SwiftVets.com

[SandiM]

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?id=2004122409020002473435&dt=20041224090200&w=RTR&coview=

Rumsfeld needles media as troops bemoan bad press


MOSUL, Dec 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday took a delighted dig at the media after troops he was visiting in Iraq complained their good works were ignored by the press while disasters grabbed the headlines.

A soldier at his first stop in Mosul asked Rumsfeld how the "propaganda" worked?

Rumsfeld, under attack since he appeared to brush aside a question about poor equipment from a U.S. soldier in Kuwait that later turned out to have been composed with help from a reporter, jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables.

"That doesn't sound like a question placed by the press," he told his audience to loud applause.

A few hours later in Tikrit, the same frustration surfaced with another soldier complaining that she had a hard time explaining what they were doing in Iraq when she got back home and asking what could be done to get past the bad press.

Rumsfeld said the message was getting through anyway.

"I think the country does understand that we lost 3,000 people on September 11th and the fact that those people were operating in this part of the world ... You've seen the evil up close and personal, you know the danger that this poses.

"What you're doing is important. I think the American people get it."

Yes, we all do.
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Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. (Winston Churchill)

[LewWaters]

I am hearing the complaints of our troops increasingly, but only on Foxnews, so far. Still, word is getting out that they are accomplishing much good that goes unreported. Even Vince MacMahon, of WWE fame, took wrestlers over, put on a show for the troops and came back with word of their displeasure towards our media's "reporting" of what goes on there.

Many of us who served in Vietnam have also been saying the same thing for three decades now. All that was heard about Vietnam back then is much as what they report today. And, they wonder why public support wanes?

Kudos to Rumsfeld. He just didn't go to Iraq to a safe secure zone, but went right to where the troops are and spoke to them personally. I don't remember ever hearing of MacNamara visiting the troops in Vietnam.
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Clark County Conservative

[srmorton]

Rummy is right. We can NEVER forget the 3000 innocent lives that
were lost on 9-11. I am saddened by every death our brave troops
have suffered since the WOT began, as well as by those of civilians
who have lost their lives trying to help the Iraqi people (even if they
did work for Haliburton). The difference is that those who have died
as a result of our response to 9-11 are professional soldiers or others
who CHOSE to put themselves in harm's way. (Don't say that the
reservists did not count on being deployed as they have been. They
were glad to take the money when all they did was drill one week-end
a month and two weeks in the summer.) Those that were murdered
on 9-11 were truly innocent. They were men, women, and children
going about their everyday lives - traveling, going to work, defending
our country at the Pentagon, etc. (BTW, those who are criticizing
Rumsfield for his lack of concern for our troops have conveniently
forgotten the picture of him on 9-11, doing what he could to help
while his aides were pleading with him to go to a safer location.)

I also believe the SOD is right about the American people. Only those
who are anti-war, anti-military, anti-Bush, and even anti-American do
not know the truth about what is going on in Iraq. That kind of person
does not want to be informed of anything good about the war because
that type of news would contradict their major premise that the war
was wrong, unnecessary, and for oil or any other nefarious, sadistic
motive they can attribute to Bush and the "neo-cons". The large
majority of the American people support the troops AND their mission.
While they do not like war, they understand that it is sometimes a
necessary evil to defend our freedom at home and around the world.

At this Christmas season, may God bless our troops and may He
continue to bless the United States of America.
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Susan R. Morton

[msindependent]

Oh heck, I don't really know a lot about the guy. He does appear to be the msm's new target. So, that must mean he's one hell of a guy. Anyway, I'm supporting him regardless, we are at war.

[PhantomSgt]

Rumsfeld is a visionary who sees the need to move from a Cold War military to one that is flexible and mobile in light of current world conditions. The military force strength was decimated by the drawdowns of the nineties and funding was moved from conventional forces to superior weaponry. The Pentagon decided spending the budget on War Toys was better than spending the budget on War Boys. Our troops were left with the dilemma of “doing more with less” as the missions around the world didn’t decrease, on the other hand they became more varied and difficult. Cannibalism of parts was a standard practice to keep some equipment in commission, much as the Reservists did in Iraq and were punished for.

At one time the US was manned and equipped to wage war in two theaters of conflict and now we can barely manage one. China and Russia with its old Soviet Guard have not lost sight of this and have maintained a credible conventional force after the Cold War. This leads me to believe we need to double our forces to meet this growing alliance. Europe and Asia are ripe for the picking, as we are preoccupied with the Middle East.

