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...

[Credo]

Just as an aside, I wonder how Drudge got this email?

[dansangel]

Surprised? No.

Disgusted? Yes.

Apparently the MSM, like the dims, have learned nothing from the recent Republican presidential, senatorial and congressional victories. Morons.

[Destro]

What complaining? I saw a soldier ask a question to his SoD in a question and answer session initiated by the SoD.

I don't understand? What kind of questins should be asked? SoD Rumsfeld, what is your favorite color?

In business meetings I tend to ask my boss tough questions all the time.

Instead of praising the fact we live in a country were a soldier can ask tough questions to his leadership - and praising a leadership unafraid to take tough questions from their citozen soldiers during war time - and praising the fact that our leadership is initiating those question by its citozen soldiers - we go ballistic because a tough question was asked? We want Saddam like live love fests where people clap for fear of being the first to stop clapping?

Does anyone know that the Athenians had no elected leaders. Those who voted for war would be the same ones to fight those wars. In facr if you did not fight you did not vote. Imagine the tough questions asked before Marathon?

[7.62 x 51mm]

Why am I not surprised at the MSM's treachery and treason? They do anything they can to subvert the war and our troops.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Rush talking about this now.

Rush is so full of sh*t. He's up there now crying about this reporter, and attempting to clean this sh*t up.

[cyncooper]

8 special up-armored vehicles guarding DC?

Oh man, this does not look good.

I hope you saw the transcript in #22 of what Rumsfeld REALLY said, not what this incompetent and agenda-ridden reporter said he said.

Rumsfeld said he saw the 6 or 8 Humvees weeks ago and HE, himself, right then and there ordered them sent to Iraq.

So, you and Rumsfeld had the same thought! I'll bet I made your day.

:)

[Old Sarge]

You'd never see a Marine or anyone in the real Army go out of the chain of command like that. The National Guard should pay for their bitching. They have the NERVE to complain when the Marines and ARMY are doing the heavy lifting with any public complaints?

So, what you're saying is that the Army National Guard are not American soldiers, and are not doing the same mission?

[mrsmith]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Randy Harris

08 December 2004 615.313.0662 (office)

04-61 615.517.0984 (CELL)





Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett, Adjutant General of Tennessee

Statement on questions by 278th Soldier to Secretary Rumsfeld



SPC Wilson’s question is a legitimate concern.


Additional armor for vehicles in Iraq has been an issue since the beginning of the war for both active and reserve component soldiers.


The up-armored vehicles are being supplied to the troops in Iraq as soon as they are available from the manufacturer.


I have been assured that no 278th soldier will go forward in a vehicle without at least “level 3” armor.


According to my information, 278th Vehicles that are not armored will be trucked forward and will not be occupied by soldiers.


I am surprised by General Speer’s statement that he was not aware of the soldiers using scrap medal and used ballistic glass to up-armor the vehicles. I know that members of his staff were aware and assisted the 278th in obtaining these materials. Our own 230th Area Support Group from Dyersburg, now stationed in Kuwait also assisted in this effort.


We are all concerned for the safety of our soldiers, and I am comfortable that the command is doing everything possible to insure that they are not exposed to unnecessary risks.


######

[gimme1ibertee]

I stand corrected.I was able to get the COMPLETE response from Rumsfeld to the soldier who questioned him.It was a good response.As you say,the MSM will only report half the story,and not all.I first heard of it on Fox last night.Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Incidentally,I know that Rumsfeld is a good man,and that he regularly visits with the wounded at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

[leadpenny]

Three Star Whitcomb briefing live from Kuwait on C-SPAN now.

Addressing the vehicle armor status.

[Red6]

You are joking? This is some attempt at sarcasm?

Red6

[WmDonovan]

"I dunno...it didn't surprise me much...he's always struck me as a bit of a hack. Yeah, he's can be funny, and he's a smart guy, but funny and smart counts for jack squat when we're in a war. What I want is a SecDef who'll play to win. ISTR Rummy originally wanting to do the Iraq thing with something like 50K troops. Can you imagine the chaos that we'd be seeing now if we only had 50,000 guys in country?"

Rummy's plan was to use a lot of exiled Iraqis as troops, attack from both North and South, and to keep the existing Iraqi army somewhat intact and turn it over to our side quickly. His plan was also to hand over the government to the Iraqi's in at most a few month's after the invasion. Mr. Powell and the State Dept over ruled him on these points and really screwed things up in my opinion. The Iraqi exiles needed to put their money where their mouths were and would have had great symbolic importance besides. Keeping the Iraqi army intact would kept their members under a command structure and may have keep lawlessness under control. The whole affair could have been done more speedily as well, which could have stabilized things before the out-of-country terrorists invaded en masse and the former Baathists in country set up shop.

