[Vision2020] Rumsfeld

DonaldH675@aol.com DonaldH675@aol.com
Fri, 7 May 2004 18:48:36 EDT


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Visionaries:=20
I thought about doing an extensive (and probably unread explanation) of my=20
loathing for Donald Rumsfeld.  Instead, I send two short articles.   =20
"Five years before Saddam Hussein=E2=80=99s now infamous 1988 gassing of the=
 Kurds, a=20
key meeting took place in Baghdad that would play a significant role in=20
forging close ties between Saddam Hussein and Washington. It happened at a t=
ime=20
when Saddam was first alleged to have used chemical weapons. The meeting in=20=
late=20
December 1983 paved the way for an official restoration of relations between=
=20
Iraq and the US, which had been severed since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.=20
With the Iran-Iraq war escalating, President Ronald Reagan dispatched his=20
Middle East envoy, a former secretary of defense, to Baghdad with a hand-wri=
tten=20
letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a message that Washington was=20
willing at any moment to resume diplomatic relations.=20
That envoy was Donald Rumsfeld.=20
Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s December 19-20, 1983 visit to Baghdad made him the highes=
t-ranking=20
US official to visit Iraq in 6 years. He met Saddam and the two discussed=20=
=E2=80=9C
topics of mutual interest,=E2=80=9D according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.=
 =E2=80=9C[Saddam]=20
made it clear that Iraq was not interested in making mischief in the world,=
=E2=80=9D=20
Rumsfeld later told The New York Times. =E2=80=9CIt struck us as useful to h=
ave a=20
relationship, given that we were interested in solving the Mideast problems.=
=E2=80=9D=20
Just 12 days after the meeting, on January 1, 1984, The Washington Post=20
reported that the United States =E2=80=9Cin a shift in policy, has informed=20=
friendly=20
Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the 3-year-old war with Iran=
 would=20
be =E2=80=98contrary to U.S. interests=E2=80=99 and has made several moves t=
o prevent that=20
result.=E2=80=9D=20
In March of 1984, with the Iran-Iraq war growing more brutal by the day,=20
Rumsfeld was back in Baghdad for meetings with then-Iraqi Foreign Minister T=
ariq=20
Aziz. On the day of his visit, March 24th, UPI reported from the United=20
Nations: =E2=80=9CMustard gas laced with a nerve agent has been used on Iran=
ian soldiers in=20
the 43-month Persian Gulf War between Iran and Iraq, a team of U.N. experts=20=
has=20
concluded... Meanwhile, in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, U.S. presidential=20
envoy Donald Rumsfeld held talks with Foreign Minister Tarek Aziz (sic) on t=
he=20
Gulf war before leaving for an unspecified destination.=E2=80=9D=20
The day before, the Iranian news agency alleged that Iraq launched another=20
chemical weapons assault on the southern battlefront, injuring 600 Iranian=20
soldiers. =E2=80=9CChemical weapons in the form of aerial bombs have been us=
ed in the areas=20
inspected in Iran by the specialists,=E2=80=9D the U.N. report said. =E2=80=
=9CThe types of=20
chemical agents used were bis-(2-chlorethyl)-sulfide, also known as mustard=20
gas, and ethyl N, N-dimethylphosphoroamidocyanidate, a nerve agent known as=20=
Tabun.
