Should Rumsfeld "Apologize" for Iraq??

[privateinvestor]

Rumsfeld says NO to that and to apologize would mean those who died have died in vain....but to her credit Barbara Walters had old Rummy squirming in his seat... Walters also hinted that Bush, Rumsfeld, and Powell may have lied to the american public to get us into the Iraq War in 2003....


McNamara apologized for Vietnam but it took him @ forty years to do so

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

No. He has nothing to apologize for. Every intelligence agency around the world had the same information that the CIA had.

[Deleted]

No, for the same reason as SF

[billisonboard]

Feb 25, 2011 13:31:09 GMT -5 Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ said:

No. He has nothing to apologize for. Every intelligence agency around the world had the same information that the CIA had.

And they all had the same knowledge it was crap.

[handyman2]

True Sadam was a nut case but the middle east leadership is full of them. Our major accomplishment there was to create a much more unstable middle east at a high price. The real problem as I see it was Bush and cronies let thier meglia egos over power their good judgement.

[privateinvestor]

Rummy will NOT apologize but will NOT admit any mistakes were made by him during his tenure as our Secretary of Defense.....in his book he blames tons of folks in the government and the military but the buck doesn't stop on his desk...

He was asked about the 4200 lives lost in Iraq and really had a hard time answering that question except to say he has met with some families who lost their sons or daughters..

Rummy also could not work with our congress and he was against John McCain's proposal for the "Surge"....but when it succeeded Rummy gave all the credit to Bush for going with it on the advice of General Patraeus..

[billisonboard]

He shouldn't apologize because he isn't sorry. Any "apology" would be insincere and worthless.

[mmhmm]

Frankly, at this point what good would an apology do? It's certainly not going to undo the damage done. As bill says, it would be insincere in the bargain. Nah. I think we've all learned enough, at this point, to know the folly that led to what we have now. We don't need any word from Rumsfield to give that credence.

[privateinvestor]

WASHINGTON — It would be an exaggeration to say that in his hefty memoir Donald H. Rumsfeld admits to no mistakes during his years as Pentagon chief. But just barely.

He finds plenty of blame for others in the Bush administration and the military, but he also concedes he fell short or was just plain wrong on a few fronts.

He writes, for example, of mild regret that he did not stop L. Paul Bremer, the chief administrator of Iraq in the early months of the war, from ordering the entire Iraqi army disbanded — a move that ran counter to recommendations that flowed from a series of military analyses earlier in the year


www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41488484/ns/politics-more_politics/

[deziloooooo]

Feb 25, 2011 13:55:32 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

WASHINGTON — It would be an exaggeration to say that in his hefty memoir Donald H. Rumsfeld admits to no mistakes during his years as Pentagon chief. But just barely.

He finds plenty of blame for others in the Bush administration and the military, but he also concedes he fell short or was just plain wrong on a few fronts.

He writes, for example, of mild regret that he did not stop L. Paul Bremer, the chief administrator of Iraq in the early months of the war, from ordering the entire Iraqi army disbanded — a move that ran counter to recommendations that flowed from a series of military analyses earlier in the year


www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41488484/ns/politics-more_politics/

Didn't he also concede that his holding off with useing more troops and the aftermath of the war, the looting , was also a mistake.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Feb 25, 2011 13:27:18 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Rumsfeld says NO to that and to apologize would mean those who died have died in vain....but to her credit Barbara Walters had old Rummy squirming in his seat... Walters also hinted that Bush, Rumsfeld, and Powell may have lied to the american public to get us into the Iraq War in 2003....

McNamara apologized for Vietnam but it took him @ forty years to do so

If anything, Rumsfeld and Bush owe an apology for waiting so long to implement the surge. They held out way too long on that recommendation, and it worked so it was clearly needed. He doesn't even touch on anything to do with the surge in his book- kind of a disappointment to me.

[formerexpat]

Nothing to apologize for. History will be kinder to decision. Especially after historians read the Wikileaks material [and other military documents] on WMDs in Iraq that the media continues to ignore.

