Rumsfeld Says 'War on Terror' Just Beginning

[maddezmom]

WEST POINT, New York (Reuters) - The United States' declared war on terror is closer to the beginning than the end, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday.


Rumsfeld told the 2004 graduating class of 935 cadets that in the three years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, the U.S.-led coalition had "overthrown two vicious regimes and liberated 50 million people, disrupted terrorist cells across the globe and thwarted many terrorist attacks."


"Yet despite our successes, we are closer to the beginning of this struggle with global insurgency than to its end," he said.

~snip~

"The extremists know the rise of a free, self-governing Iraq, respectful of all religions - would deal the terrorists a decisive blow," Rumsfeld said. "Its success depends on encouraging friends and allies with whom we are so interdependent to not be terrorized by threats or isolated by fear."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=8&u=/nm/20040529/pl_nm/iraq_usa_rumsfeld_dc


Our friends and allies are afraid of the US more than the so called terrorists at this point, Rummy.

[wryter2000]

1. Oh, really, MFer?

Well, this is the beginning of the end for your power, you murderous bastard.

[keithyboy]

38. Bush said we had them on the run over a year ago.

So we are just beginning?

[primavera]

2. And getting farther from its end with each passing day...

...as more and more Middle Easterners begin to wonder whether maybe bin Laden wasn't right about us all along and, following our lead, look to violence as a way of expressing their concerns.

[SandyUSA]

31. Bin Laden does see this as a Crusade against Arab nations

Hello Kevin, You may want to take a look at this post I made in another thread a few minutes ago about what bin Laden has said about his actual motives:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x589535#590806

[maggrwaggr]

3. that means our war on Rumsfeld is about to gear up

can we get rid of this guy before he kills more innocent people?


What's stopping us?

Seems like it's a moral obligation to throw this guy in jail, no?

[PaDUer]

21. You're absolutely correct...

this needs to be done NOW...it can't wait any longer! The americans must look like the biggest dummies ever to other nations! Just like the reason abused women don't leave their abusive husbands..

[maggrwaggr]

33. if you were in a car, and some drunk was driving, and he'd killed

ten people already, and was just laughing about it and talking about "staying the course", what would you do?

You wouldn't let him keep driving. You wouldn't say "well, I asked him to drive me ten more miles". Fuck no, you'd grab the keys, shut off the car, and turn the fucker in to the cops.

Well, that's exactly analagous to what's going on here.

[maggrwaggr]

4. that story needs some RATINGS by the way

the freepers have it down below a 2.0

[maddezmom]

6. thanks for the reminder

I always forget. :)

[crossroads]

5. Rumsfeld must go!

:kick:

[TheFarseer]

7. I sort of thought Afghanistan was enough

and now Iraq is only the beginning. It's hard to believe this kind of talk would fire people up. Do these jackasses want to invade everything? Part of me believes if they win, they will take that as a mandate to invade more muslim countries and I will be getting shot at in some hell hole in 2005.

[bobthedrummer]

8. Look at what the neo-conservative dominated military think-tanks

were cranking out among the highly politicized officer corps from all branches-but particularly in the USAF-the hatred of President Clinton is palpable in these military think tank ideologies that form much of what Rumsfeld is about RMA/RPMA

RPMA
http://www.guerrillacampaign.com/coup.htm

on edit:RMA
http://www.datafilter.com/mc/rma.html

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

[Dogmudgeon]

11. Good old Col Dunlap again!

It should be a good read!

--bkl

[mulethree]

13. nice read - the military as despotic communists

"The military's self-concept also fostered neopraetorianism. Inexplicably, those in uniform seemed oblivious to their own world. Sure, the military enjoyed low crime rates, but why shouldn't it? Unlike civil society, it had the luxury of both selecting its members and casting out even minor offenders. Moreover, it could relentlessly scrutinize its members' personal lives and subject them to urinalysis testing, DNA examinations, and sometimes the pseudoscience of polygraphs.

