It's time for Rumsfeld to go

Bush Privately Chides Rumsfeld
Bush Privately Chides Rumsfeld
Officials Say Pentagon Resisted Repeated Calls for Prison Changes
By Robin Wright and Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 6, 2004; Page A01

President Bush privately admonished Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday, a senior White House official said, as other U.S. officials blamed the Pentagon for failing to act on repeated recommendations to improve conditions for thousands of Iraqi detainees and release those not charged with crimes.

Bush is "not satisfied" and "not happy" with the way Rumsfeld informed him about the investigation into abuses by U.S. soldiers at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison or the quantity of information Rumsfeld provided, the senior White House official said.

The president was particularly disturbed at having had to learn from news reports this week about the scope of misconduct documented in an Army investigative report completed in March, according to the official, who refused to be named so he could speak more candidly.

Other U.S. officials said Rumsfeld and the Pentagon resisted appeals in recent months from the State Department and the Coalition Provisional Authority to deal with problems relating to detainees. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell urged action in several White House meetings that included Rumsfeld, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

"It's something Powell has raised repeatedly -- to release as many detainees as possible -- and, second, to ensure that those in custody are properly cared for and treated," said a senior State Department official familiar with the discussions.

But the Pentagon repeatedly failed to act on both requests, said U.S. officials, who are privately furious over a human rights disaster that they believe might have been averted if military officials had acted on their requests.

Defense officials sharply disputed suggestions that Rumsfeld or other senior Pentagon authorities turned a deaf ear to the appeals and ignored festering problems at U.S.-run detention centers. They said there were no major differences between the departments of State and Defense over the handling of detainees in Iraq, saying top administration officials had generally agreed on the need to reduce the number of prisoners in U.S. military custody and ensure proper management of detention facilities.

"It would be unfair to Secretary Powell to portray the discussions among [national security] principals about this issue in the way some people seem to be trying to portray them," said Lawrence T. DiRita, the Pentagon's chief spokesman. "There was a lot of important activity and interest taken by the principals, including Rumsfeld, to make sure we were doing all that we could."

Rumsfeld also came in for fresh criticism yesterday on Capitol Hill, where Republicans joined Democrats in expressing anger about not having been informed about the details of the prison investigation. Rumsfeld is to appear at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing tomorrow, and some White House officials fear that a Republican lawmaker will ask him whether he is considering resigning. Some Republican aides on Capitol Hill said he might not survive until Election Day. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Rumsfeld should resign if investigators conclude the chain of responsibility reaches his office.

The defense secretary has deplored the reported abuses at Abu Ghraib prison but defended the Pentagon's response, saying military commanders acted promptly to investigate conditions there after being alerted in January about the misconduct. He also has noted that the Pentagon announced the start of the investigation in January and, in March, reported the filing of charges against six enlisted military police soldiers who served as guards.

But the nature of their offenses were not revealed until CBS's "60 Minutes II" aired photographs last week showing naked inmates piled up beside smiling soldiers and the New Yorker magazine days later detailed the findings of the Army's internal report. In the wake of widespread outrage over the misconduct, the Pentagon has moved to tighten oversight of prison operations in Iraq, accelerate release of prisoners and probe conditions at internment centers elsewhere.

State Department officials, however, have been particularly concerned about what they said was the Pentagon's reluctance to heed urgings earlier from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to improve conditions at Iraqi prisons.

"We've been pressing for more flexibility and openness to the ICRC's needs and suggestions about the detainees," said a U.S. official familiar with the legal issues involved in detentions.

U.S. officials here and former Coalition Provisional Authority officials attributed some of the problems to disarray and poor communication among different branches of the occupation structure in Iraq. But they said the Pentagon's resistance has also been a factor.

"The level of disarticulation between the military and civilian components of our occupation is extraordinary," said Larry Diamond, fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institute who served for several months as an adviser to L. Paul Bremer, the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, and is now a critic of the U.S. occupation. "We're either serious about human rights and the Geneva Convention or we're not."

Although Bush is giving no consideration to asking to Rumsfeld to resign, the senior White House official said, the president informed Rumsfeld of his dissatisfaction during a meeting in the Oval Office yesterday morning after the two left a National Security Council meeting. Bush was particularly bothered at not having been told that the photos of the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were in circulation, even though Pentagon officials knew that CBS had obtained them, the senior White House official said.

Asked yesterday by al-Hurra, a television station seen widely in the Arab world that is financed by the U.S. government, Bush replied: "Oh, of course I've got confidence in the secretary of defense, and I've got confidence in the commanders on the ground in Iraq."