=E2=80=9D=20
Prior to the release of the UN report, the US State Department on March 5th=20
had issued a statement saying =E2=80=9Cavailable evidence indicates that Ira=
q has used=20
lethal chemical weapons.=E2=80=9D=20
Commenting on the UN report, US Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick was quoted b=
y=20
The New York Times as saying, =E2=80=9CWe think that the use of chemical wea=
pons is a=20
very serious matter. We've made that clear in general and particular.=E2=80=
=9D=20
Compared with the rhetoric emanating from the current administration, based=20
on speculations about what Saddam might have, Kirkpatrick=E2=80=99s reaction=
 was hardly=20
a call to action.=20
Most glaring is that Donald Rumsfeld was in Iraq as the 1984 UN report was=20
issued and said nothing about the allegations of chemical weapons use, despi=
te=20
State Department =E2=80=9Cevidence.=E2=80=9D On the contrary, The New York T=
imes reported from=20
Baghdad on March 29, 1984, =E2=80=9CAmerican diplomats pronounce themselves=20=
satisfied=20
with relations between Iraq and the United States and suggest that normal=20
diplomatic ties have been restored in all but name.=E2=80=9D=20
A month and a half later, in May 1984, Donald Rumsfeld resigned. In November=
=20
of that year, full diplomatic relations between Iraq and the US were fully=20
restored. Two years later, in an article about Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s aspiration=
s to run for=20
the 1988 Republican Presidential nomination, the Chicago Tribune Magazine=20
listed among Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s achievements helping to =E2=80=9Creopen U.S.=
 relations with Iraq.=E2=80=9D
 The Tribune failed to mention that this help came at a time when, according=
=20
to the US State Department, Iraq was actively using chemical weapons.=20
Throughout the period that Rumsfeld was Reagan=E2=80=99s Middle East envoy,=20=
Iraq was=20
frantically purchasing hardware from American firms, empowered by the White=20
House to sell. The buying frenzy began immediately after Iraq was removed fr=
om=20
the list of alleged sponsors of terrorism in 1982. According to a February 1=
3,=20
1991 Los Angeles Times article:=20
=E2=80=9CFirst on Hussein's shopping list was helicopters -- he bought 60 Hu=
ghes=20
helicopters and trainers with little notice. However, a second order of 10=20
twin-engine Bell "Huey" helicopters, like those used to carry combat troops=20=
in=20
Vietnam, prompted congressional opposition in August, 1983... Nonetheless, t=
he sale=20
was approved.=E2=80=9D=20
In 1984, according to The LA Times, the State Department=E2=80=94in the name=
 of =E2=80=9C
increased American penetration of the extremely competitive civilian aircraf=
t=20
market=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94pushed through the sale of 45 Bell 214ST helicopters=
 to Iraq. The=20
helicopters, worth some $200 million, were originally designed for military=20
purposes. The New York Times later reported that Saddam =E2=80=9Ctransferred=
 many, if not all=20
[of these helicopters] to his military.=E2=80=9D=20
In 1988, Saddam=E2=80=99s forces attacked Kurdish civilians with poisonous g=
as from=20
Iraqi helicopters and planes. U.S. intelligence sources told The LA Times in=
=20
1991, they =E2=80=9Cbelieve that the American-built helicopters were among t=
hose=20
dropping the deadly bombs.=E2=80=9D=20
In response to the gassing, sweeping sanctions were unanimously passed by th=
e=20
US Senate that would have denied Iraq access to most US technology. The=20
measure was killed by the White House.=20
Senior officials later told reporters they did not press for punishment of=20
Iraq at the time because they wanted to shore up Iraq's ability to pursue th=
e=20
war with Iran. Extensive research uncovered no public statements by Donald=20
Rumsfeld publicly expressing even remote concern about Iraq=E2=80=99s use or=
 possession of=20
chemical weapons until the week Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, when he=20
appeared on an ABC news special.=20
Eight years later, Donald Rumsfeld signed on to an =E2=80=9Copen letter=E2=
=80=9D to=20
President Clinton, calling on him to eliminate =E2=80=9Cthe threat posed by=20=
Saddam.=E2=80=9D It urged=20
Clinton to =E2=80=9Cprovide the leadership necessary to save ourselves and t=
he world=20
from the scourge of Saddam and the weapons of mass destruction that he refus=
es=20
to relinquish.=E2=80=9D=20
In 1984, Donald Rumsfeld was in a position to draw the world=E2=80=99s atten=
tion to=20
Saddam=E2=80=99s chemical threat. He was in Baghdad as the UN concluded that=
 chemical=20
weapons had been used against Iran. He was armed with a fresh communication=20
from the State Department that it had =E2=80=9Cavailable evidence=E2=80=9D I=
raq was using=20
chemical weapons. But Rumsfeld said nothing.=20
Washington now speaks of Saddam=E2=80=99s threat and the consequences of a f=
ailure to=20
act. Despite the fact that the administration has failed to provide even a=20
shred of concrete proof that Iraq has links to Al Qaeda or has resumed=20
production of chemical or biological agents, Rumsfeld insists that =E2=80=
=9Cthe absence of=20
evidence is not evidence of absence.=E2=80=9D=20
But there is evidence of the absence of Donald Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s voice at t=
he very=20
moment when Iraq=E2=80=99s alleged threat to international security first em=
erged. And=20
in this case, the evidence of absence is indeed evidence."
