RUMSFELD SET UP; REPORTER PLANTED QUESTIONS WITH SOLDIER (DRUDGE SIREN)

Drudge Report ^

[Nascardude]

RUMSFELD SET UP; REPORTER PLANTED QUESTIONS WITH SOLIDER
Thu Dec 09 2004 11:49:38 ET

Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Edward Lee Pitts is embedded with the 278th Regimental Combat Team, now in Kuwait preparing to enter Iraq, and is filing articles for his newspaper. Pitts claims in a purported email that he coached soldiers to ask Defense Secretary Rumsfeld questions!

From: EDWARD LEE PITTS, Chattanooga Times Free Press military reporter
Sent: Wednesday, December 8, 2004 4:44 PM
To: Staffers

Subject: RE: Way to go

I just had one of my best days as a journalist today. As luck would have it, our journey North was delayed just long enough see I could attend a visit today here by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. I was told yesterday that only soldiers could ask questions so I brought two of them along with me as my escorts. Before hand we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld about the appalling lack of armor their vehicles going into combat have. While waiting for the VIP, I went and found the Sgt. in charge of the microphone for the question and answer session and made sure he knew to get my guys out of the crowd.

So during the Q&A session, one of my guys was the second person called on. When he asked Rumsfeld why after two years here soldiers are still having to dig through trash bins to find rusted scrap metal and cracked ballistic windows for their Humvees, the place erupted in cheers so loud that Rumsfeld had to ask the guy to repeat his question. Then Rumsfeld answered something about it being "not a lack of desire or money but a logistics/physics problem." He said he recently saw about 8 of the special up-armored Humvees guarding Washington, DC, and he promised that they would no longer be used for that and that he would send them over here. Then he asked a three star general standing behind him, the commander of all ground forces here, to also answer the question. The general said it was a problem he is working on.

The great part was that after the event was over the throng of national media following Rumsfeld- The New York Times, AP, all the major networks -- swarmed to the two soldiers I brought from the unit I am embedded with. Out of the 1,000 or so troops at the event there were only a handful of guys from my unit b/c the rest were too busy prepping for our trip north. The national media asked if they were the guys with the armor problem and then stuck cameras in their faces. The NY Times reporter asked me to email him the stories I had already done on it, but I said he could search for them himself on the Internet and he better not steal any of my lines. I have been trying to get this story out for weeks- as soon as I foud out I would be on an unarmored truck- and my paper published two stories on it. But it felt good to hand it off to the national press. I believe lives are at stake with so many soldiers going across the border riding with scrap metal as protection. It may be to late for the unit I am with, but hopefully not for those who come after.

The press officer in charge of my regiment, the 278th, came up to me afterwords and asked if my story would be positive. I replied that I would write the truth. Then I pointed at the horde of national media pointing cameras and mics at the 278th guys and said he had bigger problems on his hands than the Chattanooga Times Free Press. This is what this job is all about - people need to know. The solider who asked the question said he felt good b/c he took his complaints to the top. When he got back to his unit most of the guys patted him on the back but a few of the officers were upset b/c they thought it would make them look bad. From what I understand this is all over the news back home.

Thanks,

Lee

EDWARD LEE PITTS FILED STORY ABOUT THE TROOPS BEFORE THE POW-WOW WITH RUMSFELD

Developing...

[demlosers]

[Sprite518]

This is the first time I have seen this, and it looks, sounds, like Rummy. This is just further proof of how liberally bias does exist in todays media and press. Stalin would call them useful idiots. It would be nice if Journalist did their job of reporting the news only instead of trying to influence the public about a particular political debate. Unbelievable!

[marilew]

"But it felt good to hand it off to the national press. I believe lives are at stake with so many soldiers going across the border riding with scrap metal as protection. It may be **to** late for the unit I am with, but hopefully not for those who come after. "

** TOO sad these media hotshots can't spell or use grammaticly correct wording. I see it all the time. Its all about their ego.

[SweetCaroline]

BUMP

[talleyman]

P.S. If he had been a marine, he would have been semper ficus...

[cyncooper]

He said he recently saw about 8 of the special up-armored Humvees guarding Washington, DC, and he promised that they would no longer be used for that and that he would send them over here.

So this "reporter" says in his rahrah email that Rumsfeld would send the Humvees as if in response to this question. The transcript shows that when Rumsfeld saw the Humvees stationed at the Pentagon he THEN AND THERE had them sent to Iraq---weeks ago, not "would (now) send them".

