Rumsfeld: War critics have ‘moral ... confusion’
Defense secretary tells veterans that U.S. faces a ‘new type of fascism’
The Associated Press


Updated: 9:25 p.m. ET Aug. 29, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq and counterterrorism policies of trying to appease “a new type of fascism.”

In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration’s critics as suffering from “moral or intellectual confusion” about what threatens the nation’s security and accused them of lacking the courage to fight back.

In remarks to several thousand veterans at the American Legion’s national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failed efforts to appease the Adolf Hitler regime in the 1930s.

“I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism,” he said.

Rumsfeld spoke to the American Legion as part of a coordinated White House strategy, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to take the offensive against administration critics at a time of doubt about the future of Iraq and growing calls to withdraw U.S. troops.

Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from 9/11 to bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.

“But some seem not to have learned history’s lessons,” he said, adding that part of the problem is that the American news media have tended to emphasize the negative rather than the positive.

He said, for example, that more media attention was given to U.S. soldiers’ abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib than to the fact that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith received the Medal of Honor.

“Can we truly afford to believe somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?” he asked.

“Those who know the truth need to speak out against these kinds of myths and lies and distortions being told about our troops and about our country,” he added.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was addressing the American Legion convention later Tuesday, and President Bush is scheduled to speak here later in the week. On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld made separate addresses to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nev.

Rumsfeld made similar arguments in Reno about doubters of the administration’s approach to fighting terrorism, saying too many in this country want to “blame America first” and ignore the enemy.


© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



Link:

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14570794/



My Views:

Here is 9/11 'comic' season approaching again ! Actors 1) Ramsfeld, Conda, Bush & Cheney. It is said but it looks as if the republican administration in great democratic nation in the west hemispherrrrre is set to stage a usual annual comic show. Artists are those mentioned above but believe what they say if you want to gauge your mental health.


Do you think their audience are seriously beleaving what they hear from these 'actors' ?


If those are actors then there MUST a 'mualaf', seneraio writer, mukhrej, etc etc :D

And and why this democratic believer is against American media ? Is he at or declaring war on American media ?? I think he believes in a proverb that says "attack is the best form of defence" and mind you he is the_secretary for department of offence. Mind you, America is the only nation in the world that maintains what we call 'Ministry' but they call 'depatment' of 'offence' as opposed to 'defence.'


What you think about my views ? :lift:


.

Bush defends national security record
In campaign season speech, president says terrorist threat still potent
The Associated Press


Updated: 2:35 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2006
WASHINGTON - President Bush used terrorists’ own words Tuesday to battle complacency among Americans about the threat of future attack, defending his national security record as the fall campaign season kicks into high gear.

Bush said that despite the absence of a successor on U.S. soil to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the terrorist danger remains potent.

“(Osama) Bin Laden and his terrorist’s allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them,” the president said before the Military Officers Association of America and diplomatic representatives from other countries that have suffered terrorist attacks. “The question is ‘Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say?”’

Quoting extensively from letters, Web site statements, audio recording and videotapes purportedly from terrorists, as well as documents found in various raids, Bush said that al-Qaida, homegrown terrorists and other groups have adapted to changing U.S. defenses.

For example, Bush cited what he called “a grisly al-Qaida manual” found in 2000 by British police during an anti-terrorist raid in London, which included a chapter called “Guidelines for Beating and Killing Hostages.”

He also cited what he said was a captured al-Qaida document found during a recent raid in Iraq. He said the document described plans to take over Iraq’s western Anbar province and set up a governing structure including an education department, a social services department, a justice department, and an execution unit.


“The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men without conscience, but they’re not madmen,” he said. “They kill in the name of a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil but not insane.”

Ahead of the speech, the White House on Tuesday released an updated counterterrorism strategy.

“The United States and our partners continue to pursue a significantly degraded but still dangerous al-Qaida network. Yet the enemy we face today in the war on terror is not the same enemy we faced on Sept. 11,” :cool: said the 23-page terrorism strategy update. “Our effective counterterrorist efforts in part have forced the terrorists to evolve and modify their ways of doing business.”