Sadaam was thought to be for more than a decade, the largest threat to the US and other countries. Considering even Clinton took time to bomb Iraq in Desert Fox, there must have been pretty good intelligence that presumably built up even further since then.



Seems like a lot of what Clinton says here...



is what Bush would say later during his Presidency.

[privateinvestor]

Nothing to apologize for


General Colin Powell did offer an apology for this speech that outlined the WMD sites in Iraq prior to the USA invasion in 2003. He took full responsibility for that incident but then again General Powell and Rummy march to a different drummer.. Not sure how history will judge Rummy and his handling of the war in Iraq until he left in 2006..

[Deleted]

I agree with what expat said. I think all these guys will look better in retrospect than they do today. Already I feel like I can see things happening in the middle east that, unless you are just a one party PERIOD person-- they all seem to connect no matter who is in charge. Libs can just look at their man Obama to see what I am talking about. This guy has had to CHANGE since he hit the inner circle, hasn't he? The people that hate Bush, blame him, accuse him of causing 9/11, knowing about it-- amaze me. Who in their right mind would do that when they were coming in with high hopes and lots of potential?? Who would set themselves up to be known as the worst president ever in their own lifetime where they have to hear it every time they turn around? Sorry- I don't buy it. These guys may have made mistakes, but I do not believe they intentionally did wrong.

[Deleted]

By the way--- I also think Obama is doing what he feels is right (about the wars), and knowing his politics, I can respect how hard it is for him to have blood on his hands, and break promises he made in good faith to his kool-aid drinkers.

[deziloooooo]

Feb 27, 2011 0:58:27 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

I agree with what expat said. I think all these guys will look better in retrospect than they do today. Already I feel like I can see things happening in the middle east that, unless you are just a one party PERIOD person-- they all seem to connect no matter who is in charge. Libs can just look at their man Obama to see what I am talking about. This guy has had to CHANGE since he hit the inner circle, hasn't he? The people that hate Bush, blame him, accuse him of causing 9/11, knowing about it-- amaze me. Who in their right mind would do that when they were coming in with high hopes and lots of potential?? Who would set themselves up to be known as the worst president ever in their own lifetime where they have to hear it every time they turn around? Sorry- I don't buy it. These guys may have made mistakes, but I do not believe they intentionally did wrong.

I think the blame on Bush, Chaney, Runsfeld towared Iraq was they were hell bent to get rid of Hussein any way they could, and any suggstion that it was needed was all they neede even when it wass pointed out by reputable siources not ecverything was as it seemed, chheck some more, example the Iraqui who lied about the chenical wagons purposly, the brits were on to him, and other information, Bush and the boys were going hell or high water.

Other of our leaders knew we wearn't going to win in Nam years before the end. The Generals did a disservice to Johnson for years, and he and Nixon knew it was a no way to win yet how many thousands of Americans died when they didn't have to.

A mistake is made, understandable but when mistakes are made and not corrected, then it's fine to call out those responsible .

Right now Afganistan, Obama did his study, he then made his decision. Every six months thwey are looking at the results, Some changes but over all staying with the plan , though I heard a politico today say, if your not willinto go your self, have your kid there, then one shouldn't be there and in regard to Afganistan, while he wasn't saying pull out completly, he still felt el Quida and the Taliban needed to be confronted but to be there as a nation builder and we are with the Billions we are pouring in there, No. On that one, I agree.

[Deleted]

Okay, Dez, got it. Bush war bad, Obama war good.

[deziloooooo]

Feb 27, 2011 1:37:16 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Okay, Dez, got it. Bush war bad, Obama war good.

interesting way to put it krick...

[privateinvestor]

Should Rumsfeld "Apologize" for Iraq??


Yes!!! IMHO

Will Rumsfeld "Apologize for Iraq?"


NO! NO WAY NO How!! IMHO

[formerexpat]

I think the blame on Bush, Chaney, Runsfeld towared Iraq

Guess Tenet, the German Intelligence Agency and Rafed have nothing to do with it? [/size]