Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator for New York: Senator Clinton Presses Deputy Defense Secretary on Rumsfeld Forgoing Public Appearance Before the Senate Armed Services Committee

August 2, 2006

Senator Clinton Presses Deputy Defense Secretary on Rumsfeld Forgoing Public Appearance Before the Senate Armed Services Committee

Washington, DC – After sending a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calling on him to appear at tomorrow’s open hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (full text of letter below), Senator Clinton pressed Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England at this afternoon’s hearing about Rumsfeld’s decision to forgo appearing at tomorrow’s open committee hearing, choosing instead to only appear in private.

Transcript of Senator Clinton’s interaction with Dep. Defense Secretary England

Senator Clinton: Welcome General Gonzales, Secretary England. Secretary England, I appreciate very much your being here, because I think it is important, and I assume you agree, to have our civilian leadership testify before this committee.

Secretary England: Yes, I do.

Senator Clinton: You know, Secretary England, I’m not sure you’re aware, but, the leadership of this committee, Chairman Warner, formally invited Secretary Rumsfeld to appear before us in an open hearing tomorrow, alongside General Pace and General Abizaid, because of the pressing importance of the issue to be discussed, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, our country’s policies affecting each of those areas. Unfortunately Secretary Rumsfeld has declined to do so. He has instead opted to appear only in private settings. I understand yesterday he appeared behind closed doors with the Republican Senators. I’m told tomorrow he will be appearing again behind closed doors with all Senators. But I’m concerned, Mr. Secretary, because I think that this committee and the American public deserve to hear from the Secretary of Defense. We’re going to be out in our states for the recess. Obviously these matters are much on the minds of our constituents, and I would appreciate your conveying the concern that I, and certainly the leadership which invited the Secretary to be here, have with his inability to schedule an appearance before this committee to discuss the most important issues facing our country. I appreciate your agreement that it is important to have our civilian leadership appear and obviously we will look forward to having out military leadership tomorrow but I think it’s hard to understand why the Secretary would not appear in public, before this committee, answer our questions, answer the questions that are on the minds of our constituents.

Senator Clinton (following a comment from Committee Chairman John Warner): I think it is abundantly clear, however, to the members of this committee as it is to countless Americans, that the Secretary has been a very involved manager in the military decision making that has gone on in the last five years and in fact in recent publications there’s quite a great deal of detail as to the Secretary’s decision making. One might even say interference, second-guessing, overruling the military leadership of our country. And I for one am deeply disturbed at the failures, the constant, consistent failures of strategy with respect to Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. And I don’t think that those failures can be appropriately attributed to our military leadership. So although the Secretary finds time to address the Republican Senators, although he finds time to address us behind closed doors, I think the American people deserve to see the principle decision maker when it comes to these matters that are putting our young men and women at risk. More than 2,500 of them have lost their lives. And this Secretary of Defense, I think, owes the American people more than he is providing. So I appreciate the invitation that you extended as is your wont. You worked very hard, I know, to create the environment in which we would have the opportunity to question the Secretary. Unfortunately, he chose only to make himself available to us behind closed doors, out of view of the public, the press, our constituents, our military and their families and I think that is unfortunate.

The full letter sent to Secretary Rumsfeld follows:

August 2, 2006

The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Suite 319
Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I write to urge you to reconsider your decision to decline testifying at a public hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

As you know, on Thursday the Committee will hold a hearing to receive testimony on Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terrorism. General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and General John Abizaid, the Commander of Central Command, are scheduled to testify. According to the notice of the hearing posted by the Armed Services Committee, you will not be joining Generals Pace and Abizaid despite a formal invitation extended to you by the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman and Ranking Member. Instead, you will appear at a closed briefing open only to Senators later in the day.

As the Senate Committee with primary jurisdiction over the United States military, the Armed Services Committee plays a critical role in conducting oversight over our operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Recent events in both Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate that our forces face difficult challenges in defeating committed insurgencies, providing greater security and helping to foster stable governments.

Since the last time you testified at a public hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee was February 7, 2006 – nearly six months ago – a public appearance before the committee is long overdue. As the top official at the Pentagon, you are responsible for implementing the President’s Iraq and Afghanistan policies, and for making recommendations to the President as to future plans in both theaters. With approximately 130,000 troops currently serving in Iraq and 20,000 troops serving in Afghanistan in increasingly more dangerous circumstances, the Committee, and more importantly, the American people should hear directly from you.

In our democracy, our military comes under civilian control and policy decisions are made by the civilian leadership. At this critical time in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the Committee and the American people should hear not only from our military’s uniformed leaders but also from you as the top civilian leader.

I hope you will reconsider your decision not to testify before the Committee on Thursday.