[GraniteStateConservative]

If it requires putting heat on government than so be it. This country can produce a car a second, its capable of producing enough armored vehicles in Iraq in less than a month for every soldier to have his choice of colors, and optional moon roof.

So Bush hates the troops, then? What reason do you think there is that they aren't all up-armored? Why do you think the will isn't there?

[Sprite518]

Well as you can see in post 22 the MSM and press has bent the truth in order to influence the common folk. The journalist are not doing their jobs of reporting the news. Instead they do their best to follow their orders from the party they love.

[JustAnotherOkie]

For the people without armor it is nothing.

Because of the amount of time that has passed Rummy is just going to have to take the heat and like it.

[FreedomCalls]

Why didn't these geniuses in Congress do something about armoring vehicles PRIOR to Iraq and Afghanistan?

Because Hummers and Five-tons are not supposed to be armored. They never have been. They are not APCs. The Marines prefer non-armored Hummers anyway. They prefer to be able to offer a threat and have ease of egress in the event of an attack so they can close in and destroy the enemy when he presents himself rather than hiding behind some A-Team style plate steel welded onto the outside of their vehicles.

[hobbes1]

That worried soldier has reason to be worried. This isn't a game for him. Yes, the reporter made sure his guys got up to the mike, but the soldier is no child, he bought into the question, and the motive here was not an unpatriotic one. They want better armor. I for one, don't blame them a bit. And this is an American army, not the second best, the best. We have the means to send over the very best of support for those troops. The story that matters to the rest of the guys in that room is that their stuff will be there today.

Actually, no you are missing the larger point here I think.

By being a willing stooge for the newspaper reporter in question, the Soldier gave the disloyal opposition to the war a further means to propogandize against it, and subvert support for the effort at home. (The rationale = We cant support it, so we should pull out....)

As Rummy pointed out you go to war with the Army you ahve, and when improvements are needed, you make them ASAP, but as most who followed the Presidential Campaign know, that is in fact already the case. TO WIT: the vehicles are being produced and deployed as quickly as can be, all this did was give the media a cudgel to bash the administration, bc you and I both know, the Q&A being aired is cut in the most unflattering light possible.

[jpsb]

Is there no depth Bush Bot's like Rush will not sink to? Now it's OK to lie about and attack our boys fighting the war? Shame on you. Rush was once great, now he's BushBot boot licker.

[pepsionice]

The only controversy here...is the fact that they still haven't armored all of the HUMVEEs in Iraq. Based on this lack of speed...I'd line up a bunch of Army officers and demote each one down a rank. And then tell their replacements that they have 30 days to wrap up the armor problem in Iraq or they will be demoted in 30 days. Its awful simple...if you want to help save lives...you need give these guys the tools to do it. If you need 2,000 contractors to fly over for four weeks to fix up the armor plating...then they ought to do it. Rummy can say all the smart things he wants...but if they haven't finished the armor job by now...then they really don't have any rush and lives lost don't mean a thing. I would hate to believe that their attitude has slipped that far in two years.

[Trippin]

I think the questions the soldiers asked are valid questions, even if the questions were "planted" by a reporter. What pisses me off though is that this is being characterized as an embarrassment for Rumsfeld. From what I have seen and read, he is the type of guy who likes to mix it up like this. If Rumsfeld is "embarrassed", I am guessing it's news to Rumsfeld. This event really encapsulates everything that is wrong with the media.

[blakep]

The terrorists are watching this, and are laughing..

[GraniteStateConservative]

They think they know better than the generals and the Pentagon. It's like a kid who keeps asking "why." Or Job asking God the same question.

[expat_panama]

Underequipped?

Yo, Snidely!  Here's how it works with military vehicles.  

You can have them fast.   You can have them with great armor.   You can't increase one without sacrificing the other.   [The following is for anyone else tuning in who may be the hard of hearing:]

Armor is a trade off for speed when it comes to military vehicles.

The way war works (and has for thousands of years) is you look at the mission and decide what is the balance of armor/speed you want to give you the best edge.   When you get out to the field, and find that the planning wasn't good enough, you make can you vehicle faster by dumping armor into a land fill, or (as they're doing now) pull it out of the dump and recoat the vehicle to make it stronger but slower. 

Sometimes it's the faster vehicle that makes you survive.

Something else, soldiers who don't improvise once they get to the field usually don't survive as well as those who do

[Drawsing]

As Rumsfeld said in the transcript, "You go to war with the army you have." It sounds like he is saying that we are using all we've got and we're working on getting more as fast as we can. Sounds reasonable.