article by Jeremy Scahill
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0802-01.htm


Or, for more recent lies, this should suffice.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted Thursday tha=
t=20
a war with Iraq -- if there is one, he stressed -- would not turn into World=
=20
War III.=20
"I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, fiv=
e=20
weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that," he said in an=
=20
hour-long radio interview for Infinity Broadcasting.=20
"It won't be a World War III," he added, citing the "vastly more powerful"=20
U.S. forces, compared to 10 years ago during the Persian Gulf War.=20
Rumsfeld made his comments shortly before Pentagon officials said the United=
=20
States was having air patrols in the region take into account a small upgrad=
e=20
in Iraq's surface-to-air missile range.=20
The defense secretary said that a "decision has not been made that war is=20
necessary" to get Iraq's compliance with the latest U.N. resolution calling=20=
on=20
Baghdad to disclose its weapons of mass destruction program and disarm.=20
"The president has not suggested that that is going to be needed," Rumsfeld=20
said, although President Bush has said many times that military force will b=
e=20
used to make Iraq comply.=20
Rumsfeld said the event that would push the coalition to use military force=20
would be one that would be easy to recognize.=20
"In the event (war) becomes necessary, there would be the precipitating even=
t=20
of rejecting the inspectors, which would be such that people would nod and=20
say, 'Fair enough: If he's (Saddam Hussein) that determined to keep the weap=
ons=20
of mass destruction and that unwilling to disarm himself, then he must have=20=
a=20
darn good reason and that isn't going to be very good for the neighborhood o=
r=20
for the rest of the world,'" Rumsfeld explained.=20
Iraq's missile boosters
What Pentagon officials say is Iraq's modest increase in the range of its=20
surface-to-air missiles is being handled by air-patrol pilots in the area.=20
U.S. officials say booster rockets added to the Russian-made SA-2 can=20
increase its range by several miles.=20
Coalition air patrols enforcing U.N.-mandated no-fly zones in northern and=20
southern Iraq -- as well as other aircraft on surveillance missions over the=
=20
country -- have worked with a range for the missiles known to be around 21 m=
iles.=20
The reported change in range "gives us a different envelope to be aware of,=20
but not sure that it substantially does much," a Pentagon official told CNN=20=
on=20
Friday.=20
Threat assessment
He told a caller who questioned the imminent threat from Iraq to remember=20
what life was like pre-September 11.=20
"Was the attack then an imminent threat two, three, or six months before?=20
When did the attack on September 11th become an imminent threat, when was it=
=20
sufficiently dangerous? Now transport yourself forward ... if Saddam Hussein=
 were=20
to take his weapons of mass destruction and transfer them, or use them=20
himself, or transfer them to the al Qaeda, and some of the al Qaeda were to=20=
engage in=20
an attack on the United States or on U.S. forces overseas with weapons of=20
mass destruction, when is it such an immediate threat that you must do=20
something?" Rumsfeld asked.=20
"Our task, your task ... is to try to connect the dots before something=20
happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to=
 see a=20
smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction," he told the caller, a mother=
=20
whose son has completed training in the Army and may soon be sent overseas.=20
When questioned by another caller about the exact relationship between al=20
Qaeda and Iraq, Rumsfeld gave an answer he said had been approved by the CIA=
.=20
"That our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda is=20
still developing, that there is no question but that there have been interac=
tions=20
between the Iraqi government, Iraqi officials and al Qaeda operatives, they=20
have occurred over a span of some eight or 10 years to our knowledge, that t=
here=20
are currently al Qaeda in Iraq," he said.=20
The defense secretary added that in a country with such limited freedoms, it=
=20
would be impossible for the Iraqi regime to be unaware of al Qaeda members=20
within its borders.=20
Rumsfeld said that if coalition forces had to go to war with Iraq, there=20
would be a period of time after the fighting in which those forces would hav=
e to=20
remain in the country to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction, provi=
de=20
humanitarian assistance, and assist "some sort of provisional government of=20
Iraqis" that would find its way to power.=20
"Absent a dictator, absent the Saddam Hussein regime, our goal would be firs=
t=20
to have a single country, not have a country broken up into pieces, it would=
=20
be to see that it would be a country without weapons of mass destruction, a=20
country that did not try to impose its will upon its neighbors and it was a=20
country that was respectful of the rights of minorities and the ethnic group=
s that=20
exist in the country," Rumsfeld said.=20
And if, one caller queried, no weapons of mass destruction were found by U.N=
.=20
weapons inspectors inside Iraq?=20
"What it would prove would be that the inspection process had been=20
