Brian Hart: Gold Star Dad and America Hero

Huffington Post
Brian Hart: Gold Star Dad and America Hero
Paul Rieckhoff

On the wall of my office in New York, above my desk, is a printout of a digital photo that was taken in Iraq two years ago. It's a young American Soldier standing next to a totaled Humvee -- the front end is smashed, the tires flat, the body panels curled like crushed soda cans. But the passenger compartment, cloaked in heavy bomb-proof armor, is intact. The Soldier is holding a handmade cardboard sign that reads "Thanks Brian and Alma Hart, Senator Kennedy and everybody else who cares for our wellbeing and makes an effort. You have saved lives."

The Humvee drove over a roadside bomb -- the crude but effective weapon of choice for the insurgency in Iraq. In the early days of the war many troops died in ambushes or bomb blasts while riding in Humvees that lacked protective armor.

Brian and Alma Hart's son, 20-year-old Private First Class John Hart, was one of those Soldiers. Riding in a canvas-topped Humvee, John was killed in October 2003 during a firefight with Saddam loyalists near Kirkuk.

For members of the military and their families, the four years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have been a constant struggle against adversity and heartache that most Americans can't comprehend. For Brian and Alma Hart, the tragedy of losing a son was compounded by the knowledge that his death, and the deaths of hundreds of other troops, may have been prevented had John been riding in an adequately armored Humvee.

In the three years that have passed since John's death, Brian and Alma have traveled the hardest possible road to become American heroes. I'm sure they would have rather never had the opportunity, but in the midst of their grief, they stepped up to the plate and did everything they possibly could to prevent their family's tragedy from being repeated.

Brian has become a one-man, pro-troop, political machine. He has appeared on CNN, met with Senators, held press conferences and created an excellent blog -- all to bring attention to critical troop issues. He used his son's death benefit funds to develop a robotic device to help soldiers safely push IEDs off the road. He lobbied long and hard for more funding to armor Humvees and to put an end to the bureaucratic foot-dragging that was preventing progress on an issue that clearly needed immediate attention. Three months after John's death, in January of 2004, the Army finally agreed to double its order of up-armored Humvees. Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy made special note of Brian in the Boston Globe, calling him a man who, "feels a desperate sense of loss that he doesn't want to happen to another parent."

Two years later, Brian is still working to ease the burden for other families who have shared his experience. An email came in to IAVA earlier this month from a woman whose uncle had lost his son in Iraq. She was looking for a bereavement support group for him, and I forwarded her request to a number of folks I thought might help. Brian, who happens to live in a Massachusetts town not far from this newly grieving family, quickly responded.

"I'm a gold star dad. My son John was killed in Oct 03. I live in Bedford MA. There are several families like ours (yours and ours) in the area. These are terrible times. The world seems to move on around you like nothing is happening, yet we are being wrenched apart in silence... How can Alma (my wife) and I help?"

To a complete stranger Brian offered two different numbers where they could be reached, and said that he was out of town, but would be back soon. Incidentally, the Harts were in New Jersey, attending the national conference of Gold Star Mothers -- mothers who have lost a son or daughter in service to their country.

"Sometimes it helps to be with folks who have walked the same road," Brian wrote of the conference.

A week later, Brian sent me a short note saying he'd been in touch with the fallen Soldier's father, and that they'd had a good, long talk.

Why is it that some of the most outstanding American heroes are born out of such horrible circumstances? Haven't we already asked enough of them? Brian and Alma Hart certainly never wished for such an opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of other Troops' families. But when it became clear that American Troops had been sent to Iraq without adequate Humvee armor, Brian and Alma didn't rest until the problem had been corrected. It may have been too late for their son, but for the Soldier in the picture above my desk, and for his family back home, that made all the difference.

I hope that Brian and Alma take some solace in the knowledge that their tireless work on behalf of our men and women in uniform has saved lives. But I know their grief can never go away completely. They know all too well the pain of loss that has been visited on 2578 families in this country since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. So they continue to do what they can to lessen the burden, with gestures as simple as a phone call from someone who knows what it's like.

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The Flags of Our Sons

Huffington Post
Billy Shore
The Flags of Our Sons

When you fly as often as I do you learn to mind your own business as soon as you take your seat. But that wasn't possible once I saw the military honor guard boarding US Airways' 1:45 p.m. flight from Boston to Washington earlier this week.

I was heading through the gate when I first noticed Senator Ted Kennedy, walking down the concourse and arriving fashionably late, not an uncommon sight on this route. I stepped aside and followed him down the ramp.

As we got to the arched entrance of the plane, the members of a Marine honor guard in their dress blues were coming up that outside staircase usually used for stowing strollers and allowing mechanics on board. The marine in charge held in both hands a flag that had been folded into a triangle as if it had been previously draping a coffin, which it had.

