Rummy Dumsfeld on Jim Lehrer Thread 1

[fabius]

Just saw Rummy on PBS Newshour.

Jim Lehrer getting more aggressive than usual (not saying much, but take what you can get).

Rummy says (paraphrase) One reason we are having so much trouble rebuilding is that NOBODY COULD HAVE GUESSED that the Iraqi infrastructure (water, sewer, power) systems could have been in such bad shape.

NOBODY COULD HAVE GUESSED??! :wtf:

Hey *I* could have guessed and in fact DID guess. It's been common knowledge that after the 1991 bombing and 12 years of sanctions that Iraqi water, sewer, and power systems were pretty much derelict. Chlorine for water treatment is a "dual use" chemical and was hard for them to get; replacement parts for treatment systems were blocked; many treatment plants never got fully repaired. This is one of the reasons for the high death rate under sanctions that Ms. Albright said was "worth the cost". :mad:

(full disclosure, I'm a civil engineer specializing in water infrastructure).

This has just been a well-known fact in the industry for YEARS. Rummy never asked us!

Rummy, Rummy, Rummy, your lies are showing.

[fabius]

1. c'mon read all about Rummy.

[Kool Kitty]

2. He is a stone LIAR.

I watched him on the National Press Club thingy that he did today. Now I may be crazy and getting old, but I KNOW that I heard him say that they had "absolutely bulletproof evidence that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction". He said, when asked a question about that particular remark, that he never said it.
When they say that the infrastructure was so bad, I don't doubt it. But, correct me if I'm wrong, when the attack on Iraq started, weren't the lights on in Baghdad? I know they were, because the reporters were so surprised that the lights were on for so long after the attacks started. The electric seemed to be on for quite a while, despite the bombardment. So, why is it taking so long for them to put the lights back on? What the hell are Bremer's guys doing? And they want more money?