Rumsfeld: Bush foes lack courage on terror

aNiMaL

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/29/rumsfeld.ap/index.html

Rumsfeld: Bush foes lack courage on terror

POSTED: 2:00 p.m. EDT, August 29, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror.

In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral and intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.

Addressing several thousand veterans at the American Legion's national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failed efforts to appease the Adolf Hitler regime in the 1930s.

"I recount this history because once again we face the same kind of challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism" he said.

Rumsfeld spoke to an American Legion convention as part of a coordinated White House strategy, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, aiming to take the offensive against administration critics at a time of doubt about the future of Iraq and how long U.S. troops must remain there.

Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from the 9/11 attacks to bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.

"But it is apparent that many have still not learned history's lessons," he said, adding that part of the problem is that the American news media have tended to emphasize the negative rather than the positive.

He said, for example, that more media attention was given to U.S. soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib than to the fact that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith received the Medal of Honor.

aNiMaL

Rumsfeld wrote:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration's Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror.

Is it me, or is he continually blurring the line between the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism? If only he would admit that we fucked up by invading Iraq and sorry again for turning it into a terrorist breeding ground, when it wasn't before. Then I could swallow this a little easier.

Rumsfeld wrote:

Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from the 9/11 attacks to bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.

Is the fact that Al-Qaeda is as (if not way more) organized, collected, and focused on hurting their enemy (us) now, more than they were on 9/11/01, tell us that they (the current administration) haven't made hardily ANY headway in the war on terror?...in fact the terrorist are stronger now with a great place to train in Iraq. Our country is as vulnerable as it ever has been. The only difference now is they are actually reading the intelligence reports warning us of terrorist activity....unlike they did when they received one before 9/11 saying that terrorist were looking to hijack airplanes and crash them into buildings or use them as some sort of bombs.

SweetHarmonics

"moral and intellectual confusion"

and the credibility gap widens yet again

John Budge

The Bush administration has probably done more to increase terrorism rather than curtail it. I love when fake bullies like Rumsfeld and Cheney get up in front of their supporters and start slinging insults.

hippiemom

Don Rumsfeld accusing someone of "intellectual confusion" is like ....









shit, I give up. There's nothing quite like it.

Cosmo

If we want to get rid of the global terrorist... shouldn't we be going after the global terrorists? Why are we stuck in this regional war?
...
"He said, for example, that more media attention was given to U.S. soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib than to the fact that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith received the Medal of Honor."
...
This is because we all learned from the last election... military medals really don't mean shit. They are little baubbles that the Military seems to give away freely to anyone that asks for one.

WMA

Harry Reid responds:

Secretary Rumsfeld’s reckless comments show why America is not as safe as it can or should be five years after 9/11. The Bush White House is more interested in lashing out at its political enemies and distracting from its failures than it is in winning the War on Terror and in bringing an end to the war in Iraq. If there's one person who has failed to learn the lessons of history it's Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld ignored military experts when he rushed to war without enough troops, without sufficient body armor, and without a plan to succeed. Under this Administration's watch, terror attacks have increased, Iraq has fallen into civil war, and our military has been stretched thin. We have a choice to make today. Do we trust Secretary Rumsfeld to make the right decisions to keep us safe after he has been so consistently wrong since the start of the Iraq War? Or, do we change course in Iraq and put in place new leadership that will put the safety of the American people ahead of partisan games? For the sake of the safety of this country, it is time to make a change.

enharmonic

Donald Rumsfeld is what's wrong with this country.

The guy is a death dealer.