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

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[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...

[luvie]

I am not surprised either. Now the soldiers are being given a bad name and bad press along with Rummy, and of course the reporters get off scott free for setting them up! I hope he is FIRED!!! He has put our guys in harm's way by creating discontent and by getting the congress all worked up about a bogus question! Grrrrrrrrrrr!

[PigRigger]

Agreed. If this embarrassment causes our guys in the field to gain better protection, so be it.

May God Bless and Protect our President and our Troops as they bring the fight to the enemies of freedom.

[bigdog2591]

I wonder what media outlet paid this soldier off...

[drt1]

This jerk is just trying to cover his A$$. His jubilation at having come through with a Gotcha moment far outweighs his feigned concern for the troops safety. Note: He didn't ask the question himself but had his nominees expose themselves to potential problems so he could get his Scoop. Embeds are a BAD idea, just ask the Marine who shot the Terrorist rather than expose himself AND his Embedded snitch to a possible suicide bombing. Barf!

[Flying Circus]

Personally I think Rumsfeld gave a good response. It is unfortunate that we didn't have enough armored vehicles on hand to do the job, but as he said you go to war with the army you have not the army you with you had.

Let's not kid ourselves that the government can do everything all at once to make sure our forces are the most capable and most protected. If not for the armor on the Humvees, there would be some other shortage or vulnerability everyone would be carping about.

[Repub4bush]

I am with you Marty! You deserve quite a few as I recall!

[CaptainAwesome2]

im not joking. its bad enough that my tax money goes for lazy good for nothings here in new york city now i also have to support a bunch of terrorists in iraq. thats the joke.

[cyncooper]

I hope after making this post you've learned what Rumsfeld's response in fact was. Not what you thought (incorrectly) it was.

[HairOfTheDog]

Well I saw his WIFE this AM on GMA, she was neither worried or uneasy at all about his safety. she was neither worried or uneasy at all about his safety. If fact she was quite smug and talked about how proud she was at what he did.

A wife has a husband at war and you think she's not worried about his safety? Can you hear yourself? If she's proud of what he did, it's because she thinks it will bring her husband better armament sooner. Wanting our troops better armed is hardly an unpatriotic motive.

[Mo1]

And Rummy isn't complaining about the soldiers question

Even though it was really a reporters question


Rumsfeld: Airing of Soldiers Complaint About Lack of Armour Was Healthy

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1297812/posts

[OXENinFLA]

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

Thanks leadpenny.

[FreedomCalls]

There is absolutely no excuse for us not to be properly equipped in a war that we planned beforehand.

WTF? Let me repeat: This is the best-equipped military force in any conflict, any where, at any time, ever in the history of mankind.

There are slow but heavily-armored troop vehicles:

And there are fast unarmored troop vehicles:

The current armored troop transport is the Bradley Fighting Vehicle:

The current fast but unarmored vehicle is the HMMV:

They serve two very different functions. If you weld steel plate on the sides of the HMMV you compromise its greatest asset -- speed and mobility.

There are separate units in the Army for armored troops and for unarmored troops. Not everybody can be in an armored unit. Their functions and missions are different.

[Mr. K]

This is good news
1) The MSM is AGAIN caught in their liberal bias
2) The soldiers obviously thought it was a good question
3) Rummy would have been glad to answer whether or not the question was 'staged'
4) This may expedite the movement of armored vehicles.

[JustAnotherOkie]

Perhaps I am. But the problem runs a little deeper than just press spin.

Read this.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1297901/posts

[marty60]

Thanks, I don't expect them.

[Williams]

Things go wrong in war, there are shortages, and you use what you have. All agreed, BUT we've been there years now, the story is not new, and this is the richest nation on Earth. There is no factory that wants to turn out more metal and bullet proof glass if Congress passes say $1 billion to do the job??

The ONLY pass I will give is the soldier talked about pickinbg through rusted metal and cracked glass. They may be recycling useable stuff but still not an ideal situation.

[technomage]

There was nothing wrong with Rumsfeld's response.

Didn't say there was. But, the Dims are. All I am saying is let's give them a taste of their game: Put the focus on the reporter that planted the questions, rather than the answer to the planted questions.

[McGavin999]

78/5 of the vehicles have already been uparmored. That means that the enemy now knows which 22% are not.

[superiorslots]

Quote: What good does telling the enemy those trucks aren't armored in a public serve? More people will die now because that idiot pointed out a weak point.


Not to be snide but I think the terroist have figured this out by now.

[ex 98C MI Dude]

"So what we need to do is strip the armor off existing up-armored vehicles, right?"

If it isn't the armor package developed for the hummvee, the answer would have to be yes. The vehicle is made to carry a certain weight. Its primary asset is included in its name, high mobility. Add scrap metal to the cab area and the vehicle will labor to get up to speed, burn through its load of diesel faster, and generally break down at a much higher rate. All of these things will get you killed. And all the armor you can pack onto a light vehicle won't stop the IED blast. It will even take out the Bradley and Stryker APCs, and seriously mess up an M-1A2.