Senator Kennedy extended his hand to the marine and said, "Thank you for your service."

"Thank you, sir," replied the marine.

"Are you escorting remains?" asked Senator Kennedy.

"Yes, sir, a marine."

"And the funeral is at Arlington Cemetery?"

"Yes, sir, on Wednesday."

"Thank you, I'll try to get out there."

The marine went back to sit in coach, but a man in the last row of the first-class cabin went over to him, shook hands and offered his seat. The marine reluctantly accepted. Half the passengers broke into applause.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, though quieter than usual. When we landed, the marine took his white gloves from where he'd stowed them inside his hat, put them on, and again gripped with both hands the precious cargo of the folded flag.

Then he went over to two people quietly sitting in first class - the parents of the fallen marine. None of us had known they were there. He escorted them off the plane and into the terminal. Because of the afternoon's oppressive heat and humidity, he had persuaded them to wait inside instead of on the tarmac.

The father looked as if he might have once been a marine himself, a handsome man of perfect posture, with bristly silver hair, dressed smartly in a blue blazer and gray slacks. The mother, blond, wore light-colored pants and an orange jacket. Her glasses made her eyes seem bigger than they were. They both looked calm, if a little lost, and gave off an aura of deep quiet. As she walked by me she noticed that a tie had fallen as I was removing something from my carry-on bag and she stopped and pointed. "I think you dropped something," she said softly.

They stood at the window between Gates 43 and 45 and watched as a full Marine honor guard marched up the tarmac, coming to attention between the plane and a silver military hearse. The unloading of their son's coffin from the cargo hold was very slow, and every time someone inside the terminal noticed and stopped to stare, someone else noticed and did the same, and this kept happening until about 20 people stood in silence watching out the window.

The mom leaned her elbows on the window ledge, supporting her chin and cheeks with both hands. She remained perfectly still. She stared for 10 or 15 long minutes and never moved. The father stood nearby, rocking from foot to foot and pacing a bit. They did not touch; they did not say a word to each other. Neither wore a wedding band. Perhaps they were divorced, or simply isolated in their pain.

Standing nearby was a man wearing the T-shirt of a suburban fire and rescue department that he may have earned 20 years and 35 pounds ago. He went over to the parents to chat, not knowing who they were, just one curious spectator to another.

But whatever he said to the mother caused her to turn and look at him in disbelief. Her lips didn't move, which only encouraged him to repeat it. Her eyes widened and her chin tilted upward like a boxer who had taken a blow. She stared at him and then looked back outside toward her son. Down on the tarmac the white gloves of eight marines snapped their final salute as the doors of the hearse closed.

The P.A. system announced flights for Atlanta and Chicago. Travelers rushed to business meetings or summer vacations. The line for Auntie Anne's pretzels was as long as ever.

Except for a handful of us standing frozen at a respectful distance from the window, the war and its carnage might as well have been on another planet. The disconnect between those who serve and those of us who are beneficiaries of their service has always felt great to me, but never greater than at that moment.

The mom and dad stepped away from the man in the T-shirt and to another window, still not touching, their movement synchronized by grief. They waited until the marine in charge came back up from the runway to escort them to a government vehicle. I went to my car and drove to work with no ambition for the day other than to be worthy.

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Reuters drops Lebanese photographer over doctored image

Reuters
Reuters drops Lebanese photographer over doctored image

LONDON (Reuters) - Reuters, the global news and information agency, told a freelance Lebanese photographer on Sunday it would not use any more of his pictures after he doctored an image of the aftermath of an Israeli air strike on Beirut.

The photograph by Adnan Hajj, which was published on news Web sites on Saturday, showed thick black smoke rising above buildings in the Lebanese capital after an Israeli air raid in the war with the Shi'ite Islamic group Hizbollah, now in its fourth week.

Reuters withdrew the doctored image on Sunday and replaced it with the unaltered photograph after several news blogs said it had been manipulated using Photoshop software to show more smoke.

Reuters has strict standards of accuracy that bar the manipulation of images in ways that mislead the viewer.

"The photographer has denied deliberately attempting to manipulate the image, saying that he was trying to remove dust marks and that he made mistakes due to the bad lighting conditions he was working under," said Moira Whittle, the head of public relations for Reuters.

"This represents a serious breach of Reuters' standards and we shall not be accepting or using pictures taken by him," Whittle said in a statement issued in London.

Hajj worked for Reuters as a non-staff freelance, or contributing photographer, from 1993 until 2003 and again since April 2005.

He was among several photographers from the main international news agencies whose images of a dead child being held up by a rescuer in the village of Qana, south Lebanon, after an Israeli air strike on July 30 have been challenged by blogs critical of the mainstream media's coverage of the Middle East conflict.

