Rice, Rumsfeld in Separate Orbits in Baghdad

[DoYouEverWonder]

April 28, 2006

BAGHDAD, April 27 -- A full 10 seconds of silence passed after a reporter asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld what the intense secrecy and security surrounding their visit to Iraq signified about the stability of the country three years after the U.S.-led invasion. Rice turned to Rumsfeld to provide the answer. Rumsfeld glared at the reporter.

"I guess I don't think it says anything about it," he snapped. He went on to say that President Bush had directed him and Rice to go to Iraq to "meet with the new leadership, and it happens that they are located here," a reference to the heavily fortified Green Zone where U.S. officials -- and many Iraqi leaders -- live and work.

<snip>

This time around, Rice and Rumsfeld often seemed in separate orbits, and the visit had little of the warmth of the earlier one. One purpose of this joint trip was to get the sometimes conflicting military and political operations in sync for the transition to a permanent Iraqi government. But the contrast in the two secretaries' styles was sometimes jarring.

Even though her arrival here followed an exhausting sprint through Greece and Turkey, Rice appeared energized by the task at hand. Rumsfeld arrived directly from Washington -- after a recent Asian tour -- but he seemed disengaged and bored, both to reporters traveling with him and to some U.S. officials. Some said he seemed irritated by the whole exercise. He did not speak a word to reporters with him on the flight to Baghdad.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/27/AR2006042700895.html?sub=AR


Seems Rummie's a wee bit touchy lately?

[Gman]

1. If Rummy's being snippy these days

He's starting to realize he will stand trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity and the time is growing short.

[rodeodance]

good headline!

[0007]

2. Surprise!

[fooj]

3. These rat bastards are in deep shit and they know it.

:grr:

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. Why do you think they ran away to Iraq for?

Life sucks when you have to go to a war zone to get away from your troubles.

[rodeodance]

5. oh rummy is having a fitto

.....During a joint meeting with reporters traveling with the secretaries, Rumsfeld frequently doodled with a black felt-tip pen or stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling when Rice spoke. Rice would occasionally cast a nervous glance at Rumsfeld as he prepared to respond to a question. His answers were terse; hers were expansive.
.......

But the administration's mantra of freedom and democracy never passed Rumsfeld's lips. Asked how the Iraqi government should eliminate the militias that have terrorized the populace, Rumsfeld appeared to suggest it was a relatively easy task. "Other countries have dealt with these issues and done them in a reasonably orderly way and over a period of time in a manner that was, in many instances, without much violence," he said.

The two secretaries recently had a widely publicized dispute over a comment by Rice that the administration had probably made "thousands" of "tactical errors" in Iraq. Aides later said she had meant it figuratively, but it generated headlines around the world. In a radio interview, Rumsfeld dismissed it as a comment made by someone who didn't understand warfare.

Asked about the flap here in Baghdad, Rumsfeld replied, "I wasn't aware of what she meant." (The transcript shows that the radio interviewer described her remarks carefully and placed them in context.) Rumsfeld made no effort to smooth over the issue but pointed to Rice and said, "She's right here, and you can ask her." Rice noted that her comment about tactical errors had been made "not in the military sense."

[daleo]

6. It just so happens they are in the Green Zone

Nothing much to it - the better restaurants are in the Green Zone, that's all.