Saturday, September 2

Rumsfeld reaches out to Democrats - Yahoo! News

In a letter to Congress's top Democrats, Rumsfeld said recent remarks he made during a speech in Salt Lake City were misrepresented by the media, including by the Associated Press. Rumsfeld said he was "concerned" by the reaction of Democrats, many of whom called for his resignation and said he was treading on dangerous territory.

"I know you agree that with America under attack and U.S. troops in the field, our national debate on this should be constructive," Rumsfeld wrote Friday.

Democrats said Friday they stood by their remarks.

"We did read the speech and he makes comparisons to World War II" that are unjustified, said Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "He needs to explain that. We stand behind what we said."

Pelosi, D-Calif., had said: "If Mr. Rumsfeld is so concerned with comparisons to World War II, he should explain why our troops have now been fighting in
Iraq longer than it took our forces to defeat the Nazis in Europe."

"It's always been clear what Secretary Rumsfeld said," said Rebecca Kirszner, a spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "What's not clear is that he has a strategy in Iraq and to keep America safe. This letter doesn't change that."

Sen. Jack Reed (news, bio, voting record), D-R.I., also "stands by his earlier comments," said spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle. "No one has misread history more than Secretary Rumsfeld, especially when it comes to Iraq."

Rumsfeld is now, more than ever, damaged goods. Abu Grhaib should have been enough to get him fired/resigned.

Update: This link from KUTV has a link to view Rumsfeld's speech or you can use this direct link that may or may not work for you.

Go have a listen and see what it sounds like to you.

Relevant Link

Permanent link posted by bytehead @ 9/02/2006 02:44:00 PM 0 comments Links to this post