Bush aides conceded that Rumsfeld had earlier given Bush a general sense of the investigation of Abu Ghraib during a meeting that included Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. But White House press secretary Scott McClellan said officials have not been able to pin down the exact date, except that it was after Jan. 16, when the Pentagon issued a release announcing the probe.

Much of the debate within the administration over what to do about Iraqi prisoners has roots in a long-running struggle among the departments of State, Defense and Justice to sort through prisoners at the detention facility at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said. The scandal involving Abu Ghraib prison has cast a fresh spotlight on the administration's general approach to the handling of war prisoners and terrorist suspects since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Concerns about prison conditions in Iraq were brought up in internal administration deliberations at the beginning of the year by Powell and Bremer, who warned of the potential political fallout, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials now say the only solution to the crisis over the treatment of Iraqi detainees is a drastic policy shift, such as surrendering all control of prisoners or sharing supervision with Iraqis or an international institution such as the ICRC.

Since it is not likely that Iraqis or the wider Islamic world will believe U.S. pledges to deal with the situation, the Bush administration needs some kind of witness or partner in administering the detention centers, U.S. officials said.

In the past, however, the ICRC had not been willing to share control of detainees with another party. So the only option may be some form of joint control with Iraqis or other unspecified forces, the officials said.
---------------------------------------

Staff writer Mike Allen contributed to this report.

Not easy getting rid of someone who knows where too many bodies are buried!

Imagine the book he could write!

Impeach Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz
Cong. Rangel Calls on Congress to Impeach Secretary Rumsfeld

I agree that Rumsfeld must go. He has been a failure his entire adult life. When a genuine hero like Representative Rangel tells us he must be impeached, it should be done. However, the House of Represenatives is, at this time, controlled by the rabid fundamentalist, Tom DeLay. This makes if even more important that the election in Nov. 2nd calls for a retake of the House. Otherwise, Representative Rangel's thrust for impeachment is meaningless.
It is unbelievable that President Bush and Secretary of State Rumsfeld would not know of the very very strong Islamic antipathy against Homosexual sex. Their failure to crack down on the jailers who forced Muslims into simulated homosexual sex positions is, as any Muslim knows, the most grave and humiliating insult.
For this alone, Rumsfeld should be impeached.

BBB
Rep. rangle's impeachment idea is stupid. First, it doesn't have any chance of all. Second, it will change the focus of debate away from the really important issues we face.

I like Charlie Rangel and I'm disappointed that he is just grandstanding and failing miserably at it.

BBB

I don't think Charlie Rangel is grandstanding. I think he is called for a long overdue impeachment. If, as I sincerely hope, the Democrats take back the House and Senate in November, Representative Rangel's words will prove to be prophetic. Some may have forgotten that the ridiculous impeachment of President Clinton began with early snipings from the far right! The crimes done in Iraq cannot be dismissed and buried in past history. Something must be done and quickly.

?
Getting rid of scumbag criminals that are in Govt. seems to me to be important. I say indict the entire criminal gang.

Isn't that hypocrite DeLay under indictemt on a criminal charge?

mporter
mporter, of course Rangel is grandstanding. He well knows that his motion is going nowhere. I don't want to see the important issues buried in political arguing over whether or not someone should be impeached. I would rather see the debate be over the ideology and policies behind the disaster of Iraq. Arguing over impeachment won't get us out of Iraq, won't make our troops any safer, and won't reset our country's moral compass.

BBB

?
White House aides privately said they had not intended to trigger resignation calls by spreading the word Wednesday that Bush was unhappy with Rumsfeld. They suggested it had been a political and diplomatic maneuver rather than a signal that Rumsfeld's job was in trouble.

*Will someone please translate the above for me.

Thans

But BumbleBee, surely you recognize the fact that the American people do not react to policies and ideology. Policies and ideology are usually buried somewhere in the unread pages of Deprtment of State Bulletins.
Can you honestly say that the Democrats would not have won in 2000 and taken back the House and the Senate if President Clinton had not been impeached?
A push for impeachment of President Bush for his war crimes will make it more likely that the Democrats will take back the Presidency, Senate and House. The people will not read position papers but they will listen to people like Representative Rangel lay out his case for impeachment on various TV channels. More informed people must join him. The crimes of this president and his cronies must be uncovered and made clear to the American voting public. That will not be done by long winded debate. It must be done by strong demands and appeals to justice.

pistoff...Today is Thursday, tomorrow is Friday and then we get the weekend political talk shows that are important to DC insiders. And, oh yes, Mr Rumsfeld will be before Congress tomorrow.
This incident in one prison appears to not be unique, It's happening elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan. So we can't just nail a few privates or corporals in the military. Responsibility must go higher; perhaps much higher.
I'm thinking that Mr Rumsfeld will offer to resign in the next few days.

