Soldier Asks Rumsfeld Where U.S. Solidarity Has Gone

American Forces Press Service ^ | Jim Garamone

[SandRat]

MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 10, 2006 -- A soldier in Mosul told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld he was worried because the American people seemed to have lost the combined will they had immediately following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The secretary, who visited Iraq to thank the troops before he steps down from office, allowed that this is true. “In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, the American people came together and were united in their concern about our country,” he said.

But in the years since, there have been no big land, sea or air battles that grab the attention of the American people, Rumsfeld said. The battle against a shadowy enemy is much more complex and less familiar than any conflict America has been involved with before, he explained.

He said the United States has also been fortunate that there hasn’t been another attack on the scale of Sept. 11 in the country. The farther removed some people get from the events of Sept. 11, the more the cohesion and solidarity the American people felt during that period dissipates, Rumsfeld said.

Part of the reason this feeling has dissipated is because there have been no more attacks in the United States. There have been terror attacks in other parts of the world – Madrid, London, Bali and Russia, to name just a few.

The war on terror, Rumsfeld said, is like the Cold War. During the Cold War, public opinion ebbed and flowed. “Millions of people demonstrated against the United States, not against the Soviet Union,” he said. “They acted as if the Soviet Union wasn’t one of the most repressive regimes in history. People were granting moral equivalence to the Soviet Union – a vicious dictatorship – in the free countries of Western Europe and the United States. People can drift off.”

The same is true today, Rumsfeld said. There are many who believe that governments can negotiate with terrorists or who believe if just left alone, they will somehow leave freedom-loving people alone. But that is not possible, Rumsfeld said. “The dangers today, the lethality of the weapons today, the risks to our country, are real,” he said.

A tabletop exercise a few years ago posited a release of smallpox in two airports in the United States. The simulation showed that inside of a year, almost 1 million people would die, Rumsfeld said.

“There are dangers, there are real people out there – as you well know – who will put in place a small number of clerics that will tell everyone how they will live and how they will behave,” he said. “And that’s not what we’re about.”

But overall, the United States and its allies weathered the Cold War. The countries stuck together and today the Soviet Union is no more. “Our country would not be here if we didn’t have the ability to ride through some ups and downs in respect to opinion and come out the other end having made some right decisions,” Rumsfeld said. “I expect the same today.”

[onyx]

bump

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"The LameStream Presstitues Censorship by omission is why I keep posting the truth."

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for that. I also want to thank you for the pings.

Thank you very much.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"Everytime Don Rumsfeld opens his mouth my level of respect for him goes up and my level of respect for the President that fired him goes down. I am of the opinion that President Bush fired Don Rumsfeld."

How often do you hear of someone who is fired continuing to work the position they were fired from for a month?

The reason I ask this is that Rumsfeld is still the Secretary of Defense. No one has replaced him yet, and Gates is not due to replace him for another week.

Rumsfeld was not fired. He would have been gone immediately if he had been fired.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"Rummy bump. I'm still angry that W. let this hero go. We need him."

If W let him go, why is he still the Secretary of Defense for another week? Maybe he wasn't fired at all, maybe he really did resign.

[Just A Nobody]

I guess what I'm curious about is whether that's the media hiding that, or whether it's a military policy to avoid the press.

It's the media hiding it. I just finished watching Sean Hannity, Col. Oliver North, Secretary Rumsfeld and many soldiers in Iraq that prove it.

If you get the chance, watch the first 45 minutes of Hannity tonight. (Alan does not participate!)

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"Then Bush got wobbly and fired Rumsfeld --total weakness. The USA is just a paper tiger.

Bush should have quit before he fired Rumsfeld."

Rumsfeld is still doing the job of Secretary of Defense. No one has replaced him yet. He will be the Secretary of Defense until next Monday.

When a person is fired, they are not allowed to continue in the same position for a month. They are removed from the property if they do not go willingly. That is not the case with Rumsfeld. He is still the Secretary of Defense and that is not scheduled to change until Monday of next week. He resigned, he was not fired. We can tell that because he is still in the position.

[Just A Nobody]

Exactly!

[Just A Nobody]

Please see #30.

Secretary Rumsfeld was just on Hannity and said that when he delivered his resignation this time that President Bush said, "well, you've been sending out signals for a while now." Rummy said it was time and gave a few reasons why, none of which were the President's fault.

[Just A Nobody]

Thank you! The troops appreciate it and so do I.

[Just A Nobody]

I don't think there's any doubt that it was Bush's decision.

Not according to Rummy.

[mjaneangels@aolcom]

"Why do you say "opinion"? I don't think there's any doubt that it was Bush's decision."

If it was Bush's decision, Rumsfeld would not be Secretary of Defense, someone else would fill in until Gates takes over.

The problem with your thinking is that you probably did not know that Rumsfeld is the Secretary of Defense today and will be until December 18th when Gates takes over.

Rumsfeld was not fired. If he was he would not be doing what he has been doing the last month. Someone else would.

[stevestras]

"Bush should have quit before he fired Rumsfeld."

Perhaps you should give Bush credit for hiring him in the first place and standing by him for years and years when a separation and scapegoating would have been the easy way out.

[Arizona Carolyn]

We need a sugar daddy to replace the current media with some new media.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I don't know what happened, but he looks terribly sad. Did you see him on H&C tonight? If not you might want to look for the rerun.

[roses of sharon]

I got the impression that Rumsfeld said he was letting the President know that if he had to work with a Dem congress, he would resign.

Can't imagine why he would want to prostrate himself before those who hate their country, our mission, and our military.

How do you respect that?

[U S Army EOD]

Actually they were outside.

[Just A Nobody]

How do you respect that?

Respect what?
Respect that he would quit and try to give the President a boost in the face of one of the most hostile situations in US politics?

Respect that rather than face the insipid, ludicrous, asinine, tedious, inane, idiotic morons in the SINate every day for the next 2 years, he chose to resign after 6 long years of nothing but attacks on him, his performance and his intellect?

[krunkygirl]

Bingo!

Why is it many at FR don't see and know the obviousness of your comment?!

One correction: it is not leftists "sniping". It is much more concerted, deliberate and vicious than that word suggests. In my opinion, of course.

[roses of sharon]

No, I meant how could HE respect them! The Dem Senators and Congressmen who would be questioning him. In the past Rumsfeld has worked with the loyal opposition that he disagreed with for sure.

But I'll bet he respected (somewhat) the Dems of old, and his constitutional duty to answer to them.

Now, I'm sure he knows they are truly enemies of the US, and will not sit before them pretending respect.

[Just A Nobody]

Oh, okay! I didn't think YOU meant it the way I was reading it. Whew! ;*)

Now, I'm sure he knows they are truly enemies of the US, and will not sit before them pretending respect.

Only a deaf and blind person can not see they are enemies of the USA today, and I have more respect for Rummy by taking that position!