a reply to Hillary?
Posted on 08/03/2006 4:15:37 PM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON Aug 3, 2006 (AP)— Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called Thursday for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, hours after excoriating him at a public hearing over what she said was a "failed policy" in Iraq.
"I just don't understand why we can't get new leadership that would give us a fighting chance to turn the situation around before it's too late," the New York Democrat told the Associated Press. "I think the president should choose to accept Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation."
Clinton confronted Rumsfeld directly on Iraq and Afghanistan earlier in the day, and said his answers left her convinced he should go.
"The secretary has lost credibility with the Congress and with the people. It's time for him to step down and be replaced by someone who can develop an effective strategy and communicate it effectively to the American people and to the world."
For months, Clinton has resisted joining the chorus of other Democrats demanding Rumsfeld's ouster. Her remarks Thursday were the harshest assessment yet from the woman considered her party's early front-runner for the 2008 presidential nomination.
The former first lady has come under attack from some in her own party for her 2002 vote for the war and her current opposition to a deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal.
"I am frankly tired of hearing the same stories from the administration's national security team," Clinton told the AP. "The president changed his economic team, he changed his White House team I think it's time for him to change his security and defense team."
Clinton said her own view of the war has not changed.
"What's been clear is that despite my being a constant and persistent critic of how the president has conducted the war, it has not achieved the goals that he has set," she said.
Earlier in the day, the senator wasted no time going after Rumsfeld when he testified in a morning hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"Under your leadership there have been numerous errors in judgment that have led us to where we are," the New York Democrat said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "We have a full-fledged insurgency and full-blown sectarian conflict in Iraq."
The defense secretary seemed briefly stunned by the intensity of her attack, exclaiming, "My goodness," before launching into a point-by-point defense.
He rejected some of her specific criticisms as simply wrong and said the war against terror will be a drawn-out process.
"Are there setbacks? Yes," said Rumsfeld. "Is this problem going to get solved in the near term? I think it's going to take some time."
The testy exchange between Clinton and Rumsfeld came after a top general told the panel violence in Iraq is probably as bad as he's ever seen it and the country may be descending into civil war.
"We hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders and frankly the record of incompetence in executing you are presiding over a failed policy," she said. "Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?"
Rumsfeld vehemently denied he'd ever glossed over the difficulties of the fighting in Iraq or elsewhere.
"There's a track record here," countered Clinton. "This is not 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented many assurances that have frankly proven to be unfulfilled."
"Senator, I don't think that's true," Rumsfeld fired back. "I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words and you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff."
At that point, the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. John Warner of Virginia, came to Rumsfeld's defense, saying his past comments had been balanced.
Clinton still shied away from a demand made by a growing number of Democrats: a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The disagreement between the two extended to Afghanistan. The senator specifically faulted Rumsfeld for saying in 2002 that the Taliban was gone, noting that the extremist faction has grown stronger in recent months.
He conceded violence has escalated in Afghanistan, but added, "Does that represent failed policy? I don't know. I would say not."
The defense secretary said he expected the violence there to follow a seasonal pattern and decline as winter approaches.
As it was, he took her to the woodshed with his reply to her. He tore into her comments as being untrue.
I am furious, though, with the MSM and the way they picked over the comments and made it seem like she got the best of Rummy. Duh...why would I think otherwise!??
But to listen to the exchange was a delight. If I had been her I would have been embarrassed to be seen as so ignorant and misleading, but I guess she knew the media would pick and choose her sound bites.
The former First B, who's main qualification for public office is her part in the Whitewater fraud, says the United States has a "failed policy" in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's why Saddam Hussein is in jail waiting to be executed, that's why the Taliban are hiding in caves, that's why 50 million people have been liberated from murderous dictators, that's why thousands of terrorists have been killed or captured, and that's why we haven't had a single terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11/01 --- all due to a "failed policy". Rumsfeld has done a superb job and we're lucky to have him.
Oh, I forgot to mention "loose screw McCain", the guy who thinks McCain-Feingold is more important than the 1st Amendment.
He is one of the few in Washington that has a backbone.
Can you imagine the queen of lies, calling Sec Rumsfield a liar.
How is it that this b!tch is such an "expert" on such things as the war in Iraq, it takes a village, health care, etc. yet she didn't know her husband was screwing around on her with another woman for twelve years. She can go to hell.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton......for now.
Sen. Clinton rips Rumsfeld over Iraq
Yahoo News | 8/3/06 | DEVLIN BARRETT
Posted on 08/03/2006 5:06:54 PM EDT by Havok
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1677291/posts
Hillary is no match for Rummy. She is an intellectual lightweight and certainly not ready for prime time when it comes to sparring with the SECDEF. The exchange just made her look like the over-rated POS that she really is.
I know....33% of Americans think Bush did 9/11....it is so far gone, is it worth saving??
True, but from what I saw, she was, shall we say, sincere with her questions, comments, and accusations.
She was reading a script.
Her only passion is for power at all cost to the country to achieve it.
yeah... and the second one shows the size of her intelligence!!!
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