August 3, 2006
Senator Clinton Highlights Secretary Rumsfeld’s Pattern of Painting Rosy Picture of Iraq
Washington, DC – In an exchange during today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asserted he has “never painted a rosy picture” of the war on Iraq. In response, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton submitted the following statement for the record showing a pattern of comments by Secretary Rumsfeld, both in appearances before Congress and in news media and other forums. The following is the text of Senator Clinton’s statement for the record to the Senate Armed Services Committee:
In the August 3 Armed Services Committee hearing, I had the following exchange with Secretary Rumsfeld:
CLINTON: Well, Mr. Secretary, I know you would, and I know you feel strongly about it, but there's a track record here. This is not 2002, 2003, 2004, '5, when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented many assurances that have, frankly, proven to be unfulfilled. And...RUMSFELD: Senator, I don't think that's true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words. And you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff.
I ask unanimous consent that the following quotes from Secretary Rumsfeld be included in the record:
July 9, 2003: Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
“The residents of Baghdad may not have power 24 hours a day, but they no longer wake up each morning in fear wondering whether this will be the day that a death squad would come to cut out their tongues, chop off their ears, or take their children away for “questioning,” never to be seen again.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2003/sp20030709-secdef0364.html
September 30, 2003: House Appropriations Committee hearing
“My impression is that the war was highly successful.”
Source: Transcript of Hearing of House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Defense on President’s FY ’04 Supplemental Request for Iraq and Afghanistan, available online from FDCH Political Transcripts on Lexis-Nexis.
February 4, 2004: Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
“The increased demand on the force we are experiencing today is likely a ‘spike,’ driven by the deployment of nearly 115,000 troops in Iraq. We hope and anticipate that that spike will be temporary. We do not expect to have 115,000 troops permanently deployed in any one campaign.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2004/sp20040204-secdef0842.html
May 7, 2004: Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
“SENATOR BAYH: So my question, Mr. Secretary, my final question is just very simply, do you believe we're on the right course presently, or is dramatic action necessary to regain the momentum so that we can ultimately prevail in what is a very noble and idealistic undertaking?
SEC. RUMSFELD: I do believe we're on the right track.”
Source: http://www.pentagon.mil/speeches/2004/sp20040507-secdef0443.html
June 23, 2005: Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
“But terrorists no longer can take advantage of sanctuaries like Fallujah.”
June 23, 2005: House Armed Services Committee hearing
“The level of support from the international community is growing.”
March 9, 2006: Senate Appropriations Committee hearing
“SEN. ROBERT BYRD: Mr. Secretary, how can Congress be assured that the funds in this bill won't be used to put our troops right in the middle of a full-blown Iraqi civil war?
SEC. DONALD RUMSFELD: Senator, I can say that certainly it is not the intention of the military commanders to allow that to happen. The -- and to repeat, the -- at least thus far, the situation has been such that the Iraqi security forces could for the most part deal with the problems that exist.”
Source: http://www.jcs.mil/chairman/speeches/060309CJCS_SecDefSecStateCENTCOM SenApproCom.html
November 14, 2002: Infinity CBS Radio Connect, interview with Steve Kroft
“The Gulf War in the 1990s lasted five days on the ground. I can’t tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks, or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2002/t11152002_t1114rum.html
December 18, 2002: CNN “Larry King Live”
“The Taliban are gone. The al Qaeda are gone.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=2940
February 7, 2003: Town hall meeting with U.S. troops in Aviano, Italy
“And it is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/t02072003_t0207sdtownhall.html
February 20, 2003: PBS “NewsHour”
“Lehrer: Do you expect the invasion, if it comes, to be welcomed by the majority of the civilian population of Iraq?
Rumsfeld: There's obviously the Shia population in Iraq and the Kurdish population in Iraq have been treated very badly by Saddam Hussein's regime, they represent a large fraction of the total. There is no question but that they would be welcomed.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=1938
March 30, 2003: ABC “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”
“We know where [the WMD] are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/t03302003_t0330sdabcsteph.html
February 1, 2006: Department of Defense News Briefing
“Q: One clarification on "the long war." Is Iraq going to be a long war?
SEC. RUMSFELD: No, I don't believe it is.”
Source: http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=905
###