Reuters and other news organizations reviewed those images and have all rejected allegations that the photographs were staged.

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Carter: Bush has pursued 'erroneous' Mideast policy

USA TODAY
Carter: Bush has pursued 'erroneous' Mideast policy

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Former President Carter, who helped broker the historic Camp David peace accord, said President Bush has pursued an "erroneous policy" that has fostered violence in the Middle East.

Carter said the United States should work for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah and the world community should concentrate on a long-term solution, but he is uncertain whether Bush can accomplish a cease-fire.

"It depends on whether world opinion is strong enough to get the administration to change its erroneous policy, which has been to encourage the continuation of attacks on both sides," Carter, a Democrat, told The Grand Rapids Press in an interview Friday.

Carter's comments came a day before the U.S. and France agreed on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but would allow Israel to defend itself if attacked.

As president, Carter helped broker the Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt, the first peace deal between the Jewish state and an Arab nation.

"In my opinion, maybe the worst ally Israel has had in Washington has been the George W. Bush administration, which hasn't worked to bring a permanent peace to Israel," Carter told the newspaper.

Carter and his wife Rosalynn were in Kent County's Plainfield Township, near Grand Rapids, on Friday to attend a fundraiser for their son, Jack, who has launched a longshot bid to oust Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign.

President Carter also called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

"In my opinion, we should make every effort now to withdraw American troops from Iraq," Carter said. "I would say certainly begin a major withdrawal no later than the end of this year."

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Dubai to take control of offshore oil resources

Reuters
Dubai to take control of offshore oil resources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A unit of ConocoPhillips will end its role as operator of Dubai's offshore oil resources and the Emirate of Dubai will take over, marking the end of Dubai's first offshore oil concession, the government of Dubai and the U.S. oil major said on Sunday.

Starting April 2, Dubai Petroleum Establishment will be responsible for operating the oilfields, instead of ConocoPhillips unit Dubai Petroleum Co., and for all future business related to the production of oil and gas in Dubai.

Dubai oil will continue to be freely traded in the international oil market under contracts established by the government and by Dubai Petroleum Establishment, a new entity wholly owned by the government of Dubai.

More than forty years after the consortium was formed, "it is clear that production will now far outlast the period of the concession agreement, and all parties agree that it is appropriate to initiate a transition of operatorship to the government at this time and to begin a new era," said Abdulla Abdul Karim, Dubai government representative, in a statement.

Dubai Petroleum Co., wholly owned by ConocoPhillips , is part of the DPC/Dubai Marine Areas Limited consortium involving interests from Total SA of France; Repsol YPF of Spain; RWE Dea AG, a subsidiary of RWE AG of Germany; and Wintershall AG, a subsidiary of BASF AG of Germany.

No details were immediately available on the financial impact this decision will have on the non-Dubai partners. The consortium dates back to 1961.

"DPC will do its part to successfully facilitate the handover of the operations to the government," Bill Arnold, president, Dubai Petroleum Company, said in a statement.

A ConocoPhillips spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

ConocoPhillips shares closed trading at $68.52 on Friday.

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Wife of Convicted GOP Official Hired by Chafee Campaign

washingtonpost.com
Wife of Convicted GOP Official Hired by Chafee Campaign
By David A. Fahrenthold and Zachary A. Goldfarb

Interesting fact: In its latest filing to the Federal Election Commission, the campaign of Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) lists $386,000 in payments for "consulting services" to a firm called Northeast Strategies LLC, listed on Kenduskeag Avenue in Bangor, Maine.

Tantalizing fact: The same Kenduskeag Avenue address is home to James Tobin, a former regional official of the Republican National Committee.

Eyebrow-raising fact: James Tobin was found guilty last year of criminally violating federal elections law, having participated in a scheme by New Hampshire Republicans to jam Democratic get-out-the-vote phone lines on Election Day 2002.

What does this all add up to? Well, not what you're thinking, according to Chafee's campaign.

Campaign manager Ian Lang said that Tobin has no role in the company or the Chafee campaign. Instead, he said, Northeast Strategies is made up of Tobin's wife, Ellen, and a political consultant, Kathie Summers.

James Tobin -- who is appealing his December 2005 conviction -- "is not involved at all," Lang said. He said that the money pays for mailings, phone calls and staff, in addition to Summers's expertise.

Summers confirmed Lang's account on Friday. She said that she had worked on campaigns all over New England and that her company was built on her expertise in targeting and reaching nonaffiliated voters.

"It's messaging the independent voter," Summers said.

She said she spends three days a week in Rhode Island, and Ellen Tobin -- a friend whom she recruited to her company during a ski trip -- handles bookkeeping and administrative duties.

"There's no connection with Jim," Summers said. "I mean, I love Jim, but he's not involved in the company."

