Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the controversial face of American war policy, said he quit on Wednesday because the political climate changed after Democrats' big election win, driven by anger over Iraq.
"It'll be a different Congress, a different environment, moving toward a presidential election, and a lot of partisanship and it struck me that this would be a good thing for everybody," Rumsfeld told a handful of Pentagon reporters.
President George W. Bush said he agreed with his top war manager that it was time for a change and said Iraq policy was "not working well enough, fast enough."
It's long overdue.
Let's go through the Rumsfeld file.
"Stuff happens."
Rumsfeld on the looting in Iraq.
"I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?"
Rumsfeld showing his compassionate conservative side on torture. Rumsfeld also approved stripping detainees and using attack dogs on them. This is the result.
"As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want," Rumsfeld said.
Rumsfeld answering a question on why members of the National Guard are having to use scrap metal to armor their vechicles. Norman Schwarzkopf offered a stinging response.
“I was very, very disappointed — no, let me put it stronger — I was angry by the words of the secretary of defense when he laid it all on the Army, as if he, as the secretary of defense, didn’t have anything to do with the Army and the Army was over there doing it themselves, screwing up.”
What's even more maddening was the Army having to spin for Rumsfeld. Armor Holdings has been trying to get a contract to armor more vechicles. The Army said they didn't know this until they read news reports.
Rumsfeld replied that ``you have to go to war with the Army you have,'' and said that providing more of the vehicles was ``a matter of physics, not a matter of money.''
The day after Rumsfeld's comments, Robert Mecredy, president of Armor Holding's aerospace and defense group, said the company could increase production by 22 percent, or 100 vehicles per month. The Army's total order will be completed by March.
It's not the only time Rumsfeld has been caught in a lie.
Rumsfeld then got caught lying to Ray McGovern.
RAY McGOVERN: And so, I would like to ask you to be up front with the American people. Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary and that has caused these kinds of casualties? Why?
DONALD RUMSFELD: Well, first of all, I haven’t lied. I did not lie then. Colin Powell didn't lie. He spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence Agency people and prepared a presentation that I know he believed was accurate, and he presented that to the United Nations. The President spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence people, and he went to the American people and made a presentation. I'm not in the intelligence business. They gave the world their honest opinion. It appears that there were not weapons of mass destruction there.
RAY McGOVERN: You said you knew where they were?
DONALD RUMSFELD: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were, and we were --
RAY McGOVERN: You said you knew where they were, “near Tikrit, near Baghdad, and northeast, south and west of there.” Those were your words.
DONALD RUMSFELD: My words -- my words were -- no, no, no, wait a minute! Let him stay one second. Just a second.
McGovern quote Rumsfeld words, from a Meet the Press appearance back at him. Rumsfeld's statement are recorded and he continues to get smacked down about denying things he said. Pathetic.
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