Rumsfeld disputes GQ report

[sabra]

Source: Politico

An aide to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Keith Urbahn, e-mails to contest a widely-discussed GQ article by Robert Draper, which suggested that Rumsfeld "appreciated" the practice of quoting Biblical quotations on the cover sheets of classified briefings, and that Rumsfeld brought the briefings to President Bush.

...

Urbahn's full e-mail:

The slides in the “World Intelligence Update” were prepared on a daily basis by military personnel serving on the Joint Staff, which reported to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, not the Secretary of Defense. The report was briefed regularly to senior military officials in the Pentagon – only occasionally to the Secretary of Defense and not to the President of the United States.

Rumsfeld was fully aware that words and actions could be harmful and counterproductive to the war effort. It’s safe to say that some of these cover slides could be considered in that category. The suggestion that Rumsfeld would have composed, approved of, or personally shown the slides to President Bush is flat wrong. It did not happen.

Given that Draper used anonymous sources for this charge as well as for the rest of the innuendo in his piece, one would think he might have at least done a cursory review of the facts. He might then have avoided being taken by people with an axe grind. When Draper goes back and checks reality against his reporting, he might also check whether GQ is in need of a new gossip columnist.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0509/Rumsfeld_disputes_GQ_report.html

[Ian David]

1. Oh, goodness gracious, my stars and garters! n/t

[Mz Pip]

2. What did Rummy know

and when did he know it?

Is Rummy's aid really saying that Rummy didn't know what was going out in the briefings? I find that hard to believe.

These idiots want us to believe that Nacy Pelosi knew all about what was going on regarding torture but Rummy wasn't aware of what was going out in military briefings.

Maybay Nancy Pelosi approved these memos. :sarcasm:

[mascarax]

8. Not just approved, it was Nancy Pelosi who designed 'em!

This woman is out of control!
What havoc will she wreak next?
Obviously, she is the unnamed source for Draper's article...how dare she drag poor Rummy through the mud?
Has she no shame?
:sarcasm:

[Swede Atlanta]

10. You have it all wrong........

Al Gore invented them.....
Bill Clinton designed them........
Nancy Pelosi wrote them......
The Clenis distributed them....

There wasn't nary a singe Republinazi within a thousand miles

[Arctic Dave]

3. Trying to get another sap to fall on his sword for the cause.

[lamp_shade]

4. Oh oh.... somebody's gonna get it.

[peace13]

5. There were bible verses to the north, south, east and west of the letterhead Rummy!

Explain it to us!

[santamargarita]

6. I bet Jesus George would have loved to look at the purty pictures...

but he aint too good with his words

[AlbertCat]

7. Did Rummy dispute it in the 3rd person?

He refers to himself in the 3rd person all the time.
Does Donald Rumsfeld ask himself questions and then answer them? Donald does do that.

He's loony tunes

There was this hysterical piece in the New Yorker
DONALD RUMSFELD ORDERS BEAKFAST AT DENNY'S :

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/06/09/030609sh_shouts

[MichiganVote]

9. Oh...hey now, this just can't be the bullshitter Rummy I know. Such cuddly comments.

[tabasco]

11. Well, glad he straightened that out.

Rummy's a straight shooter so surely we can accept his explanation.

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. And the World will believe Rumsfeld, - - - Why???

.
.
.

:shrug:



Don't shake his hand

he'll get you hung!

(hanged)?

[underpants]

13. AP article makes no mention of Rumsfeld

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5686926&mesg_id=5686926

[Trocadero]

14. Why on God's green earth would I believe anything that Rummy says?

[blogslut]

15. I don't buy it

In Bob Woodward's book, State of Denial, he wrote that Rummy forbade the Joint Chiefs chairman from reporting directly to the president. That was part of Don's micromanaging. Historically, during times of war, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs had always reported to the prez. Rummy decided that he could do it better.