James Tobin was sentenced to 10 months in jail for his role in the phone-jamming scheme, which helped Sen. John E. Sununu (R) win a tight race against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Phone records show that Tobin called the White House more than 20 times after the scheme began -- conversations that Democrats are seeking to learn more about in a civil lawsuit. The Republican National Committee has spent $3 million in legal fees in criminal and civil cases growing out of the controversy.
Lawmakers Get Extra Credit

Late last month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began broadcasting television ads that extolled several Republican lawmakers for supporting the new Medicare prescription drug program. The spots were part of the chamber's $10 million midterm advertising and voter mobilization budget.

But two of those lawmakers weren't in Congress when the program passed. Another opposed the measure.

The chamber has now altered two of those ads -- for freshman Reps. Michael E. Sodrel (Ind.) and Michael G. Fitzpatrick (Pa.) -- and pulled the third, which got the vote of Rep. Steve Chabot (Ohio) wrong.

All three lawmakers are in competitive races this year. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee seized on the ads, writing letters and calling the TV stations playing them.

The original ads praised the lawmakers, who "supported the Medicare Part D law giving seniors a quality drug plan." That was the same language used for other lawmakers who did, in fact, vote for the law's passage. In the new ads, the word "supports" is used in place of "supported."

Bill Miller, the chamber's political director, said, "If I were to go back in time, I would not have changed the ad one piece. Factually, they didn't change. . . . The change was made for clarity's sake."

He added, "The DCCC believed they could tweak us over it by sending out a press release that was disingenuous."

"This is a show of spectacular incompetence on the part of the chamber," DCCC spokesman Bill Burton said. "They should be thanking us for helping them make more ads more accurate."
FEC to Vote on Issue-Ad Exemption

The Federal Election Commission plans to vote this month on a proposal that would allow lobbying groups to air television and radio commercials about issues pending before Congress right up until Election Day.

The plan would create an exemption in the four-year-old McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, which prohibits any broadcast advertisements that mention a candidate for federal office within 60 days of a general election.

The measure pending before the commission would allow grass-roots organizations to use corporate or labor funds to pay for ads within that 60-day period as long as the commercials discuss a live issue in Washington and do not promote or attack a candidate, among other limits.

"It will protect the ability of interest groups across the political spectrum to be heard on issues of national importance without running afoul of campaign finance laws," said FEC Chairman Michael Toner. The vote is scheduled for Aug. 29.

A wide range of lobbying groups, from the AFL-CIO to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has sought an exemption from the rule. But some government watchdog groups oppose the measure.

Staff writer Jeffrey H. Birnbaum contributed to this report.

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Hezbollah launches rocket barrage on civilians

BBC NEWS
Hezbollah launches rocket barrage on civilians

At least 15 people have been killed in a barrage of Hezbollah rocket strikes on northern Israel.

Twelve reservist soldiers died in an attack on the town of Kfar Giladi.

A number of rockets later landed on the Israeli port of Haifa, killing three people and injuring dozens. Reports said at least one building collapsed.

Meanwhile, the UN is debating a draft resolution on the crisis, demanding Hezbollah halt all attacks and Israel stop all offensive military operations.

However, Lebanon has formally asked the UN Security Council to revise its proposed resolution and diplomats in New York say a vote might not now come until Tuesday.

Israel has continued raids in Lebanon, killing at least 14 people.

Rockets rain down

The death toll in Kfar Giladi is the highest suffered by the Israelis in a single attack since the conflict began almost a month ago, after Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers.



Eyewitnesses said the Hezbollah rocket barrage on northern Israel had lasted more than 15 minutes.

Shortly after dark, several rockets landed in residential areas of Haifa, Israel's third largest city, killing at least three and injuring dozens.

One rocket hit an apartment block which partly collapsed, trapping residents inside. Rescue teams were shifting rubble by hand to free them.

The BBC's Humphrey Hawksley in Haifa says the renewed rocket assault followed a lull and may have taken some residents by surprise.

He describes people in the street throwing themselves to the ground as the rockets hit - following government advice on the best way to avoid the hail of ball-bearings packed into the warheads.

Israeli army spokesman Jacob Dallal told Associated Press news agency that Israeli jets had attacked a site in Qana in southern Lebanon and destroyed the rocket launchers that were used in the attack on Haifa.

Other rocket launchers were destroyed in an attack north of Tyre, he said.

Hezbollah has fired more than 3,000 rockets into northern Israel since the conflict began.

Israel is continuing other operations in Lebanon with dozens of air strikes in the south and reports of fierce clashes on the ground.

Five Lebanese civilians died early on Sunday in an air raid on the southern village of Ansar, according to Lebanese sources. Reports say three others were killed in an attack on the coastal town of Naquora.

