Inhofe's defending Rumsfeld

[joemurphy]

Begins by blaming Democrats for letting the military get weak. Rumsfeld "inherited" a weak army...per Inhofe.

[Avalux]

1. But of course!! It's the Clenis's fault!!!

How pathetic they always have to blame the Clinton Administration instead of taking responsibility for FUCKING UP THE PAST FIVE YEARS!!!! :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[unhappycamper]

2. Slightly off topic - do you know if Teddy "Tubes" Stevens is going

to spew in this love fest?

[Lautremont]

6. Believe he already did.

They're still mopping up the floor in the background of some of the shots.

[gademocrat7]

3. Imhofe is pathetic. He is still drinking the kool-aid.

[karlrschneider]

7. He is a fucking liar and he knows it.

Fuck him. :grr:

[joemurphy]

4. Inhofe's now stressing the "positive" things that have

happened in Iraq. Inhofe claims per capita income and GDP are increasing in Iraq. He says the critics of Iraq are those that haven't gone there to see what's happening. Inhofe claims he's been there more than any other Senator.
Now he's saying no civil war is going on in Iraq.

[karlrschneider]

9. It's "Inhofe" with an 'n'. He is one of my 2 asshole senators.

...

[cal04]

5. how convenient that they forget Bush 1 and Cheney cut the army

Republican administration of President Bush -- with current GOP vice-presidential candidate Dick Cheney serving as Defense secretary -- was responsible for cutting the Army from 18 to 12 divisions as part of the post-Cold War reduction in the size of the U.S. military. That left 1.6 million men and women serving in the armed forces.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/08/10/military.readiness/index.html

Pentagon spokesman defends Clinton administration record on military, defense
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/01/clinton.defense/index.html

[Cooley Hurd]

8. The "Peace Dividend" touted by GHWB...

Inhofe has selective memory...

[joemurphy]

10. Inhofe: "Iraqis aren't ready for us to leave"

"The Iraqi people are SO appreciative of the American presence".

Why are the Democrats so critical? They're all running for president. "The greatest disservice we could do would be to use Rumsfeld and the war for political reasons."

"Rumsfeld's done a 'great job'"

[joemurphy]

12. Harkin's up now.

Talks about Rumsfeld

"Rumsfeld is the last person that should be preaching about intellectual and moral confusion" He went to Iraq to meet with Saddam in 1983 after he knew he'd gassed the Kurds and used chemical weapons on the Iranians.

Rumfeld's been "catastrophically wrong again and again" but refuses to admit his mistakes.

We should listen to the Generals.

[IChing]

14. Can you keep it on this thread please?

[joemurphy]

15. I'll stay right here. I got your message - sorry

Harkins says that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.


It "boggles the minds" that Rumsfeld is still in office. He should "have the decency" to step down. He has a pre-911 mindset...talking about WWII.

He likens Iraq to Vietnam. Rummie says Iraq is just a "stepping stone" for other Arab countries. Just like Nam.

[IChing]

16. thanks nominated now

[joemurphy]

20. Chambliss claims he hasn't been a blind supporter of Rummie

Claims they've had their public differences. But Rummie's not a stubborn man. He's supposedly admitted to Chambliss when he was wrong.

[malaise]

11. He's sick

Harkin up now.

Mentions the famous photo with Rummy.

add.

[Disturbed]

13. Rumsfailed is a freakin' War Criminal.

Rumsfeld Shouldn't be Fired, He Should be Indicted
by Matthew Rothschild

“Secretary Rumsfeld has publicly admitted that . . . he ordered an Iraqi national held in Camp Cropper, a high security detention center in Iraq, to be kept off the prison’s rolls and not presented to the International Committee of the Red Cross,” the report noted. The Geneva Conventions require countries to grant the Red Cross access to all detainees. “

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0418-24.htm

Recently it has been found out that even more detainees were "ghost detainees". The fact that Rumsfeld has not been charged speaks volumes. If Congress wishes to garner any respect they should move forward with Impeachment Declaration of Rumsfeld.