Imagine an unholy alliance between Russia, China and the Muslim Nations moving on Europe and Asia. It is something that should be considered. China needs oil and lots of it to keep their population satisfied. Russia wants to regain its pre Cold War power and influence in the world and most Muslims just detest us. This is the threat we need to build up for no matter what the cost.



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Retired AF E-8

Independent that leans right of center.

[srmorton]

AMEN!
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Susan R. Morton

[Knighthawk]

True Story

When I was in "downrange" in Iraq , I was approached by a CNN reporter and cameraman. The reporter"wanted to know if they could ask me a few questions."

I politely replied that I was not interested in being interviewed, but if he could get me somebody from the FOX News Channel I would be more than happy to speak to them.

The CNN reporter went away amid applause and cheers from other soldiers that were within earshot.
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Regards,
Brian

Beware of the lollipop of mediocrity! Lick it once and you'll suck forever.

If guns kill people, then I can blame misspelled words on my pencil.

Knighthawk's Pictures!

[AMOS]

Nice going, Brian. But think for a moment the cheers and applause you'd have gotten if you had just smacked him in the nose instead.

[PhantomSgt]

In Guam the cnn broadcast is the cnn Aljazeera Edition (cnn International Edition). Sometimes out of sheer desperation I will watch this channel to follow an event and it never ceases to amaze me how biased the reporters are against the USA.

I hope the rest of our troops will treat cnn the same way and let them know their type of slanted reporting is Persona non-Gratis in the theater of conflict.


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Retired AF E-8

Independent that leans right of center.

[PhantomSgt]

Where does it go from here?

Russia and China to Hold Joint Maneuvers

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

Associated Press Writer

December 27, 2004, 9:30 PM EST

MOSCOW -- Once-bitter rivals Russia and China will hold a massive joint military exercise on Chinese territory next year involving submarines and possibly strategic bombers, Russia's defense minister said Monday as the two nations move to bolster already burgeoning military ties.

Many observers saw the announcement as Russia's response to a spat with the United States and other Western nations over the disputed election in Ukraine, Russia's neighbor, where the Kremlin-backed candidate trailed a pro-Western politician in near-final results.

"For the first time in history, we have agreed to hold quite a large military exercise together with China on Chinese territory in the second half of the year," Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a Cabinet session chaired by President Vladimir Putin, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

"The Russian side will not bring big numbers of servicemen, but mostly state-of-the art weapons -- navy, air, long-range aviation, submarines -- to practice interaction with China in different forms of military maneuvers."

After decades of rivalry, Moscow and Beijing have developed what they call a strategic partnership since the Soviet collapse. China has become the No. 1 customer for Russia's struggling defense industry, purchasing billions of dollars worth of fighters, missiles, submarines and destroyers.

Officials with Russia's state arms-trading company, Rosoboronexport, said last week that China was expected to sign new contracts next year to purchase Russia's most advanced fighter jets.

Both nations frequently have spoken about their adherence to a "multipolar world," a term that refers to their opposition to a perceived U.S. domination in global affairs.

Putin and other Russian officials allege that the United States improperly influenced Ukraine's elections by funding democracy-building organizations. A Nov. 21 ballot in which the pro-Kremlin candidate was declared the winner was later annulled after allegations of widespread fraud and amid massive public protests.

Russia staunchly backed Ukraine Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential contest, fearing that his rival, Viktor Yushchenko, would bring the nation closer to the West and away from the Russian orbit. Yushchenko was leading comfortably late Monday with nearly all the results counted.

Some observers have speculated that Russia could respond to the falling out with the West over Ukraine's presidential election by trying to forge a closer partnership with China and India, the second-biggest customer of Russia's military industrial complex.

During his visit to India earlier this month, Putin pushed for a trilateral summit with leaders of India and China and assailed U.S. "dictatorship of international affairs."

Andrei Piontkovsky, the head of the Center for Strategic Studies, said Putin wanted to vent his anger at the West by staging the Russian-Chinese military exercise.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of Russia in Global Affairs Magazine, also described the maneuvers as a gesture aimed at the West.

"It's a response to a series of political defeats Russia has suffered, most recently in Ukraine," Lukyanov told The Associated Press. "It's a reminder that Russia is still a great military power."

PhantomSgt writes:

Putin is on course to kick off a bid for world domination.




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Retired AF E-8

Independent that leans right of center.