Israeli jets also carried out fresh bombing raids on Beirut's southern suburbs, in and around the port city of Tyre, and on the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Amendment

The UN draft resolution, agreed after much debate between France and the US, calls for a "full cessation of hostilities".

But Syria called the resolution text a "recipe for the continuation of the war" and the Lebanese representative at the UN, Nouhad Mahmoud, said he had submitted an amendment calling for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanese territory.


HAVE YOUR SAY
The hatred for each other, between Jews and Arabs in the region, is so deep that even a UN resolution may not help - it may just provide a short term remedy
Willy Kisitu, Wroclaw, Poland

A 90-minute meeting of the five permanent Security Council members on Sunday failed to reach agreement on the amendment, diplomats said.

"I think that means a vote on Tuesday is the more likely scenario," one diplomat from a permanent member country told Reuters news agency.

Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin added: "Unfortunately I don't think that there is a magic wand."

Senior Israeli officials had said they were broadly happy with the text of the resolution.

An Israeli spokesman told the BBC his government could be prepared to pull all its forces out of Lebanon once the resolution was passed and when Israel had cleared what he called "the last remaining Hezbollah strongholds".

He said Israel would then monitor the south of Lebanon from behind its own border and reserve the right to use air strikes and occasional ground incursions.

The spokesman said that once a UN force had arrived Israel would in effect hand over the policing of southern Lebanon to the UN and Lebanese government.

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Have You Had Enough? A Song For Change

A song for change:

"Have You Had Enough?"

Click here to listen to this ditty by Rickie Lee Jones and Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher from the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

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UN Resolution 1984

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No Way I Could've Seen That Coming

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Let's Say It Isn't A Mirage

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Lies

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It's Not The Heat ... or ...

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US Senator Tackles Energy Conservation

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That Explains The Polar Bear

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Un-American Activity

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Evolution

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Melbollah

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The Risk to Election Integrity Posed by of E-Voting

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) Blog
The Risk to Election Integrity Posed by of E-Voting

By Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security. Congressman Thompson served on the Agriculture, Budget and Small Business Committees before assuming the top Democratic position on Homeland Security.

A recent report by the Brennan Center for Justice revealed that the three major voting systems used in this country have significant security and reliability vulnerabilities which pose a real danger to the integrity of local, state and national elections. These vulnerabilities are so harmful they can affect the outcome of an election. After witnessing the narrow margin of victory in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, an examination of our voting system should be a top-shelf priority. Our failure to do so will leave American voters without the necessary confidence that their vote is free from corruption. Under our current system, an insider, such as a poll worker could conceivably modify the votes or as equally disturbing, match votes with the voters who cast them. And outsiders, such as computer hackers and cyber terrorists, can compromise the security of our system resulting in false election results. Our system of free and fair elections, secret ballots and reliable outcomes is a symbol of our democracy and we must therefore utilize every measure to ensure confidence in every local, state and national election.

A major flaw in our current system is the lack of a paper trail that could be used to compare how voters voted and actual results. Shifting from our current system to a computerized system that provides a paper trail will allow a voter to review a paper ballot that verifies for the voter that their vote was received and for whom their vote was cast. These paper ballots would be properly stored by election officials and can be used to determine a voter’s intent in the event of a system crash or recount. You would not make a major purchase or bank transaction without a receipt, your vote should be just as valuable. Currently, the only record of a voter’s choice is the electronic record that is stored within the system used; therefore, if there is a claim that the system did not function properly or was subject to tampering the “improper results” is the only record of what happened and the true results of the election will remain forever unknown. The will of the people and the correct candidate of their choice can be lost without a paper trail.

Moreover, there must be frequent independent audits of the major systems used. As one expert has noted, under our current system the votes are invisible and the counting is virtual. Therefore, the combination of a paper trail and independent audits will go far in preserving the integrity of an election. The electronic voting system is essentially a computer and with any computer there is the possibility of system malfunctions. A malfunction of this nature could skew the results of thousands of machines in as many precincts and could seriously debilitate the outcome of an election. These malfunctions can derive from normal mechanical flaws or from tampering with the machine with the intent to cause an error. In either event, frequent audits of the system could determine whether the results can be trusted. Moreover, even when an election appears to be “successful” it could have very well been subject to security violations that are wholly undetectable. In many instances, it would be impossible to know with any degree of certainty that the true intent of the voters is reflected in the actual outcome without frequent, mandatory audits of the system.

