Rumsfeld: U.S. Losing War Of Ideas
CARLISLE, Pa., March 27, 2006
(AP) The United States is faring poorly in its effort to counter
ideological support for terrorism, in part because the government does not
communicate effectively, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday.
Rumsfeld made the remark in response to a question from a member of his
audience at the Army War College, where he delivered a speech on the
challenges facing the country in fighting a global war on terrorism.
"If I were grading I would say we probably deserve a 'D' or a 'D-plus' as
a country as to how well we're doing in the battle of ideas that's taking
place in the world today," he told his questioner. "I'm not going to
suggest that it's easy, but we have not found the formula as a country"
for countering the extremists' message.
Rumsfeld's audience consisted of more than 300 war college students and
faculty members.
In his prepared remarks Rumsfeld said the al Qaeda terrorist network and
affiliated Islamic extremists represent one of the most brutal enemies the
United States has ever seen.
Rumsfeld cited several examples of vicious terrorist assaults, including
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and warned that unless the terrorists are
stopped they will continue to seek the means to launch even deadlier
attacks on the West in the years ahead.
"The enemy we face may be the most brutal in our history," Rumsfeld said.
"They currently lack only the means - not the desire - to kill, murder
millions of innocent people with weapons vastly more powerful than
boarding passes and box cutters," he added, referring to the terrorists
who hijacked the airliners on Sept. 11.
It was Rumsfeld's first visit to the war college in his more than five
years as secretary of defense.
Earlier in the day he stopped at Shanksville, Pa., to see for the first
time the place where hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field
on Sept. 11, killing all 40 passengers and crew shortly after hijacked
planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Sept. 11
Commission report said the hijackers crashed the plane as passengers tried
to take control of the cockpit.
In his speech, Rumsfeld described the Shanksville site as a place where "a
group of ordinary airline passengers gave their lives in extraordinary
defiance of foreign hijackers and in defense of our country's capital."
Rumsfeld said progress is being made in the global war on terror,
particularly in making it more difficult for the terrorist groups to
recruit, train, raise money, establish sanctuaries and acquire weapons.
But he stressed that more needs to be done.
"The strategy must do a great deal more to reduce the lure of the
extremist ideology by standing with those moderate Muslims advocating
peaceful change, freedom and tolerance," he said.
Rumsfeld noted that among the more than 300 war college students in his
audience were an Afghan military officer and one from Iraq.
"We welcome you and are proud to stand with you in the cause of freedom,"
the defense secretary said.
©MMVI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/27/terror/main1442811.shtml
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| User: "Woodswun" |
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| Title: Re: U.S. Losing War Of Ideas -- Rumsfeld |
29 Mar 2006 04:34:51 PM |
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Doc wrote:
Rumsfeld: U.S. Losing War Of Ideas
CARLISLE, Pa., March 27, 2006
(AP) The United States is faring poorly in its effort to counter
ideological support for terrorism, in part because the government does
not communicate effectively, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said
Monday.
Rumsfeld made the remark in response to a question from a member of his
audience at the Army War College, where he delivered a speech on the
challenges facing the country in fighting a global war on terrorism.
"If I were grading I would say we probably deserve a 'D' or a 'D-plus'
as a country as to how well we're doing in the battle of ideas that's
taking place in the world today," he told his questioner. "I'm not going
to suggest that it's easy, but we have not found the formula as a
country" for countering the extremists' message.
Maybe because all y'all watered it down for the
sake of a buck, Donny.
Woods
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: U.S. Losing War Of Ideas -- Rumsfeld |
29 Mar 2006 03:20:54 PM |
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So if winners are Grinners, why is Donny so GLUM?
But with a quote like this what else can you do
The message is there are no knowns, there are things we know that we
know. There are known unknowns, that is to say there are things that we
now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns, there
are things we do not know we don't know. And each year, we discover a
few more of those unknown unknowns. Donald Rumsfeld
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