Life on America's secluded military bases was idyllic, thanks, ironically, to the society we criticized so much. Many installations resembled the ultimate Marxist paradise: neat, rent-free homes; free utilities; subsidized shopping and day care; extensive, cost-free recreational facilities; and even government-furnished preachers. The health care system, for all its faults, still outstripped that which was available to most civilians at a similar price. Important aspects of the compensation system were a welfare queen's dream. Need a bigger house? Just have another child. Want more money? Find a mate. All of this was supported by a huge panoply of government-funded social services that helped control problems like alcohol and child abuse.

The military looked at civil society and saw only chaos, crime, and moral decay. True, these are the unfortunate by-products of personal freedom and aggressive individualism. But it was freedom and individualism that produced the economic boom that fueled the nation's resurgent military machine. The genius of American capitalism is its recognition that the pursuit of individual self-interest in an atmosphere of free competition ultimately can lead to the common good. A fiercely entrepreneurial spirit may be disastrous on the battlefield where a premium is placed on unity of purpose, but it is an enormously important source of innovation and progress amid the Darwinian complexities of most other human undertakings.

Before we looked too askance at civil society, we should have understood the basically undemocratic and authoritarian nature of military life. Officers find comfort in a hierarchical organization where military rank unambiguously defines their privileged place and the chain of command gives clear definition, authority, and finality to decision making. They are perplexed by the egalitarianism of civil society and uncomfortable with the uncertainty and deliberate chaos of the democratic process. Intellectual pluralism is seen as divisive and debilitating instead of creative and stimulating. Political consensus-building often is viewed as either chicanery or nefarious compromise rather than a productively inclusive technique. "Democracy is not," as General Powell accurately observed, "an easy form of government for military professionals."


"

[LiberalFighter]

25. Same as the Roman soldiers?

[Minstrel Boy]

9. Well, he oughta know.

Terror is as terror does, eh Rummer?

[Punkingal]

10. What an absolute.....

arrogant asshole he is! I wonder how they feel about being told he is sending some of them to their death?

[ithacan]

12. these guys are absolutely f***ing CLUELESS!!!!

they have learned NOTHING!!!

they still do not understand a damned thing about how the world really works!!!

None of the disaster that has happened has made a dent in their neocon fantasy world!!!

They MUST be thrown out of power! These guys are delusional and dangerous'!

[cambie]

14. Please do not wait for them to learn.

They won’t, ever. Look at Adolph. To his last minute he blamed the Jews and Communists and the generals and the failure of the German people to carry out his will.

Are you people ready for Total War?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. Is he off his medication again? eom

[LiberalFighter]

26. Which country would be best for rummy to get his meds from?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

28. I don't know about a country, but I'm sure Rush can hook 'im up. eom

[acmavm]

16. Considering that most of the civilized world considers bush*, rummy,

perle, wolfie, condi, feith, etc., to be terrorists, what should be done about them?

The mind boggles.

[diamond14]

17. Protests against rumsfeld, DC, SF, LA, all across American...June 5

why not STAND UP and join us in the protests against rumsfeld on Saturday, June 5....

here's the link...in DC, we will march from the White House to rumsfeld's house to protest...get your black hoods and capes on...join the street theatre....if you tolerate this POW torture by YOUR silence....remember, YOU are next....so STAND UP and join us....

voice your discontent with the USA policy of torturing POWs....STAND UP...SATURDAY, JUNE 5

all across America....buses are free or reduced for those unemployed or on limited incomes....or those who help organize a bus pickup point....

all details at this link

http://www.InternationalAnswer.org

[Kadie]

18. AP - Rumsfeld tells West Point grads to rely on 'moral clarity'

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press
Last Updated: May 29, 2004, 09:46:00 AM PDT

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, making no mention of the prisoner abuse scandal that has led to calls for his ouster, told a cheering crowd of graduating cadets Saturday that they will help win the global fight against terror.

The defense secretary received sustained applause from the families of 935 cadets graduating from the U.S. Military Academy as he urged the new officers to rely on the "moral clarity" learned at West Point.

"History may well call upon you at a critical time, at a critical moment, and you will be ready," Rumsfeld said.