Uh
I doubt that he will offer to or resign but hey I don't own a crystal ball.

I feel that W, the VP and the rest of the scumbags should resign, as well. They are a disgrace to the USA.

The statement for translation?

Bush also supported Rummie today, saying as far as he's concerned, Rummie is staying in his cabinet.

You guys must be crazy! I'm not going anywhere!

Here''s a news release that confirms what Bush said about Rummie.
******************



Bush Apologizes for Iraqi Prisoner Abuses

Thu May 6, 5:27 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday apologized for the humiliation suffered by Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers but rejected growing calls by Democrats, including presidential challenger John Kerry (news - web sites), for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign.


Bush told reporters after a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah the abuse was a stain on America's honor.


"I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families," Bush said. He added that he had told the Jordanian monarch that, "Americans like me didn't appreciate what we saw, and it made us sick to our stomachs."


Rumsfeld was summoned to testify before Congress on Friday, where he faces a hostile reception from lawmakers angry at being kept in the dark about a scandal the military has known about since January.


The Washington Post published new photographs of Iraqi detainees being humiliated by their American captors, including one showing a female American soldier holding a leash that was around the neck of a naked Iraqi lying on the floor.


But Bush rejected growing appeals for Rumsfeld's scalp.


"Secretary Rumsfeld has been the secretary during two wars and he's an important part of my Cabinet and he'll stay in my Cabinet," Bush said.


The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had repeatedly urged the United States to take "corrective action" at Baghdad Abu Ghraib prison.


Kerry, campaigning in California, said Rumsfeld should have resigned months ago over his performance in Iraq (news - web sites) over the past year and the new revelations merely strengthened the case for the defense secretary to go.


Recalling his own service in the Vietnam War, Kerry said: "When I was in the Navy, the captain of the boat was in charge and the captain always took responsibility.


"Today I have a message for the men and women of our Armed forces ... I will take responsibility for the bad as well as the good."


CALLS FOR RESIGNATION


Among others calling for Rumsfeld to go were House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record) and Michigan Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record). They were joined by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.


"As Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld bears ultimate responsibility for the brutal and humiliating actions of American troops and for the poor handling of the scandal by the military establishment," the council said.


The Republican-led House of Representatives approved a resolution that "deplores and condemns the abuse of persons in United States' custody in Iraq." It passed by 365-50.


But the Republican majority rejected Democratic calls for congressional investigations into the mushrooming scandal, saying additional probes were unnecessary since the military was already investigating.


House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, said Democrats had sought unsuccessfully to politicize the resolution. "This resolution is exactly written as it should be written," DeLay said.





The United States revealed on Tuesday that 25 prisoners have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites), including two Iraqi prisoners murdered by Americans and one ruled a justifiable homicide. Twelve were found to have died of natural or undetermined causes and 10 are being investigated.

The officials said Bush told Rumsfeld at the time that he wanted the matter investigated fully. But it was unclear if Bush asked any follow-up questions until the case blew up into the public eye last week.

"We will take a good, full look at a variety of issues to make sure it doesn't happen again," Bush said.

Meanwhile, Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) said the Justice Department (news - web sites) could have jurisdiction to prosecute contractors, individuals who were not in the U.S. military and those who broke the law and have left the U.S. military.

"Those are the kinds of things that would be matters of serious interest to the Justice Department," he told a news conference.

This started in januray. I thought I heard on one of those many cable news channels that Bush did get some kind of report in Januray. So, why would he fuss at Rumsfeild for keeping him in the dark. I think they are not covering for Rumsfeild but are covering for Bush and letting Rumsfeild take the heat.

I personally don't think anything much will done from anyone about all this except a lot of pestering and a few hearings and passing meaningless resolutions condemning the abuse.

However, I think it does serve to take the "glory" off the war in the American voting public. They see the Iraq situation for what it is; a mess and a drain on our country's resources. Bush is going to ask for $250 billion more dollars to fund Iraq and "Afghanistan". I really don't think that the American public is going to like it and they are not going to buy into this thing about how we have to keep giving huge amounts of money "for the troops".

I have been reading "the price of loyalty" and I am half way through it. Already it is becoming obvious to me that the "war on terror" and the war in Afghanistan was barely a wrinkle in the administration's inner circle mad obsession of a free Iraq. However those kinds of thoughts don't really register with the average people who don't really follow these things. But what I wrote above does and I agree with the one who said that just the talk of impeachment will at least get the debate going for the average person who half heartedly watches various news programs to hear.

Blow over
This will blow over in a week. A lot of hot air and posturing. Nothing will have been done and the Dems will go back to sleep.

pistoff, sadly I agree with you.

btw- I meant to say postering instead of perstering. Sometimes I am embarressed to read my own post.