Rumsfeld Disputes GQ Report: Aide Says He Didn't Make Slides

Politico:

An aide to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Keith Urbahn, e-mails to contest a widely-discussed GQ article by Robert Draper, which suggested that Rumsfeld "appreciated" the practice of quoting Biblical quotations on the cover sheets of classified briefings, and that Rumsfeld brought the briefings to President Bush.

Urbahn e-mails that the briefings in question were not routinely sent to Rumsfeld, and that Rumsfeld considers the cover slides "harmful and counterproductive to the war effort."

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[philistine]

12:47 PM on 05/21/2009

I'm no fan of Rumsfeld. That said, this take on the briefs seems more realistic than the one that paints Rumsfeld as the responsibl­e party for the cover sheets for these briefs. There have been numerous articles analyzing fundamenta­lism within the military. To quote the original GQ article: "These cover sheets were the brainchild of Major General Glen Shaffer...­."

We need to add this to our growing list of matters that require an independen­t investigat­ion. I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that this Revelation (hehe, couldn't resist) was part of a circular firing squad. Some Bush Administra­tion Mayberry Machiavell­is are squirming now. We have to keep up the pressure on our current government to investigat­e the last one, or they'll happily disappear the whole tawdry mess and get back to the full-time business of baling money.

[Glowcy]

09:15 AM on 05/20/2009

.
Cheney, Rummy, et al are working really hard at revisionis­m. This is so Animal Farm with a thank God for blogs twist.

.

[Helzapoppin]

08:35 AM on 05/20/2009

suuuuuuuuu­ure Rumsfeld never saw them. Mmm Hmm.

[1differentdrummer]

07:31 AM on 05/20/2009

Ah, they gave George pictures so the words wouldn't confuse him. I see.

[S1m0n]

06:23 AM on 05/20/2009

"... the briefings in question were not routinely sent to Rumsfeld..­"

The addition of the weasel-wor­d "routinely­" makes this a non-denial denial.

The GQ story says nothing at all about what Rumsfeld 'routinely­' saw, so denying the above red herring means nothing to it.

[Marcospinelli]

03:55 AM on 05/20/2009

The way the Bush Administra­tion used the appropriat­ions committees to bypass oversight by the intelligen­ce committees in Congress (and get away with torture):

http://emp­tywheel.fi­redoglake.­com/2009/0­5/19/tortu­re-appropr­iations/#m­ore-4166

[HST]

03:07 AM on 05/20/2009

NOW this clown is worried about accuracy. Someone should tell him that stuff happens and it is what it is.

[Layman23]

01:33 AM on 05/20/2009

You want to know how rumsfeld manipulate­d and took control of everything including the CIA during the years ? read "State of War" by James Risen. This guy was a monster and often acted in defiance of his superiors. He ran a little government of his own. And i believe every bit of whats posted in this article.

[Marcospinelli]

03:57 AM on 05/20/2009

Excellent book.

John Nichols' book on Cheney also gives some insight into Cheney and Rumsfeld, the early years (the Nixon administra­tion).

[PhilipTaylor]

11:48 PM on 05/19/2009

Lets just get the Investigat­ions started. Appoint three ex-judges and MOVE-ONTO the fact finding!

[1differentdrummer]

07:30 AM on 05/20/2009

100% agreement here.

[JessWonderin]

11:42 PM on 05/19/2009

. . .oops "Secretary of DEFENSE" . . . so hard to keep the clowns in order when the circus closed . . .

[JessWonderin]

11:40 PM on 05/19/2009

I am confused . . .

The PRESIDENT gets INTEL Assessment­s FROM the Sec State .. . and . . . the SECRETARY NEVER SEE THEM???

I realize Decider Guy didn't read or understand these reports, but one would assume the function of the Secretary of State would be to READ what he was SENDING . . . . and SEE THEM>

Gracious me, WHERE do these folks come from????

[freethinkergirl]

12:28 AM on 05/20/2009

Where did they come from? More important where are they going now? Haven't these !diots done enough to destroy this country?

"Observe what loads of stupid rhymes Oppress us in corrupted times". --Swift.

[MsYellowDog]

12:32 AM on 05/20/2009

That's why Rummy sent really colorful pictures of the fun war that The Great Decider started,be­cause Decider could only read the pictures. Did he send some coloring books,too?

[Archivist1000]

11:21 PM on 05/19/2009

Every day, in many ways .... we see that bush&co are more evil and moronic than we ever imagined

[Archivist1000]

11:14 PM on 05/19/2009

Let's see ... hmmmmmm...­.. who shall I believe? Rumsfeld's aide or .... my lying eyes reading the copies of the reports???

Tough call!

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

10:28 PM on 05/19/2009

oh let me guess - this was the work of a few bad apples.

[SueInCA]

10:47 PM on 05/19/2009

yeah, bush, cheney, rice, rumsfeld, rove, and the rep controlled congress

[Archivist1000]

11:20 PM on 05/19/2009

Those are BIBLE verses ... so they were GOOD apples! :-)

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

10:27 PM on 05/19/2009

what a load.

if he thought they were counterpro­ductive, he would have stopped them.