The secretary told cadets the world has changed drastically since they came to the academy in 2000, and that the Army is changing too. He said the military is becoming faster and more flexible, though the fight ahead will be difficult.

http://www.modbee.com/24hour/politics/story/1403473p-8684153c.html

[salin]

32. Moral clarity... until it comes to lying to go to war, violating geneva

conventions, using fear for political gain... Rummy exemplifies Moral Relativism - who the heck is he kidding?

[leesa]

19. It's all over Rummy. No one believes this BS and there are NO allies

Time to come back from fantasyland.

[Rex]

20. And yet Rumsfailed is STILL Sec. of Defense!

"Complete failure" doesn't even come CLOSE to describing the Bush Administration. Traitors one and all!

[PaDUer]

22. Yes, and what's being done

about him and the rest of his gang?--nothing.

[Nancy Waterman]

24. The more you focus on something, the more you feed it

All we ever hear from Bush and Co. is about "the enemy", "the terrorists", terrorism, ad nauseum. In Kerry's recent speech he focused on respect and strength. It was a refreshing change. Bush and his gang are obsessed with terrorism, and terrorism is what they get. To get out of this box we need to focus on where we want to go. And bromides about "freedom" and "democracy" don't do it for me. The words are so overused and under-understood, that they have become meaningless in Idiot Boy's mouth.

[Malva Zebrina]

23. If this guy will not resign then someone needs to insist he be fired.

Is there anyone out there that recognizes an insane man that is weilding power over us and causing us to be put in harm's way?

Is there anyone?

Anyone?
\
Anyone with any sort of a sense of the "right thing to do" that is concerned about the direction this country has taken and will continue to take under the leadership of insane men?

Anyone?

Please, let there be someone.

Nine hundred and thirty five military "me toos" is all I could think when I read that

. Sorry, I am just so disgusted at this Bush regime and it's fascism that has beem forced upon us by the bloviating and supercilious fascists in the Supreme Court, that I cannot respect any of them that applaud a Rumsfeld.

[maggrwaggr]

34. listen, if anyone goes, it should be Bush.

and he should take all these insane flunkies with him.

I don't want anybody to be able to use the "a few bad apples" argument with this administration.

I want them all to go, at once, and to land in jail. Do not pass "go". Do not collect $200.

[DS1]

27. Where are the other 30 million? I thought Iraq had 20 million...

[homelandpunk]

29. Oh, I see. Now that all the bugs are worked out, it is beginning now....

All that incompetence that went down for the last 3 years was just their warm-up. Oh, ok.

[Disturbed]

30. Irony!!!!

The Military which is a Fascist Communist based org. will bring "democracy" to other countries.

Feeding the Military Industrial Complex of the USA was warned against by a former General and Pres. Dwight Eisehhower.

Military action is the failure of political & social solutions. The failure is the lack of creative thought and the primitive mindset.

[phoebe]

35. "The extremists know the rise of a free, self-governing Iraq,

respectful of all religions - would deal the terrorists a decisive blow".. is very telling.

Wonder if Rumsfeld is referring to the extremists in his own secretive neo-con cabal? Surely he cannot mean the proud majority of peace-loving peoples in this world? He seems confused..

[cambie]

36. Rumsfeld is right about that.

Iraq before the invasion was self-governing, stable, secular, allowed religious freedom but was a difficult place for extremists and terrorists. That is what Sadam was there for, and he wasn’t costing us anything in money or lives.

[goforit]

37. Since Rummy , you started it .......YOU WOULD KNOW..(traitor)

You are the terrorist!!!

[Kinkistyle]

39. Well this "WAR" really isn't supposed to END.

Well it will end, in a final culmination consisting of global destruction where only the "True Christian Believers" (like Shrub and Rummy) will be saved. But until then, this "War" on Terror will last for as long as the corrupt thugs in office can stretch it out.

[Entente]

40. Oh Mr Rumsfeld you are out of the loop

I hate to have to inform you that you and this hole administration are totally out of the loop. The whole world has moved on and all of you are here only on borrowed time. You and this administration are history and very passe.