If his original plan had been put into motion then 50,000 may have worked. Not certain, but could have. Something that will be debated in military strategy circles for decades to come. I know it was a different situation, but not a lot of troops on the ground were used in Afghanistan either and the US military was the first military since who knows when to take Afghanistan. The British and the Russians threw gobs of troops into Afghanistan only to bury them there.

As far as armor goes, heavy armor makes Humvees top heavy and prone to accidents. Bottom line is that they were not designed to be used as armored cars. Sure they should be retrofitted but cold war era M-75's would be a better choice. Seems like the Stryker vehicles have some armor as well. I think that the South Africans have an interesting design for a troop carrier (with a V-shaped hull that deflects the blast around the vehicle) that is resistant to land mines, for what it is worth. The Humvee armor won't do a thing against serious land mines which is the real problem anyway.

[OXENinFLA]

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2004 – American industry is cranking out armored Humvees as fast as it can, but other initiatives already have saved lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Department officials said here today.

Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita said at a Pentagon news conference that in August 2003, industry was producing only 15 armored Humvees per month. "Commanders there at that point started to face this growing improvised explosive device challenge and said that they would like to have higher numbers of armored Humvees than they had originally projected," he said.

American industry responded, and today about 450 armored Humvees are being made each month. There are 19,000 Humvees in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. This area extends from Kazakhstan to Kenya. Of these, officials said, 15,000 are armored vehicles or have been fitted with armor.

In addition, the Army Research Lab developed armor kits that can be fit on regular Humvees. The Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command is making these kits.

The armor is needed because the IED is weapon of choice of the enemy. They plant these devices on the sides of roads and as targets go by, they use remote devices to explode the charges. IEDs can be anything from hand grenades rigged to garage-door openers to artillery shells wired to the cell phones. One blast was so powerful it overturned an Abrams main battle tank.

The armor helps, but the Army's IED Task Force also has helped. "While armor provides protection, it is not the be-all and end-all for security," said Army Maj. Paul Swiergosz, a DoD spokesman. "The Army's IED Task Force and the Center for Army Lessons Learned have provided as much, if not more, protection for our forces by sharing tactics, techniques and procedures to help counter IED attacks."

Officials would not be specific about the contributions of the organizations – they don't want to provide information to the enemy. But another Pentagon official said, "We have saved more lives with tactics, techniques and procedures than with armor."

The Army is the lead service for combating IEDs, but all services contribute to the effort and all services benefit from the research, said officials.

The armor issue certainly is a high priority for the military. "People like having that security, that's for sure," said an Army spokesman. The Army is speeding up production of armor add-on kits not only for Humvees, but also for all wheeled vehicles that will be deployed to the CENTCOM area. To date, the Army has added armor to 507 heavy tactical trucks, to 492 medium tactical vehicles, to two heavy equipment trailers, to eight M-915 trucks and to 187 palletized load system vehicles.

The Army has four depots, two arsenals and one ammunition plant working on the armor kits. Overall production is in the 100s per month.

The Army has received $1.2 billion for armored Humvees and armor kits since the fiscal 2003 supplemental budget bill was passed.

[Quilla]

Amen! And you'll never hear Sec. Rumsfeld say "That mofo Bill Clinton cut our military resources for eight years, cut 'em to the bone. We're doing everything we can to reverse the damage that ba$tard did to our country's defenses." Someone sure needs to say it!

[marty60]

Yes and you can just hear the terrorists in their "mosques" cheering that they are going to be facing "scared" "underequiped" Americans.

[OKIEDOC]

Anything to embarrass our government in front of the world.

I believe that Mike Reagan was right that many left wing citizens are easy to dislike. In fact they want us to dislike them. They do outrages idiotic things hoping to get 15 minutes of fame. I am sure that this turkey reporter probably studied from the Dan Rather school of obnoxious questions to ask people.

[jpsb]

News flash, Marines bitch too.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Rumsfeld said he saw the 6 or 8 Humvees weeks ago and HE, himself, right then and there ordered them sent to Iraq.

LOL!

Protect the celebrity politicians in D.C. at all costs!

[Destro]

Yes? He was not a soldier??? For real???

[OXENinFLA]

Yes it was a valid question.

But one that has been asked over and over again and one that is being addressed.