Rumsfeld defends Iraq

The USA can not control what happens in Iraq and still claim to be spreading "freedom".
The Sunnis, Shia , and Kurds will have their conflict, and it is not in the power of the USA to stop it.

The USA will eventually leave Iraq. The only question is how many more people have to die before we accept the fact that the fate of Iraq is beyond the control of the USA.

It's the epicenter because this administration turned it into an epicenter.

This administration created the "epicenter of terror". I see some right wing kool aid drinkers are here. Pick your knuckles up off the ground.

Is this guy okay? I mean mentally?

What is the disease called when you are completely cut off from reality?

And if he refuses to resign, what does it say about those around him who could fire him?

This country is great because of any citizen being able to dissent, especially in time of war, and even more during a war that is so morally rehensible. This is just another pathetic attempt by BushCo to push back against the rising tide of Iraq War critics, including Republican Representative Shay and the majority of citizens.

There is no "war on terror." Thanks to the current administration, this is the new way of life, period. There is no way to win this so-called "war" because there is no clear cut enemy. ALL people from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc are not the enemy.

The only way to end this "war" is if the next president pulls the tropps out of the middle east and lets the people there tend to their own business while the US tries to take care of its own for a change.

Other countries may have different systems of goverments but that doesn't make them right or wrong, just different. The US has no right to say "you aren't like us so that's wrong" but the Repubs and rednecks here use that sort of discrimiation as justification for everything from homophobia to racial prejudice to "spreading democracy." All it's doing is spreading more hate.

Why is there a picture of an ICBM missile in a silo associated with this piece? This is totally irrelevant to the topic of the post and is misleading, at best. Is the author caught up in the climate of fear that the administration is promoting with the gleeful cooperation of mainstream media?

I'm sick of the Bush team's use of serving military personnel and veterans as a smokescreen of patriotism and devotion to duty behind which to hide their subterfuges and failures.

Shame on them!

"Americans didn't cross oceans and settle a wilderness and build history's greatest democracy, only to run away from murderers and extremists who try to kill everyone they cannot convert..."

No, instead, we launched a 300 year war to steal the land from its native people. We killed everyone we couldn't convert and forced the "converts" into "reservations". It's a story of grit, determination, and victory, alright, but not in that good way.

With such a whitewashed history like Rumsfeld's, no wonder the Bushes want to leave judgment to history instead of a court of law.

I am a 30 year disabled military retiree (Marine Corps-Korea, wounded 3 times while still a teenager, and US Army MACSOG in Viet Nam).So I know a little about war.
As a life member of DAV, VFW, Special Forces Assn. and a member of the Marine Corps League, I get sick every time the leaders of DAV and VFW invite these people like Rumsfeld and Cheney to tell their lies before men who know they are not telling the truth, and never get to ask any questions. Then they clap, shake hands and go on their way to eat, drink or whatever follows these useless gatherings. The average members of these organizations hate to see our so called leaders act so stupid.

Does anyone with any sense take this silly little man seriously?

Donald Rumsfeld should face a war crimes tribunal for being party to the lies and deceptions that led the U.S. into a war of aggression against a country that had not harmed us in any way, and presented no "immanent (sp?) threat" against us.

The saddest part isn't what this cretin says, it's the fact that ABC News provides an uncritical forum for his drivel. There's absolutely no context in this story to indicate to readers how wrong Rumsfield has been in the past, or how inaccurate his revisionist history actually is. Thanks for being a rubber stamp for the administration, Luis!

Indeed. The admin turned it into an epicenter. Hello Rummy! Anyone home???

Rummy,has finally fallen off the wacky wagon!!

Save Iraq??? Our military has already pushed this country back to the stone age!! The more Rummy lies the more Iraq and Americans die!!!

Who would Osama really vote for?

As the parent of a soldier, a young National Guard reservist that served a year in Iraq-I have a lot to say about how Rumsfeld has treated our military. My son is an excellent soldier and I am proud of his service record. He has a Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal at age 20. However, the way this administration misused our soldier’s patriotism is disturbing.

First of all this: "And I would -- without getting into the details, just simply say to the parents of the young people that are over there fighting for this country, that -- that they are, walking away, the best trained and the best equipped army on the face of the earth. They have what they need. They're well led. And this outcome is assured. “April 1, 2003-DOD news briefing by Rumsfeld and General Myers

Not even close to being true. Perhaps a cruel April fool upon military families.

My son was sent everything except bullets from our family for that war-a war we did not support because the justifications given did not appear to be lawful or truthful. I had to send him ratchets and screwdrivers-just so he could do his job of communications equipment.

As time proved, there were never WMD's and now Iraq has gone from already bad to even worse from a humanitarian standpoint.

We have parents sending their soldiers food and water-because theirs is rationed. We have Iraqi population with little clean water, few hours of electric and civil war. Now these things are happening, whether or not this administration or even and most shamefully, the top brass which answers to them.

I always thought our soldiers were the "knights in shining armor"- but this administration has badly misused them for ill-gotten gain and as a result inflamed the world opinion against all Americans.

This war is wrong, immoral and must stop before the draft is instituted. We are running out of soldiers and the Guard should always be here at home. Katrina proved that. 911 proved that. In May 2005, Ohio was left with 12% of our Guard in the state. We should never be that vulnerable.

Is a draft what it will take Americans to get off the couch and demand their country back?
If so, that means the 58,000 young Americans and millions of Vietnamese gave their lives for a nation, which learned nothing from the tragedy of that war.

why is it that the chickenhawks are always the most eager for war? well, we know the answer of course. if any of these idiots had actually seen a day of combat time, they might share the perspective of all of the americans rumsfeld claims lack one altogether.

then again, when everything you do is predicated on lies, we probably shouldn't expect that a little real life experience would have that great of an effect on these clowns anyway.

if only there were a way to put all of the administration chickenhawks in one unprotected humvee on a street in baghdad, we could see how much "stomach" they had for a "long fight."

What a dizzy misconstruction of reality by our STILL secretary of defense.

Start with "Americans didn't cross oceans and settle a wilderness and build history's greatest democracy, only to run away from murderers and extremists who try to kill everyone they cannot convert and try to tear down what they could never build.”

He's right of course ... these were not Americans at the time they crossed oceans to come to North America .. they were all sort of Europeans and Asians and Africans ... they became Americans later .... and oddly enough ---- when they came from there to what is now the US --- they WERE running away from the extremists who won't let you believe what you want, let you live as you want

sometimes i actually despise these guys running our country, because i don't believe they use the words sincerely, or else they are truly as shallow in thought as their words reveal ~ and in nothing of the lead comments attributed to Mr Rumsfeld in the article is there a shred of evidence that he knows how to proceed constructively in Iraq, other than not leaving.

As a veteran of 24 years, I'm offended that in his speech Rumsfeld sucks up to the VFW by heralding the "veterans who've sacrificed so much in 'freedom's defense.'" We've lost over 2600 brave men and women in this war of choice, not to "defend freedom" or "spread democracy," but to build empire. Every one between the ages of 18 and 42 who buys this administration's spin/crap should march right into the nearest recruiter's office and sign up to go to Iraq. Walk the walk, you phoney "patriots."