We must also protect our voting systems from the insertion of Software Attack programs or other corrupt software. Cyber security experts indicate that this vulnerability represents the least difficult manner of corrupting an election. In an exercise performed by a Columbia, Maryland-based company, “hired hackers” were able to disable machines by jamming a voter card into the terminal or lifting it up and pulling out the wires, they guessed the passwords on the cards that were needed to access the machines and found the passwords that were the source code for the computers. They also determined that the server that tabulates election results was not properly updated and were able to break into the server remotely via dial-up modems. This clearly shows that changes need to be made and they need to be made soon. With advances in technology, people are becoming more computer savvy and are becoming able to perform maneuvers with less technical expertise. As a result, hackers can corrupt our system and totally disrupt the credibility of election outcomes. The good news is that simple steps can be taken to effectively thwart attacks by hackers. The bad news is that there is not an outcry to make these changes.

The flaws that exist within the current system can be easily remedied, yet we have been unwilling to implement the necessary procedures for doing so. Our failure to eradicate, or at least attempt to eradicate, flaws within our voting system sends a message to voters that we are not concerned about the integrity of their vote.

We continuously promote the importance of voter participation and during each election cycle make massive attempts to register eligible voters and convince them of their obligation as citizens to participate in our electoral process. In exchange, we purportedly offer them safe, secure elections that are free from fraud. This is what makes us America and this is the bedrock of our republic. We must deliver on our promise and take all necessary measures to ensure the integrity of our elections. It has been shown that e-voting is not the best way to achieve this goal. We must therefore adapt and change with the environment and revise our system to safeguard our process.

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Media uncritically reported Rumsfeld's claim he "never painted a rosy picture" about Iraq war

mediamatters.org

Media uncritically reported Rumsfeld's claim he "never painted a rosy picture" about Iraq war

Summary: Numerous media outlets failed to challenge Donald Rumsfeld's claim to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that he had "never painted a rosy picture" about the Iraq war, despite Sen. Clinton's proffer of specific instances in which she claimed he did just that.

On August 3 and 4, numerous media outlets uncritically reported Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's claim, made during an exchange with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, that he had "never painted a rosy picture" about the Iraq war, that he has "been very measured" in his previous statements, and that one would "have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic." Rumsfeld was responding to Clinton's comment that he had made "many assurances that have frankly proven to be unfulfilled." These media reported Rumsfeld's statement without any challenge, even though Clinton had -- as promised at the end of her exchange with Rumsfeld -- inserted into the official hearing record a statement that included several instances in which she claimed the defense secretary had painted a "rosy picture" -- certainly rosier than other reports of the situation in Iraq -- and in the case of Rumsfeld's predictions, nothing like that dire situation that has resulted.

Some of the examples Clinton cited:

* March 9, 2006: Senate Appropriations Committee hearing

SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D-WV): Mr. Secretary, how can Congress be assured that the funds in this bill won't be used to put our troops right in the middle of a full-blown Iraqi civil war?

RUMSFELD: Senator, I can say that certainly it is not the intention of the military commanders to allow that to happen. The -- and to repeat, the -- at least thus far, the situation has been such that the Iraqi security forces could for the most part deal with the problems that exist."

* February 1, 2006: Department of Defense news briefing

QUESTION: One clarification on "the long war." Is Iraq going to be a long war?

RUMSFELD: No, I don't believe it is.

* February 4, 2004: Senate Armed Services Committee hearing

"The increased demand on the force we are experiencing today is likely a 'spike,' driven by the deployment of nearly 115,000 troops in Iraq. We hope and anticipate that that spike will be temporary. We do not expect to have 115,000 troops permanently deployed in any one campaign."

* March 30, 2003: ABC's This Week

"We know where [Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction] are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

* February 20, 2003: PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

JIM LEHRER (anchor): Do you expect the invasion, if it comes, to be welcomed by the majority of the civilian population of Iraq?

RUMSFELD: There's obviously the Shia population in Iraq and the Kurdish population in Iraq have been treated very badly by Saddam Hussein's regime, they represent a large fraction of the total. There is no question but that they would be welcomed."

* February 7, 2003: Town-hall meeting with U.S. troops in Aviano, Italy

"And it is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months."

Nonetheless, on August 4, numerous media outlets uncritically reported Rumsfeld's comments without noting his previous statements on the war:

* From an Associated Press report that, according to the Nexis database, was last revised just after midnight on August 4:

He rejected some of her specific criticisms as simply wrong and said the war against terror will be a drawn-out process.

"Are there setbacks? Yes," said Rumsfeld. "Is this problem going to get solved in the near term? I think it's going to take some time."

The testy exchange between Clinton and Rumsfeld came after a top general told the panel violence in Iraq is probably as bad as he's ever seen it and the country may be descending into civil war.

"We hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders -- and frankly the record of incompetence in executing -- you are presiding over a failed policy," she said. "Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?"

Rumsfeld vehemently denied he'd ever glossed over the difficulties of the fighting in Iraq or elsewhere.

