Rumsfeld wrote a letter to the troops in today's Stars and Stripes

[lebkuchen]

For a Secretary of Defense to do that, and on the eve of the democratic convention, no less, is a sign of desperation.

Rummy's letter needs some fact-laden rebuttals to the Bush propaganda machine. They can be sent here.

[e-mail]

US TROOPS' SKILL EMANCIPATED IRAQ
(Stripes did not provide an URL)

To the troops:

More than 15 months ago, a global coalition ended the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein and liberated the people of Iraq.

As in all conflicts, this has come at a cost in lives. Some of your comrades made the ultimate sacrifice. For your sacrifices, our country and the president are deeply grateful.

In a free, democratic country we have vigorous debates over important public policy issues--none more heated than a decision to go to war. But this should not distract us from the mission at hand or lessen the magnitude of your accomplishments.

The threat we face must be confronted. And you are doing so exceedingly well. Indeed it has been a historic demonstration of skill and military power.

On Sept. 11, 2002, 3,000 citizens were killed by extremists determined to frighten and intimidate our people and civilized societies. The future danger is that, if the extremists gain the potential, the number of casualties would be far higher. Terrorists are continuing to plot attacks against the American people and against other civilized societies. This is a different kind of enemy and a different kind of world. And we must think and act differently in this new century.

These extremists think nothing of cutting off innocent people's heads to try to intimidate great nations. They have murdered citizens from many countries--South Korea, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and others--hoping to strike fear in the hearts of free people.

Theirs is an ideology of oppression and subjugation of women. They seek to create radical systems that impose their views on others. And they will accept no armistice with those who choose free systems.

They see the governments of the Middle East, the United States and our stalwart allies as targets.

Consider the background. In the span of 20 years, Saddam's Iraq invaded two neighbors, Iran and Kuwait, and launched ballistic missiles at two more. He employed poison gas against soldiers in Iran and against kurdish villages in his own country.

The United Nations and the U.S. Congress shared the view that Saddam's regime was a threat to the region and the world. Indeed, in 1998, our Congress passed a resolution calling for the removal of the regime. And over the years the U.N. passed 17 resolutions condeming Saddam's regime and calling on him to tell the U.N. about his weapions programs. He ignored every one.

Information gathered since the defeat of Saddam's regime last year confirms that his last declaration to the United Nations about his weapons programs was falsified. The U.N. resolutions had called for "serious consequences" should Saddam not comply. He did not.

The president issued a final ultimatum to Saddam to reliquish power to avoid war. Saddam chose war instead.

By your skill and courage, you have put a brutal dictator in the dock to be tried by the Iraqi people and restored freedom to 25 million people. By helping to repair infrastructure, rebuild schools, encourage democratic institutions and deliver educational and medical supplies, you have shown America's true character and given Iraq a chance at a new start.

But most importantly, your fight--and ultimate victory--against the forces of terror and extremism in Iraq and the Middle East will have made America safer and more secure.

You are accomplishing something noble and historic--and future generations of Americans will remember and thank you for it.

[Disturbed]

1. Rumsfailed Admitted violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed Admitted violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed admitted in public that when CIA Tentet requested that a prisoner be sent to a secret Afghan/US Prison that Rumsfailed did so. After four months a DOD Attorney stated that this was an illegal act so Rumsfailed ordered that this prisoner be sent back to Abu Graib but the prisoner was not listed at that location on purpose. That is two violations of the Geneva Convention. Not one complaint or charge was made regarding Rumsfailed, not even by any Dem in Congress.

Does the US no longer follow the Geneva Convention?

It appears so.

[lebkuchen]

2. Please

send it to Stripes and help sweep back the tide. :)

[thebigidea]

3. that's what they're calling it now? Emancipation?

[lebkuchen]

4. Yeah, as in "went to heaven"

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

[tabasco]

5. Hey Rummy. From a troop.

FUCK YOU!

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Rummie even got the date wrong

9-11 happened in 2001, not 2002.

Just goes to show how incompetent and out of touch with reality, he really is.

[lebkuchen]

11. That's my typo, for the record.

It's not on the web, but in Monday's Stars and Stripes. I had to type it.

Too late to correct it now.

[Tight_rope]

7. "the president are deeply grateful"...yeah I bet....

Bush doesn't give a shit about our troops and definitely not if they loose their lives. I hate Bush and everything evil the he stands for.

[Disturbed]

8. Bush Administration Talks Tough

Bush Administration Talks Tough
But Fails To Support The Military

If, during George Bush’s recent State of the Union address, American military personnel and their families were waiting to receive their justly deserved praise, plus a firm and outlined commitment to support servicemen and women in every way, they must surely have been disappointed. It was only in passing that Mr. Bush recognized the sacrifices of our military, and he tied the comments to himself with a reference to his flight deck performance and his Thanksgiving photo op in Iraq.

Mr. Bush did pledge to supply the troops with all the resources they need, but for the service people with the closest knowledge of conditions in Iraq, this must have had a hollow ring to it. The Bush Administration hasn’t even been able to provide blanks for the new Iraq security forces to use in training; instead the trainees and their American trainers have to say "bang, bang," or "ratatatat," when they want to illustrate that a weapon has been fired. This would be comical if it wasn’t so illustrative of the two faces of the Republican Administration: On the one hand, Mr. Bush and the GOP is gung-ho, ready to ‘bring ‘em on,’ and on the other hand they can’t quite get it together to provide the full resources the troops need, undoubtedly because of other priorities for the billions of dollars that are being spent.

American men and women are being killed and wounded pretty much every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families have a right to know that their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, were given every tool needed to defend and protect themselves. There should be no higher priority, but what the State of the Union speech did was provide further lip service.

Colbert I. King, a Washington Post columnist, put it this way: "Instead of a moment of silence for those who have paid the ultimate price, (service people and by extension, their families) heard presidential pitches for prescription drugs and a new immigration law, and a denunciation of steroids and gay marriage. Instead of hearing the president recognize the preciousness of young lives expended far from home, they got a plea to put Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts. Instead of telling the country why it should remember what the dead and dying stood for, Americans were given an earful on child tax credits, the death tax and cuts in taxes on capital gains."


http://www.bradleyreport.net/republicans/BushTalksTough.htm




That's the msg. to the troops and the American people.

[Democracy Died 2004]

9. DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN AND DAMMIT TO HELL

The president issued a final ultimatum to Saddam to reliquish power to avoid war. Saddam chose war instead. WHEN the frigging damn hell did shrub say this? I believe the fuck i was there and all he said was to allow inspectors to go in<which they lie about now> WHAT DA FRIGGING GODDAMN HELL? THis kind of shit makes me have bad, dark dreams.

[Zech Marquis]

10. noble and historic huh?

Rummy, a good friend of mine, Andy Tauizan ,was killed in Iraq this spring, and there was nothing noble and heroic about a good 21 year old kid getting his brains blown out by a sniper bullet :argh: You're full of shit! This whole goddamn administration are the biggest group of terrorists on the planet, and yet you call yourselves bringing freedom to Iraq? Bullshit :grr: just like that sorry ass DLAP exam I just took a few weeks ago, I've had better ones in high school than that!

[Solly Mack]

12. something to wipe the butt with...

that's all rummy's letter is...