Two months before the midterm elections, the report was the White House’s latest attempt to highlight national security, an issue that has helped Republicans in past campaigns. Democrats were releasing their own assessment.

The White House also rejected Democrats’ calls for replacing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “It’s not going to happen,” presidential spokesman Tony Snow said. “Creating Don Rumsfeld as a bogeyman may make for good politics but would make for very lousy strategy at this time.”

Democrats released their own study, saying it shows the country is less secure today than before Bush took office. Citing research done by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, the report said the number of al-Qaida members has jumped from 20,000 in 2001 to 50,000 today. It also charged that average weekly attacks in Iraq have jumped from almost 200 in spring 2004 to more than 600 this year, using numbers provided by the liberal-oriented Brookings Institution think tank.

“All the speeches in the world won’t change what’s going on in Iraq,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

“The truth is the president’s policies have not worked and have not made us safer,” said Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Link:

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14678251/



My Views:


These democrats wants to turn the republicans orphan without Don Rams. Rames is nice and fits the team.




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Clinton officials protest ABC's 9/11 miniseries
ABC stands by 'dramatization,' despite demands not to air it
MSNBC staff and news service reports


Updated: 2:33 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2006
NEW YORK - A “terribly wrong” miniseries about events leading to the Sept. 11 attacks blame President Clinton’s policies, former Clinton administration officials said in letters demanding that ABC correct it or not air it.

But in a statement released Thursday afternoon in apparent response to the growing uproar, ABC said, “No one has seen the final version of the film, because the editing process is not yet complete, so criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible.”

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Clinton Foundation head Bruce Lindsey and Clinton adviser Douglas Band wrote in the past week to Robert Iger, CEO of ABC’s parent The Walt Disney Co., to express concern over “The Path to 9/11.”

Clinton spokesperson Jay Carson told MSNBC in a statement, “ABC/Disney acknowledges this show is fiction and in direct contradiction of the 9/11 Commission Report and the facts, and it is despicable that ABC/Disney would insist on airing a fictional version of what is a serious and emotional event for our country.

"No reputable organization should dramatize 9/11 for a profit at the expense of the truth.”

The two-part miniseries, scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday and Monday, is drawn from interviews and documents including the report of the Sept. 11 commission. ABC has described it as a “dramatization” as opposed to a documentary.

“For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalized scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue, and time compression,” ABC said in its statement. “We hope viewers will watch the entire broadcast of the finished film before forming an opinion about it.”

Content 'incontrovertibly inaccurate'
The letter writers said the miniseries contained factual errors, and that their requests to see it had gone unanswered.

“By ABC’s own standard, ABC has gotten it terribly wrong,” Lindsey and Band said in their letter.

“The content of this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate and ABC has a duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely. It is unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our country has ever known.”


The letters pointed out examples of scenes they had been told were in the miniseries, but which they said never happened. Albright objected to a scene that she was told showed her insisting on warning the Pakistani government before an airstrike on Afghanistan, and that she was the one who made the warning.

“The scene as explained to me is false and defamatory,” she said.

Berger objected to a scene that he was told showed him refusing to authorize an attack on Osama bin Laden despite the request from CIA officials. “The fabrication of this scene (of such apparent magnitude) cannot be justified under any reasonable definition of dramatic license,” he wrote.

Fears of misinterpretation
Lindsey and Band objected to advertisements for the miniseries, which they said suggested that Clinton wasn’t paying enough attention to the threat of terrorism.

“While ABC is promoting “The Path to 9/11” as a dramatization of historical fact, in truth it is a fictitious rewriting of history that will be misinterpreted by millions of Americans,” they said. “Given your stated obligation to ’get it right,’ we urge you to do so by not airing this drama until the egregious factual errors are corrected, an endeavor we could easily assist you with given the opportunity to view the film.”