Further Evidence Rumsfeld Implicated in War Crimes
Please read this important post by Marty Lederman, Army Confirms: Rumsfeld Authorized Criminal Conduct.
Here's a key section, but there's more:
The Army's charges against Jordan reflect the view, undoubtedly correct, that the use of forced nudity or intimidation with dogs against detainees subject to military control constitutes cruelty and maltreatment that Article 93 makes criminal. It doesn't matter whether they are or are not "torture," as such; nor does it matter whether the armed forces should be permitted to use such interrogation techniques: As things currently stand, they are unlawful, as even the Army now acknowledges.

But then how can we account for the actions of the Secretary of Defense and his close aides?

On November 27, 2002, Pentagon General Counsel William Haynes, following discussions with Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz, General Myers, and Doug Feith, informed the Secretary of Defense that forced nudity and the use of the fear of dogs to induce stress were lawful techniques, and he recommended that they be approved for use at Guantanamo. (The lists of techniques to which Haynes was referring can be found in this memorandum.) On December 2, 2002, Secretary Rumsfeld approved those techniques for use at Guantanamo -- and subsequently those techniques were used on detainee Mohammed al-Qahtani.

In other words, the Secretary of Defense authorized criminal conduct.

...

Today's Army charge under UCMJ Article 93 against Lt. Col. Jordan -- for conduct that the SecDef actually authorized as to some detainees -- demonstrates that Rumsfeld approved of, and encouraged, violations of the criminal law.

http://www.discourse.net/archives/2006/04/further_evidence_rumsfeld_implicated_in_war_crimes.html

[malaise]

32. Rummy should be in chains on his way to

The Hague with Bush, Cheney, Condi and the rest of the cronies.
Edit - case.

[joemurphy]

17. Oh good, Saxby Chambliss

"I don't hear, in addition to the criticism, is what we should have done."

Rumsfled's "transformed our military into a leaner, meaner military".

This isn't just about Rumsfeld. It's an attack on the Administration's overall policy on the global war on terrorism.

The military are all heroes to us. But when it comes to leadership, it's strong --well educated, smart, schooled in military operations. You don't hear them criticizing Rumsfeld. The critics waited until they were out of uniform to criticize things.

Rumsfeld has a tough job to do. What does Gen. Franks say about Rumsfeld?
He was the one leading men into battle under Rumsfeld. Franks couldn't say enough positive things about Rumsfeld's leadership.

[unhappycamper]

18. Wasn't Chambliss the one who torpedoed Max Cleland

for not being patriotic?

[joemurphy]

19. Chambliss lauds Rumsfeld because we haven't been

attacked since 9/11/01.

We're "moving in the right direction". Rumsfeld leads a "team" that's doing a better job than before 9-11.

To say we're not as safe today as before 9/11 is simply "incorrect".

Rumsfeld's in a "unique" position. He has a boss. He has to answer to the boss. This isn't about Rumsfeld. It's a political attack on Bush.

[joemurphy]

21. Lautenberg's up.

Bush's latest rhetorical campaign to "stay the course" just isn't working.
The people know what's happening.

Last week Cheney claimed the Dems are trying to retreat. He made ugly partisan comments.

What the Dems and the people want is a new policy. We lack stategic control of Baghdad. The "stay the course" policy is "extreme". Chuck Hagel has requested change.

The alternative to this is "stay and die". The more we call for change, the more adamant Bush and Rumsfeld are about making the same tired old statements.

The reality is that this Administration is incompetent. They've endangered our troops; strengthened al-Qaeda; bolstered Iran.

[joemurphy]

22. Lauternberg: "Fire him!"

There is no coalition anymore. Rumsfeld failed to build a real coalition. We've had to suffer the casualties and assume all the risk.

He claimed the war would be short. It wasn't going to last 6 months.

He ignored warnings from Shinseki that we didn't commit enough troops.

He said the war would cost no more than $100 Billion

He said you go to war with the army you have, not the army you want. Ask the parents of soldiers how they feel about that. Well, you don't have enough armor, you just get killed.

Rumsfeld failed to fully equip our troops

Retired generals have called for Rumsfeld to leave: Zinni, Newbold, Riggs, Batiste; Clark....all distinguished leaders.

