http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html/index.html
Pentagon deletes Rumsfeld comment
The Washington Post reports that a transcript posted on the Pentagon's Web
site of an interview between Donald Rumsfeld and Bob Woodward was
incomplete -- the Pentagon deleted a statement showing the Bush
administration told Saudi Arabia about the invasion of Iraq two months ahead
of time.
"At issue was a passage in Woodward's 'Plan of Attack,' an account published
this week of Bush's decision making about the war, quoting Rumsfeld as
telling Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, in
January 2003 that he could 'take that to the bank' that the invasion would
happen."
"The comment came in a key moment in the run-up to the war, when Rumsfeld
and other officials were briefing Bandar on a military plan to attack and
invade Iraq, and pointing to a top-secret map that showed how the war plan
would unfold. The book reports that the meeting with Bandar was held on Jan.
11, 2003, in Vice President Cheney's West Wing office. Gen. Richard B.
Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended."
"Pentagon officials omitted the discussion of the meeting from a transcript
of the Woodward interview that they posted on the Defense Department's Web
site Monday. Rumsfeld told reporters at a briefing yesterday that he may
have used the phrase 'take that to the bank' but that no final decision had
been made to go to war."
"'To my knowledge, a decision had not been taken by the president to go to
war at that meeting,' Rumsfeld said. 'There was certainly nothing I said
that should have suggested that, and any suggestion to the contrary would
not be accurate.'"
"Woodward supplied his own transcript showing that Rumsfeld told him on Oct.
23, 2003: 'I remember meeting with the vice president and I think ***** Myers
and I met with a foreign dignitary at one point and looked him in the eye
and said you can count on this. In other words, at some point we had had
enough of a signal from the president that we were able to look a foreign
dignitary in the eye and say you can take that to the bank this is going to
happen.'"
"The transcript made it clear that the foreign dignitary Woodward was
discussing was Bandar, although Rumsfeld would not say that."
--
Yang
a.a. #28
AthD (h.c.) conferred by the regents of the LCL
a.a. pastor #-273.15, the most frigid church of Celcius nee Kelvin
EAC Econometric Forecast and Socerey Division
Proudly plonked by Lani Girl and Crazyalec
The Bush 'balanced' budget: 1.2 trillion and worsening
The Bush 'economic' policy: -3 million jobs and counting
The Bush Iraq lie: -705 GIs, one friend's co-worker's son and mounting
Having Bush ***** up my country: Worthless
.
|