"There's a track record here," countered Clinton. "This is not 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented many assurances that have frankly proven to be unfulfilled."

"Senator, I don't think that's true," Rumsfeld fired back. "I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words and you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff."

* From an August 4 article in the Los Angeles Times:

Clinton listed mistakes she said the administration had made in Iraq. She said the U.S. force was too small to keep order, and she criticized the decision to disband the Iraqi army. She accused Rumsfeld of providing Congress with unrealistic assessments.

"We hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders and, frankly, the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy," Clinton said. "Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?"

While Clinton spoke, Rumsfeld stared at his legal pad, jotting notes with a pencil. When she finished, Rumsfeld stopped, looked up and said, "My goodness."

He issued a point-by-point defense and insisted that he had not been overly positive about Iraq.

"I have never painted a rosy picture," Rumsfeld said. "I have been very measured in my words. And you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic."

Clinton later said in an interview with the Associated Press that Rumsfeld should resign, echoing calls from retired military officers and administration critics.

[Sen. John] McCain [R-NV] took issue with the new U.S. strategy for Baghdad, saying he worried that the U.S. was simply moving its troops from hot spot to hot spot, potentially jeopardizing gains that American forces have made in Sunni Arab cities such as Fallouja.

* From the August 4 edition of NBC's Today:

CAMPBELL BROWN (co-host): NBC's Jim Miklaszewski is at the Pentagon for us this morning. Mik, good morning.

MIKLASZEWSKI: Good morning, Campbell. It's the first time Senator Clinton has called for Rumsfeld's resignation, just as the military's top generals warn that the war in Iraq is at a dangerous break point.

[begin video clip]

MIKLASZEWSKI: It was General John Abizaid, head of Central Command, who delivered the military's most sobering assessment yet of the war in Iraq.

ABIZAID: I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.

MIKLASZEWSKI: But it was Senator Hillary Clinton who took dead aim at Secretary Rumsfeld and his record on the war.

CLINTON: We hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders and, frankly, the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy.

MIKLASZEWSKI: Rumsfeld fired right back.

CLINTON: And --

RUMSFELD: Senator, I don't think that's true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words, and you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff.

MIKLASZEWSKI: When Rumsfeld first declined to appear at the hearing, Hillary wrote a letter saying, "As the top official at the Pentagon, the American people should hear directly from you."

* From an August 4 article in Newsday:

Hours earlier, Clinton grilled Rumsfeld during an Armed Services Committee hearing, prompting the secretary to mutter, "Oh my goodness."

Rumsfeld initially said he was too busy to attend yesterday's hearing. But he reversed course Wednesday after Clinton sent him a letter saying he needed to explain himself to the American people.

Like a prizefighter, Clinton smiled and shook hands with Rumsfeld before attacking his policies. "You did not go into Iraq with enough troops," said Clinton, ticking off her grievances. "You disbanded the entire Iraqi army ... You underestimated the nature and strength of the insurgency, the sectarian violence and the spread of Iranian influence."

Clinton, who voted for the October 2002 resolution authorizing the Iraq invasion, has been under fire by some Democrats for her pro-war stance. She has recently softened her support of the war and burnished her party credentials by attacking Rumsfeld and President George W. Bush.

" . . . You are presiding over a failed policy," she said. "Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?"

"Senator, I don't think that's true," he responded. "I have never painted a rosy picture ... You'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic."

In addition, several August 3 reports also uncritically reported Rumsfeld's response. Even without Clinton's statement, a quick search would have produced examples contradicting his claim, as evidenced by the fact that the weblog Think Progress reported examples less than two hours after Rumsfeld's exchange with Clinton.

* From the August 3 edition of NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:

[video clip]

MIKLASZEWSKI: Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton provided the political fireworks taking dead aim at Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.

CLINTON: Yes, we hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders and, frankly, the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy. Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?

RUMSFELD: My goodness. Are there setbacks, yes. Does the enemy have a brain and continue to make adjustments on the ground requiring our forces to continue to make adjustments? You bet. That does not mean that we have to spend the rest of our lives as the United States armed forces in Iraq. The Iraqis are going to have to take that over. We can't want freedom more for the Iraqi people than they want for themselves.

CLINTON: There's a track record here. This is not 2002, 2003, 2004, 5 when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented, you know, many assurances that have frankly proven to be unfulfilled and --

RUMSFELD: Senator, I don't think that's true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words. And you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff.

[end video clip]

MIKLASZEWSKI: And it could get even tougher. After today's hearing, Senator Clinton called on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign and on President Bush to accept the resignation. Asked tonight for a response, a Pentagon spokesman said, "We don't do politics." Brian.

WILLIAMS: All right. Jim, thanks for that. Jim Miklaszewski at the Pentagon for us tonight.