I look forward to your response and thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

###



	August 2, 2006 Senator Clinton Presses Deputy Defense Secretary on Rumsfeld Forgoing Public Appearance Before the Senate Armed Services Committee Washington, DC – After sending a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calling on him to appear at tomorrow’s open hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (full text of letter below), Senator Clinton pressed Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England at this afternoon’s hearing about Rumsfeld’s decision to forgo appearing at tomorrow’s open committee hearing, choosing instead to only appear in private. Transcript of Senator Clinton’s interaction with Dep. Defense Secretary England Senator Clinton: Welcome General Gonzales, Secretary England. Secretary England, I appreciate very much your being here, because I think it is important, and I assume you agree, to have our civilian leadership testify before this committee. Secretary England: Yes, I do. Senator Clinton: You know, Secretary England, I’m not sure you’re aware, but, the leadership of this committee, Chairman Warner, formally invited Secretary Rumsfeld to appear before us in an open hearing tomorrow, alongside General Pace and General Abizaid, because of the pressing importance of the issue to be discussed, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, our country’s policies affecting each of those areas. Unfortunately Secretary Rumsfeld has declined to do so. He has instead opted to appear only in private settings. I understand yesterday he appeared behind closed doors with the Republican Senators. I’m told tomorrow he will be appearing again behind closed doors with all Senators. But I’m concerned, Mr. Secretary, because I think that this committee and the American public deserve to hear from the Secretary of Defense. We’re going to be out in our states for the recess. Obviously these matters are much on the minds of our constituents, and I would appreciate your conveying the concern that I, and certainly the leadership which invited the Secretary to be here, have with his inability to schedule an appearance before this committee to discuss the most important issues facing our country. I appreciate your agreement that it is important to have our civilian leadership appear and obviously we will look forward to having out military leadership tomorrow but I think it’s hard to understand why the Secretary would not appear in public, before this committee, answer our questions, answer the questions that are on the minds of our constituents. Senator Clinton (following a comment from Committee Chairman John Warner): I think it is abundantly clear, however, to the members of this committee as it is to countless Americans, that the Secretary has been a very involved manager in the military decision making that has gone on in the last five years and in fact in recent publications there’s quite a great deal of detail as to the Secretary’s decision making. One might even say interference, second-guessing, overruling the military leadership of our country. And I for one am deeply disturbed at the failures, the constant, consistent failures of strategy with respect to Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. And I don’t think that those failures can be appropriately attributed to our military leadership. So although the Secretary finds time to address the Republican Senators, although he finds time to address us behind closed doors, I think the American people deserve to see the principle decision maker when it comes to these matters that are putting our young men and women at risk. More than 2,500 of them have lost their lives. And this Secretary of Defense, I think, owes the American people more than he is providing. So I appreciate the invitation that you extended as is your wont. You worked very hard, I know, to create the environment in which we would have the opportunity to question the Secretary. Unfortunately, he chose only to make himself available to us behind closed doors, out of view of the public, the press, our constituents, our military and their families and I think that is unfortunate. The full letter sent to Secretary Rumsfeld follows: August 2, 2006 The Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense United States Department of Defense The Pentagon Suite 319 Washington, D.C. 20301 Dear Mr. Secretary: I write to urge you to reconsider your decision to decline testifying at a public hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. As you know, on Thursday the Committee will hold a hearing to receive testimony on Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terrorism. General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and General John Abizaid, the Commander of Central Command, are scheduled to testify. According to the notice of the hearing posted by the Armed Services Committee, you will not be joining Generals Pace and Abizaid despite a formal invitation extended to you by the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman and Ranking Member. Instead, you will appear at a closed briefing open only to Senators later in the day. As the Senate Committee with primary jurisdiction over the United States military, the Armed Services Committee plays a critical role in conducting oversight over our operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Recent events in both Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate that our forces face difficult challenges in defeating committed insurgencies, providing greater security and helping to foster stable governments. Since the last time you testified at a public hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee was February 7, 2006 – nearly six months ago – a public appearance before the committee is long overdue. As the top official at the Pentagon, you are responsible for implementing the President’s Iraq and Afghanistan policies, and for making recommendations to the President as to future plans in both theaters. With approximately 130,000 troops currently serving in Iraq and 20,000 troops serving in Afghanistan in increasingly more dangerous circumstances, the Committee, and more importantly, the American people should hear directly from you. In our democracy, our military comes under civilian control and policy decisions are made by the civilian leadership. At this critical time in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the Committee and the American people should hear not only from our military’s uniformed leaders but also from you as the top civilian leader. I hope you will reconsider your decision not to testify before the Committee on Thursday. I look forward to your response and thank you for your consideration. Sincerely yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton ###