriPundit
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Comments on this articleComments
This is the most despicable administration in US History. The filthiest, corrupt lying jackals to ever sit in DC and yet people still think these guys are just swell and are "protecting Merrika".
They are all war criminals. They have hurt the US so badly that it's beyond full repair. They're responsible for 9/11. They're responsible for the illegal wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq. They're responsible for the continued selling out and hollowing out of America's middle class. They continue to allow millions of Third Worlders into America when we don't need them.
The Bush Adminstration is putting the final nails in America's coffin. Just wait and see. It's going to get worse and worse in this country.
Jeee-sus H. Christ! They don't even operate in "reality" - that's for the rest of us who live in the Real World. We're fucked.
"Just wait and see. It's going to get worse and worse in this country." - TommyD
Thanks for expressing your side's wishes in a clear, concise format.
ReTard, it's not my "my side's wishes" that thing's get worse in this country, it's just the realistic and logical outcome of a government gone really, really bad. Anyone one with the gift of free thought can see that the US's current policies can not, and will not, end in a good or beneficial way for the vast majority of American citizens. Empires never end well, but always with great and swift collapse.
But I guess you'll turn on FOX News tonight and believe whatever they tell you, so I might be wasting my time here.
Why is it so hard for people to see the truth of what's happening in this country and why it needs to change now!?!?!
Redtard & his ilk are members of a hard-core decreasing minority, as even the half-wits who voted for Bush in 04 are waking up & smelling the stench of corruption on The Hill & in the WH.
Nancy, you're right. The cheerleaders for war are so desperate to retain a little bit of their self-dignity after being so utterly defeated by the reality of America's illegal Iraq invasion that they're just lashing out at anyone who speaks up about the awful reality that this nation finds itself in because of following the insane delusions of grandeur by insane politicians.
Nancy, they're weak. They thought that they could boost their faux machismo by cheerleading the US military into "killing all dem Ay-rabs" when these guys know in their heart of hearts that they could never muster the bravery to actually put the rubber to the road and hook up with the front lines in Iraq.
It's all psychological with these guys. Shattered they all are.
I'm no cheerleader or chickenhawk, I was a member of the US armed forces and have been to Kuwait. I risked my life to disarm leftover Iraqi and US munitions so that little kids could play outside without fear of blowing themselves up.
I've been there and I know people very well who are over there now. They tell a different story than what you guys spew. I have to take personal experience and eyewitness accounts over propaganda from radicals angry because they lost in the last election.
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"There can be no doubt that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction." Dick Cheney
"Saddam has chemical weapons." Colin Powell
"Saddam has biological weapons." G. W. Bush
"We know he has these weapons and we know where they are." Donald Rumsfeld.
"He tried to obtain uranium from Africa." G.W. Bush
"Would I lie to you? Would I lie to you honey? Would I say something that wasn't true." Annie Lenox