posted 05-06-2004 11:53 PM            

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/07/1083881460560.html

A growing chorus of United States Democrats, including the party's presumed presidential nominee and its leader in the House of Representatives, called for US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation today amid a burgeoning scandal over abused Iraqi prisoners.

President George W Bush stood by his embattled defence secretary, although aides said yesterday he had privately expressed annoyance over the Pentagon chief's handling of the scandal that came to light last week with televised photographs showing sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in a US-run jail outside Baghdad.

"Secretary Rumsfeld has served our nation well. Secretary Rumsfeld has been the secretary during two wars and he is an important part of my cabinet and he'll stay in my cabinet," Bush said during an appearance with Jordan's King Abdullah.

But House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said US soldiers "are suffering great casualties and injuries, and American taxpayers are paying an enormous price" because Rumsfeld "has done a poor job as secretary of defence".

"Secretary Rumsfeld must resign," she said, adding he "must be held responsible for any cover-up" of the abuses.

Presidential contender John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, said he had called on Rumsfeld to quit "months ago" because of miscalculations on Iraq and the new revelations only "compounds" the evidence for him to step down.

Some top House Republicans dismissed the resignation calls, and many lawmakers said it was too early to fix blame for an Iraqi prisoners scandal that most acknowledged posed a major setback to US efforts to stabilise Iraq.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, and several other House Republicans accused the Democrats of trying to politicise the war.

"Calling for Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation is as bad a signal as saying the war is unwinnable," DeLay said.

"At this point I do not have any loss of confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, told reporters.

But as lawmakers in both the House and Senate denounced the egregious treatment of prisoners that they said sent an appalling signal to the Muslim world, some Republicans privately questioned whether Rumsfeld had become a liability before the November 2 presidential and congressional elections.

They said survival in his job may depend on his performance tomorrow in hearings of the Senate and House Armed Services committees on the prison abuses.

Rumsfeld must "give the performance of his life," and show contrition, a Senate Republican aide said.

"He needs to have full disclosure of the facts, no parsing of words or displaying the usual convoluted testimony that the Senate Armed Services Committee has been accustomed to," the aide said.

"Republicans instinctively are trying to throw Rumsfeld a lifeline, but he's not giving them much to work with," another Senate Republican aide said.

There is some feeling Rumsfeld has become "a cancer around the Republican effort," and Bush's re-election chances would be better without him, the aide said.

- Reuters/AP

posted 05-07-2004 12:00 AM            

50 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld goes before Congress on Friday in a bid to win the confidence of lawmakers furious over abuses of Iraqi prisoners as he testifies in hearings that may determine whether he keeps his job.

With a growing number of Democrats demanding his resignation, Rumsfeld will appear before congressional committees in back-to-back hearings on the scandal, which came to light last week with the release of photographs showing the sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in a U.S.-run jail outside Baghdad.

President Bush was standing by Rumsfeld, as were congressional Republicans in public statements.

The White House was looking to Rumsfeld to help quell the outrage brewing among lawmakers and explain to the American people what steps are being taken to punish those responsible and prevent further abuse at the prison.

"Obviously we recognize that we need to lay out all the facts and do it in a way that's very transparent and people know what's going on," said a senior administration official.

The officials said Rumsfeld's job was not hanging in the balance, but that Bush wants him to get the facts out

Still, several Senate Republican aides said key lawmakers could turn against Rumsfeld unless he comes to the Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services committees with answers on how widespread the abuses were and a determination to find out who let them occur.

Predicting a fiery session, aides said senators also want Rumsfeld to take responsibility for the abuses as the Pentagon's chief, and to explain why Congress was not informed of an Army report on the matter and instead learned about it when horrific images were aired on television.

"At this point in time I do not have any loss of confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said on Thursday.

"It's premature, premature. He hasn't even had a chance to testify," Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said when asked if Rumsfeld should step down.

A growing number of Democrats, including the party's presumed presidential candidate and its leader in the House, called for Rumsfeld's resignation.

Presidential contender John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, said he had called on Rumsfeld to quit "months ago" because of miscalculations on Iraq and the new revelations only "compounds" the evidence for him to step down.

House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi said Rumsfeld's leadership "has unnecessarily jeopardized the safety of American troops, and it has seriously undermined our ability to prosecute the war on terrorism."

Rumsfeld knew about abuses of Iraqi prisoners "for months and has intentionally withheld them from Congress," said Pelosi, a California Democrat. "The sad fact is that the abuses could have been prevented with proper leadership at the top of the chain of command."

Republicans and Democrats were fuming that Rumsfeld had met with lawmakers on the day the scandal broke and gave them no warning of the images of naked, humiliated prisoners that were to be televised that night.

"Congress does not like to be surprised," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican. But he said Rumsfeld was an "extraordinary" defense chief, and said calls for his ouster were "a political flapdoodle."

But some Democrats said Rumsfeld set policies that allowed the abuses to occur by saying the United States would no longer be bound by the Geneva Convention on military prisoners.