[IChing]

23. Thanks joe on the update

[joemurphy]

24. Jeff Sessions: It's a political attack.

"We've heard these same complaints. Bush won the election despite the same complaints made today by the Democrats."

Despite weeks and months of debates, briefings and closed and open sessions voted to go to Iraq. It was a "grown up" decision and everyone realized it at the time. Saddam was shooting missiles at our planes, violating the embargo, violating the inspections regime. The situtation was to give him "one last chance" to demonstrate he had no WMDs. He refused it.

Franks designed a campaign and we had a tremendously successful victory. It was a brilliant deal. Rumsfeld supported Franks' handling.

What has happened? We had no oil well fires, people did welcome us, we didn't have to fight house to house.

But there has been a persistent violent element in Iraq. It is a tough problem. It is a tough struggle.

[joemurphy]

25. Sessions: Will dismissing Rumsfeld help us win the war?

It's ironic that people complaining Rumsfeld didn't have enough troops, voted to reduce the size of the army under Clinton by 30%.

Rumsfeld's listened to the generals.

McCain comes on and claims that this resolution is prompted by the upcoming election in November. Sessions and McCain now start throwing softball questions at one another.

Sessions suggests that the resolution is adding to the problems our military are having in Iraq. McCain says that there are pressing issues that could better be discussed.

McCain asks: Isn't it importatnt that a President should keep a "team" around him for as long as he has confidence in that team. It's important that a President have people around him that he can trust.

Sessions: Yes, that's right. Good point. Bush doesn't think replacing Rumsfeld would be wise. It's the Presidedent's call.

[joemurphy]

26. Sessions: "It's not helpful to have this kind of debate"

"We have an outstanding Secretary of Defense".

[joemurphy]

27. Carper's up

Would the Republicans be so supportive if the mistakes made by Rumsfeld were made by a Democratic Secretary of Defense? Hardly.

The time has come to change course. To do this, a leadership change is necessary.

Rumsfeld offered his resignation before. He should do it again and this time Bush should accept it.

[joemurphy]

28. Patty Murry is up

"We can do better than Rumsfeld".

We can't tolerate more of the same in Iraq. We'd like our troops to complete their mission. But what are they supposed to be doing in Iraq?

They've toppled Saddam; found no WMDs; and overseen a new Iraqi government.

Why are we still there? This is a detour from the war on terror. Staying there is a mistake. Bin Laden's still on the loose.

We've got to get back on track on the war on terror. We've put all our eggs in the Iraq basket. We're ignoring Afghanistan -- roadside bombing is up 30$
Suicide bombing there has doubled. The central government there is weakening.
Opium production is up. Afghanistan is now supplying 92% of the world's supply. The Taliban is reemerging.

The status quo is unacceptable. We deserve straight answers.

[joemurphy]

29. Boxer's up.

It's sad the Republicans won't allow a vote on the no-confidence resolution on Rumsfeld.

Does McCain think the only election that matters is a Presidential election? Is Congress supposed to stop doing its job merely because it's an election year? Congress shouldn't be a play-dead Congress. If things aren't going well for us, we need to speak out.

This resolution states we need a new direction in Iraq. We need to start anew in Iraq. We need a new civilian leadership. We're not mentioning Rumsfeld by name.

We need to listen to the generals. Average weekly attacks increased by 15% since last spring. It's more than 600 attacks per week. Troops are on their 4th tour of duty. Are we supposed to put up with this just because it's an election year? Talk to the families of the soldiers. They want us to change course and bring their kids home.

[joemurphy]

30. Boxer: The cost and focus of the Iraq war has prevented us

from winning the war on terror.

There were no al-Qaeda cells in Iraq before we invaded it. We've been misled.
The resolution calls for "competent civilian leadership". We need to change course and promote a strategy for success. The polls beg for a change. It hasn't been easy for the American people. They initially supported the war, but they witnessed the mismanagement and no longer do. Stop challenging the patriotism of critics. America deserves this vote.

[joemurphy]

31. Reid up: Briefly chastises the Republicans for not allowing

a vote on the Kennedy Amendment.