The five-hour miniseries is set to run without commercial interruption. Director David Cunningham said it was a massive undertaking, with close to 250 speaking parts, more than 300 sets, and a budget of $40 million. Cunningham has said he shot 550 hours of film. The cast includes Harvey Keitel, Patricia Heaton and Donnie Wahlberg.

MSNBC and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Link:

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14718803/?GT1=8506


My Views:


After all the republicans 1st: acknowledges the contents of the films are "fiction." So why worry ? 2ndly: Who was behind the decision to stop showing the Ramadhan series entitled "Road to Kabul ?" The same guy should endeavour to block "The Path to 9/11" as well ! Why should "Path to 9/11 be left for the audience to make their judgement when the audience of the "Road to Kabul" are denied the opportunity to their judgement ?

Let us pray for DEMOCRACY to take its course !



.

Well all I know.......is that the Australian govt and USa have finally teamed up to beef up the security..........

I really feel alot safer now with these new terrorists fighters........on the job.


fatak

Desert Sloath, Rumsfeld is the Secretary of Defense. The USA has no Department of Offense. I don't know where in the hell you get your information from. But wherever it is, it is inaccurate, lying and stupid.

No offense to you, DS, you just believed what you read in some deceitful and off the wall rag. But it was so far wrong as to be laughable. Middle East news sources are full of myths. Not your fault.

It is so easy to check whoppers like that one about a USA Department of Offense. Take the trouble and avoid being deceived.

Liberty no wonder a big portion of the American citizens wants Rumsfeld to quit ......

Well finally the USA gov't has figured out how to spot the terrorists at the airport.......

fatak

^^^ LOL hilarious :D

Well finally the USA gov't has figured out how to spot the terrorists at the airport.......

fatak

LOL LOL what can I say ...No comments !

[QUOTE=liberty]Desert Sloath, Rumsfeld is the Secretary of Defense. The USA has no Department of Offense.


No. You are wrong ! If there was Defence, where was it on 9/11/2001 ? What we see of the action is, in proper English, called Offensive


I don't know where in the hell you get your information from. But wherever it is, it is inaccurate, lying and stupid.


I too wonder from which planet you belong ? In this one, in which we live in, we don't deal with 'accuracy.' Only our stupidiest ones do. Have you heard of Iraqi WMD, Islamic Terrorism, Islamic Fascisms ? What is your degree of accuracy there ? :mmhmm:

From where you came, have you heard of a god that has a son in human form ?


No offense to you, DS, you just believed what you read in some deceitful and off the wall rag.


Isn' that ironic ? !!!
But it was so far wrong as to be laughable. Did you realise that ?!

Middle East news sources are full of myths. I couldn't agree more ;) They even say a dissabled could be turned into a normal person

Not your fault. Sure it Not ! :D

It is so easy to check whoppers like that one about a USA Department of Offense.

:yes: That was my stupidity in relation to events involving USA around the globe :dev: Have you ever heard of Nagasaki and Hiroshima the least to mention ?

Take the trouble and avoid being deceived. You coudn't be more right otherwise I probably could have been amongst Mujaheedeen chassing out the Russians from Afghanistan, paving the way for some smart guys :hmm: Who knows the same thing could be happening in Chechenya or Dar`fool ? I know for sure it had happened in East Timor :p

I wonder how many casulties so far, US alone has suffered, since the beggining of za_CRUSADE kampaign and how much tax payers money spent, I can't of course say wasted, thus far ? Let us see: 3500 at WTC + 2600 in Iraq + 600 in Afghanistan correct me if am wrong on figures about Afghanistan.

And and 9/11 seems well covered, mediawise, from all angles you can think of. How come ?, I wonder :rolleyes: Don't you see how stupid Middle Easterners We Are ?



.gee`mee`my :candy:

:hyper: DS you are quite funny! I can see where you going with this hole interview thingy! A bit dangerous in away but it seems like you know what you are doing!

DS , Thats what we have been saying all along .... Well said and I get your point . I hope the others get it TOO ;)..
Flashback :-

LoverBoy Clinton Denied that he had anything to do with Monica and then he appeared on national TV apologizing to all :) Well part of the act as well aint it :rolleyes: