DoD transcript: Rumsfeld compares critics to Stalinists [View All]

In a press briefing yesterday Donald Rumsfeld, referring to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), noted that "it's been alleged that we're not winning" in Iraq. Rumsfeld made it clear that he has no respect for people who question his policies or progress in Iraq. He noted that "throughout history there have always been those who predict America's failure just around every corner. At the height of World War II ... many Western intellectuals praised Stalin ... for a time, Communism was very much in vogue." Rumsfeld added, "those being tossed about by the winds of concern should recall that Americans are a tough lot and will see their commitments through." Apparently, our most important commitment is a reflexive acceptance of Rumsfeld's policies.

http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/2005/tr20050823-secdef3741.html



U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Transcript

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Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, Jr. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 1:17 p.m. EDT

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Defense Department Regular Briefing

SEC. RUMSFELD: Good afternoon.

<snip>

I'm reminded that a few weeks after Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan, a news story suggested that the U.S. was already in a quagmire. But it was several weeks later, only, that Kabul actually fell to the Northern Alliance and our forces. Throughout history there have always been those who predict America's failure just around every corner. At the height of World War II, a prominent U.S. diplomat predicted that democracy was finished in Britain and probably in America too. Many Western intellectuals praised Stalin during that period. For a time, Communism was very much in vogue. It was called Euro-Communism to try to mute or mask the totalitarian core. And thankfully, the American people are better centered. They ultimately come to the right decisions on big issues. And the future of Iraq is a very big issue. So those being tossed about by the winds of concern should recall that Americans are a tough lot and will see their commitments through.

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