"The question remains whether the United States is well served by a secretary of defense who does not believe in the need to follow international law," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat.

posted 05-08-2004 09:31 PM            

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/191377p-165387c.html

Rumsfeld: Sorry, but there's more

Worse yet to come, he warns - hint murder, rape, kid abuse

By RICHARD SISK

DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - The Iraqi torture scandal is going to get even worse, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld grimly warned Congress yesterday.

"Be on notice," Rumsfeld told the Senate and House Armed Services committees. "There are a lot more photographs and videos that exist."

He said the still secret pictures graphically depicted abuses by Americans that were "blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman."

"It's going to get still more terrible, I'm afraid," he said during a marathon session before Congress.

"If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse," Rumsfeld said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters, "The American public needs to understand we're talking about rape and murder here. We're not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience."

Congressional sources said some of the allegations of abuse involved acts against young boys, and Graham said "the worst is yet to come."

Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee also told of "42 other potential cases" of abuse against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan that occurred "outside detention facilities."

The famously combative Rumsfeld was contrite during much of his testimony and conceded the scandal could cost him his job.

When Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) asked him whether it might "help to undo some of the damage to our reputation if you were to step down?" Rumsfeld replied, "That's possible."

But he stressed that calls for his resignation from Democrats and petition drives on Democratic Web sites would not influence his decision.

"The issue is can I be effective," Rumsfeld said. "Needless to say, if I felt I could not be effective, I'd resign in a minute," he said, but he added, "I would not resign simply because people try to make a political issue out of it."

The day-long testimony of Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Richard Myers, and top Pentagon officials - broadcast live by Arab as well as U.S. TV - capped a tumultuous week that forced apologies from President Bush, emboldened Iraqi insurgents and put in doubt the entire U.S. peace effort in the Mideast.

Rumsfeld began with expressions of remorse for the treatment of prisoners and failing to keep Congress informed, but he grew more combative as it became evident senators and representatives were rallying to his support.

"These events occurred on my watch," Rumsfeld said. "As secretary of defense, I am accountable for them. I take full responsibility."

"To those Iraqis who were mistreated by the U.S. armed forces, I offer my deepest apology," Rumsfeld said.

To salvage the battered U.S. image, Rumsfeld said "I'm seeking a way to provide appropriate compensation to those detainees who suffered such grievous and brutal abuse," but he did not specify an amount.

Rumsfeld also said he has appointed a commission of retired officials led by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and former Rep. Tillie Fowler (R-Fla.) to examine the scandal and make recommendations.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) questioned whether the Pentagon grasped the gravity of the crisis. "We risk losing public support for this conflict" in Iraq, McCain said, just as the American public turned against Vietnam.

Myers acknowledged that the scandal has effected troop morale. Soldiers in Iraq are "walking with their heads a little bit lower now," Myers said, and must win back trust "soldier by soldier, patrol by patrol."

posted 05-08-2004 10:13 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by increase 1776:
Look how quick this sadistic SOB is at handing out more taxpayer money to sooth the Iraqi's.Should Haliburtan or the Carlye Group hand out the cash.They'll probably hand out .15 cents for each dollar.Heck they got to make some more money.Right Dick? Cheney in a rare Sat. statement ,said"Rummy is the best Sec. of Defense,EVER."Hell McNamara and his band looked like pros compared to these morons.

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Just think about one tax dollar:

Defense (Offense) and Security plus military debt 50%

Non-Miltary government debt 10%

Social Services 38%

Local Government 2%

Now, Dumbya wants $25 billion as a DOWN PAYMENT on a projected total of $75 billion.

If he gets in, imagine for a minute what the social services column will looKKK like.

Another $22 billion is slated for miltary increases by the end of the year.

Staged or actual terror attack coming up-Martial Law?

Or does Bushie go down quietly?

Or do they rig the election, same as 2000

posted 05-09-2004 07:54 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by increase 1776:
Hopefully Bush goes down without much fuss.He could pardon himself on the last day in office.Gee someone else has done that before or have they.

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I-1776,

I hope you are right. Wouldn't it be nice, if in true Nixon-ian Style, with Jowels Flapping, Mr. p-Resident In-Breed would just ride off into the sunset.

Somehow these nutjobs will not give up so easily. Think about it. We have come from the earliest dictators, be it Cain, Polykrates, Nero, Napoleon, King Ferdinand, Idi Amin, Stalin, Hitler, to Dumbya. The Internet has helped to expose Fascism/Communism/Totalitarianism/Corporatism/Fundamentalism, for what it is. Never will people allow to be controlled, IMO. The Powers will have to resort to more extreme measures of control, but we will be watching. That's why we have to keep a close eye on Kerry, once he gets in. Liberals can make you feel more at ease, but that can be used against everyone.

posted 05-09-2004 11:19 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by increase 1776:
These guys do some outstanding work. Not. Heaven help us if these two get in a command bunker together.

[Edited 1 times, lastly by increase 1776 on 05-09-2004]

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posted 05-09-2004 11:58 AM            

"I am not a crook."