* From the August 3 edition of the CBS Evening News:

[video clip]

JIM AXELROD (correspondent): Abizaid said U.S. forces could see increased casualties in Baghdad. Senator John McCain, a longtime supporter of the White House on Iraq, was clearly not happy.

McCAIN: What I worry about is we're playing a game of Whac-A-Mole, here. We move troops, it flares up, we move troops there.

[end video clip]

AXELROD: Secretary Rumsfeld got into it with Senator Hillary Clinton, who said he'd been painting too rosy a picture of the situation in Iraq. He disputed that. And that all fell well within the range of the expected. What was extraordinary today were these generals and the pessimistic views that they expressed. Bob.

* From the August 3 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:

KITTY PILGRIM (guest host): We turn first to Barbara Starr, Barbara.

STARR: Well, Kitty, on Capitol Hill today, there was one thing that didn't happen. There was no talk about when the troops are coming home.

[begin video clip]

STARR: One day after feeling the heat and agreeing to testify in public, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would not let his Senate critics use the television cameras to corner him about the war in Iraq.

CLINTON: This is not 2002, 2003, 2004-5, when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented, you know, many assurances that have, frankly, proven to be unfulfilled.

RUMSFELD: Senator, I don't think that's true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words. And you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic.

STARR: Rumsfeld's generals used the opportunity to sound a warning about the rising violence.

ABIZAID: I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it in Baghdad in particular. And that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could -- could move towards civil war.

GEN. PETER PACE (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff): Sir, I believe that we do have the possibility of that devolving to a civil war, but that does not have to be a fact.

STARR: Some committee members still pressing on the overall strategy and whether there are enough troops.

McCAIN: Is the situation under control in Ramadi?

ABIZAID: I think the situation in Ramadi is workable.

McCAIN: And the troops from Ramadi came from Fallujah, isn't that correct?

ABIZAID: I can't say, Senator. I know --

McCAIN: Well, that's my information. What I worry about is we're playing a game of Whac-A-Mole, here. We move troops, it flares up, we move troops there.

[end video clip]

STARR: And Kitty, just to be very clear, there was no talk about bringing the troops home any time soon. That was something they hoped to be talking about, but the sectarian violence means there's no plan to bring anybody home anytime soon now.

And as for the question of civil war, what General Pace and General Abizaid said was they're worried about it, but they don't think there's civil war right now. And the reason they say that is that they say the Iraqi central government maintains control of the armed forces. So right now it's not what you would call a classic civil war. Kitty.

PILGRIM: All right. A fine point.

* From the August 3 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

[video clip]

JIM ANGLE (Fox News chief Washington correspondent): But Senator Hillary Clinton, under liberal criticism for not favoring an immediate pullout from Iraq, delivered a lengthy critique of Rumsfeld and U.S. policy, accusing him of one mistake after another.

CLINTON: Yes, we hear a lot of happy talk and rosy scenarios, but because of the administration's strategic blunders, and frankly, the record of incompetence in executing, you are presiding over a failed policy.

RUMSFELD: My goodness.

ANGLE: Rumsfeld sorted through Senator Clinton's criticisms one by one, conceding the violence, but arguing such acts by those who wantonly kill innocent civilians are not the result of a failed policy.

RUMSFELD: Are there setbacks? Yes. Are there things that people can't anticipate? Yes. Does the enemy have a brain and continue to make adjustments on the ground requiring our forces to continue to make adjustments? You bet. Is that going to continue to be the case? I think so.

[end video clip]

ANGLE: Secretary Rumsfeld had already agreed to testify before the entire Senate behind closed doors, but several Democrats made a big issue yesterday of insisting they get to question him in public. Asked today if he thought politics were involved, Rumsfeld said, "You've got to be kidding. There's gambling in this casino?" Chris.

CHRIS WALLACE (guest host): Jim, thanks for that.

[...]

WALLACE: As Jim Angle reported earlier, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was on defense today as Democrats and the Senate Armed Services Committee went after him for what they described as his failures in the Iraq war. But as usual, Rumsfeld gave as good as he got. Here are some key moments from his exchange with New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

[...]

[video clip]

CLINTON: Well, Mr. Secretary, I know you would and I know you feel strongly about it, but there's a track record, here. This is not 2002, 2003, 2004-5 when you appeared before this committee and made many comments and presented, you know, many assurances that have, frankly, proven to be unfulfilled and --

RUMSFELD: Senator, I don't think that's true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I've been very measured in my words. And you'd have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I've been excessively optimistic. I understand this is tough stuff.


[end video clip]

WALLACE: Next on Special Report, we'll talk with the Fox "All-Stars" about the grilling those Pentagon leaders got today and what they said about the situation in Iraq. All of that after this break.

— R.S.K. & K.D.

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