If this clown had been drafted during the Vietnam War... he would most likely been court marshalled or drummed out of the service... both of which might have saved us from the more recent wars and atrocities...

As it now stands, Rumsfield is still unscathed while his nation is littered with bodies of innocents and patriots...

As he is being protected by his Democrat and Republican cronies in Washington....

GOD I HATE THIS GUY. HA!!!!!!!

Who in the f.... is he kidding?

Well at least he is pretending to be contrite. More than that other war criminal Cheney.

Well we know who we tortured and we do not know we might have tortured, but those that were tortured that we really did not know we had tortured well...I mean we know what we know, and if the pictures are not there from the cell phones, well,.... we might not have exactly tortured except for those who might have undergone enhanced interrogation techniques, but were they really tortured, I mean we know what we know but we do not know what........

See, the problem was that there wasn't enough politics involved in the decision-making process.

Johnnydoughey,
I understand your disgust and outrage, but I hope you know that there are millions of us who not only share those sentiments but are actively working to bring our country back to its moorings in law and principles. The 4th of July is a celebration of the Declaration of Independence--not (as some believe) of the formation of the United States--and the articulation of its principles are worth re-reading. We should all re-subscribe to those principles. Timely that Britain has found another copy of our Declaration in its national archives. Happy 4th of July, Johnnydoughey and everyone else who shares the principles of Jefferson's Declaration.

So re-read this paragraph:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

I'm not advocating the overthrow of our government: I'm saying that the principles on which our country were founded commit us to demanding accountability and legality from our leaders--even when they are no longer in office.

Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, Rove, John Yoo, Alberto Gonzalez--investigations culminating in trials are necessary to our democracy.

I am sooooo discouraged.
I supported Obama. I voted for Obama. I gave money to Obama's campaign.
And on the most important issues - HE WIMPED OUT!!!
Certainly restoring the economy is very important, getting out of Iraq is very important, single payer health care is very important. On all of these issues Obama talked a good game, but now he has compromised to the point that it appears that we will see very little change.
BUT ... by far the single most important issue facing Obama when he was sworn in was, and remains, restoring our democracy and returning us to the nation of laws we once were. The only way that our country can restore its democracy is to demonstrate that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW ... INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ADMINISTRATION'S PARTNERS IN CRIME.
Bush, Cheney, Runsfeld, Gonzales, Rice, Powell, Wolfewitz, and dozens of other operatives from "the Project for a New American Century" all must be indicted, tried, convicted and imprisoned. If Obama continues to refuse to indict he should be impeached for his complicity in the crimes against humanity perpetrated by these bastards and the whole lot of them should then be turned over to the Hague for trial.

Rumsy, sorry sweetie, but your error was glaring and gigantic. I mean you spoiled the US reputation throughout the world with your heinous, illegal behavior that threw out the American commitment to adhering to the Geneva Convention. Plus, you put at risk the lives and well being of future US military personnel captured by our enemies. You sort of handed them a license to abuse our people just like you allowed others to be abused. You should hang your head in shame and really begin to worry about meeting God when this life is over.

This was sent to me:

What happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British and tortured before they died. twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. They signed and pledged their lives their fortunes and sacred honor!

This continued but it makes the point.
Compare that with what we have today in Washington with so few honorable exceptions.
What piss poor comparisons. Sunshine soldiers for the most part. And war profiteers some. Many of the 'signers' died destitute and forgotten.

Gee, Rummy is going all soft and squishy on us. Next thing ya know he'll be another Bob Macnamara with crocodile tears.

This must be one of those Unknown Unknowns he was lecturing us about.

He faults himself for taking too legalistic an approach initially, saying it would have been better if senior Pentagon officials responsible for policy and management matters had been brought in earlier to play more of a role and provide a broader perspective. [emphasis mine.]

WTF???? The Undersecretary for Policy was Doug Feith, and he had plenty to do with discarding the Geneva Conventions. In fact, it was Feith that came up with the rationale that terrorists don't deserve the GCs protections back in the 1980's. Furthermore, it was Feith's office that was in charge of Iraq's prisons. WTF???

I have to take issue with people who think Rumsfeld somehow got off scot-free in all of this.

Rumsfeld is completely discredited. He is a pariah on the left and a source of embarrassment on the right. He was, essentially, the only neocon who was fired as a result of the Iraq War debacle. He owns it, in the conventional wisdom and political circles.

It's much more crucial to keep the Obama administration honest about the Geneva Conventions going forward than to prosecute Rumseld. Why? Because Obama's in the position to make more huge mistakes. Rumsfeld most certainly is not.

What was abandoned are the very things we hold to be most important. By reacting with something besides our heads, our fate was sealed. Naturally, this is very human.

It is our sincerest hope that in choosing those who lead us we will have selected persons who will act rationally and in support of what we believe when it is of the utmost importance we do so.

The inevitability of getting this wrong on occasion is a familiar shortcoming of ours that we've yet to find an answer for.

This reminds me of Exodus 32:24 when, confronted by Moses about the golden calf, Aaron says "So I said to them, 'Whoever has gold, take it off!' They gave it to me and I hurled it into the fire and out came this calf!"

In fact, as laid out in verses 32:1 through 32:6, Aaron -- like Rumsfeld -- was instrumental in creating the atrocity and his lame excuse was a lie. (In my house, "I threw the gold in the fire and out came the calf" is what we say whenever someone makes a lame and dishonest excuse for bad behavior.)

"You know, in retrospect, I was before it before I was against it, and I think that's the problem, the known unknowns and all that. I'm not worried so much about my image among our contemporaries though, since we pretty much locked in a global bloodbath or two. I'll worry about the opinions of those who emerge from the bunkers with me. Yours probably won't matter. See, this is history, and I intend to be one of the writers. Just like I was a writer of the illegal and stupendous failures of the Bush adminstration."

Why the long face, Don?

A good Christian fellow like yourself should have no regrets.

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/05/24/torture-and-911/

"Don: The "contractors" want more money. That $100 million may not be enough to keep them quiet. Call me. Dick"

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/the-ghost-in-the-machines-the-mystery-of-the-wtc-hard-drive-recoveries/