posted on May 14, 2004 09:13:00 AM new
This happened yesterday when Rumsfeld was in Iraq and had a town hall meeting with the troops. Some of them have some genuine concerns and Rumsfeld couldn't answer their questions very well at all.
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Moments after Donald H. Rumsfeld said how much more "fun" it was to be questioned by the troops in Baghdad than the critics in Washington, the troops in the Iraqi capital hit the defense secretary with a barrage of serious, probing and sometimes personal inquiries, some of which, he confessed, he just could not answer.
One soldier asked when they would receive improved vests and better armor for the Humvees. It's those roadside bombs, he said. "We lost some soldiers due to them."
Another asked whether it was true that the military would not pay their full air fare back home.
Yet another wanted to know why his military medical coverage wouldn't handle physical therapy for his handicapped child.
When, if ever, would the United Nations send some troops and where would they come from?
Would Defense Department employees who are civilians working with the military be permitted to carry guns, asked a civilian working with the military?
The entire town hall meeting was televised live on CNN.
And sometimes it did indeed sound to Rumsfeld like a televised news conference full of journalists back home.
"Mr. Secretary," said a member of the audience. "You have said you would like to reduce the number of troops in Iraq. Instead, more troops are being sent."
"You should be a journalist," Rumsfeld told her, smiling.
posted on May 14, 2004 09:27:01 AM new
here is an absurd statement if i ever heard one
" In a moment that was vintage Rumsfeld, the former cold warrior evoked his long-standing belief in American world leadership that critics have attacked as arrogance, declaring that "the United States is the ... best hope of humankind."
can you believe that....amazing....the US is the best hope for mankind, unbelievable....that is what Hilter said also, but back then it was Germany.....
posted on May 14, 2004 10:17:05 AM new
Rumsfeld also held out hope to his war-weary audience that international troops may soon arrive to augment their ranks. He said U.S. officials were engaged in talks with nations "that have capabilities to bring forces in," and those discussions were going well. "I'm encouraged. I think we'll find that we will get additional forces," Rumsfeld said. He did not specify which or how many countries are involved, saying only "we're probably talking to a couple of handfuls, maybe three handfuls of nations."