successfully defeated by the Iraqis," the secretary said. "There's no questi=
on but that=20
the Iraqi regime is clever, they've spent a lot of time hiding things,=20
dispersing things, tunneling underground."=20
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/11/15/rumsfeld.iraq/
Rose Huskey
Once you lose integrity everything else is easy.=20

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<DIV>
<P>Visionaries:=20
<P>I thought about doing an extensive (and probably unread explanation) of m=
y&nbsp;loathing for Donald Rumsfeld.&nbsp; Instead, I send two short article=
s.&nbsp; &nbsp;=20
<P>"Five years before Saddam Hussein=E2=80=99s now infamous 1988 gassing of=20=
the Kurds, a key meeting took place in Baghdad that would play a significant=
 role in forging close ties between Saddam Hussein and Washington. It happen=
ed at a time when Saddam was first alleged to have used chemical weapons. Th=
e meeting in late December 1983 paved the way for an official restoration of=
 relations between Iraq and the US, which had been severed since the 1967 Ar=
ab-Israeli war.=20
<P>With the Iran-Iraq war escalating, President Ronald Reagan dispatched his=
 Middle East envoy, a former secretary of defense, to Baghdad with a hand-wr=
itten letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a message that Washington=
 was willing at any moment to resume diplomatic relations.=20
<P>That envoy was Donald Rumsfeld.=20
<P>Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s December 19-20, 1983 visit to Baghdad made him the hig=
hest-ranking US official to visit Iraq in 6 years. He met Saddam and the two=
 discussed =E2=80=9Ctopics of mutual interest,=E2=80=9D according to the Ira=
qi Foreign Ministry. =E2=80=9C[Saddam] made it clear that Iraq was not inter=
ested in making mischief in the world,=E2=80=9D Rumsfeld later told The New=20=
York Times. =E2=80=9CIt struck us as useful to have a relationship, given th=
at we were interested in solving the Mideast problems.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>Just 12 days after the meeting, on January 1, 1984, The Washington Post r=
eported that the United States =E2=80=9Cin a shift in policy, has informed f=
riendly Persian Gulf nations that the defeat of Iraq in the 3-year-old war w=
ith Iran would be =E2=80=98contrary to U.S. interests=E2=80=99 and has made=20=
several moves to prevent that result.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>In March of 1984, with the Iran-Iraq war growing more brutal by the day,=20=
Rumsfeld was back in Baghdad for meetings with then-Iraqi Foreign Minister T=
ariq Aziz. On the day of his visit, March 24th, UPI reported from the United=
 Nations: =E2=80=9CMustard gas laced with a nerve agent has been used on Ira=
nian soldiers in the 43-month Persian Gulf War between Iran and Iraq, a team=
 of U.N. experts has concluded... Meanwhile, in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad=
, U.S. presidential envoy Donald Rumsfeld held talks with Foreign Minister T=
arek Aziz (sic) on the Gulf war before leaving for an unspecified destinatio=
n.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>The day before, the Iranian news agency alleged that Iraq launched anothe=
r chemical weapons assault on the southern battlefront, injuring 600 Iranian=
 soldiers. =E2=80=9CChemical weapons in the form of aerial bombs have been u=
sed in the areas inspected in Iran by the specialists,=E2=80=9D the U.N. rep=
ort said. =E2=80=9CThe types of chemical agents used were bis-(2-chlorethyl)=
-sulfide, also known as mustard gas, and ethyl N, N-dimethylphosphoroamidocy=
anidate, a nerve agent known as Tabun.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>Prior to the release of the UN report, the US State Department on March 5=
th had issued a statement saying =E2=80=9Cavailable evidence indicates that=20=
Iraq has used lethal chemical weapons.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>Commenting on the UN report, US Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick was quote=
d by The New York Times as saying, =E2=80=9CWe think that the use of chemica=
l weapons is a very serious matter. We've made that clear in general and par=
ticular.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>Compared with the rhetoric emanating from the current administration, bas=
ed on speculations about what Saddam might have, Kirkpatrick=E2=80=99s react=
ion was hardly a call to action.=20
<P>Most glaring is that Donald Rumsfeld was in Iraq as the 1984 UN report wa=
s issued and said nothing about the allegations of chemical weapons use, des=
pite State Department =E2=80=9Cevidence.=E2=80=9D On the contrary, The New Y=
ork Times reported from Baghdad on March 29, 1984, =E2=80=9CAmerican diploma=
ts pronounce themselves satisfied with relations between Iraq and the United=
 States and suggest that normal diplomatic ties have been restored in all bu=
t name.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>A month and a half later, in May 1984, Donald Rumsfeld resigned. In Novem=
ber of that year, full diplomatic relations between Iraq and the US were ful=
ly restored. Two years later, in an article about Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s aspirat=
ions to run for the 1988 Republican Presidential nomination, the Chicago Tri=
bune Magazine listed among Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s achievements helping to =E2=
=80=9Creopen U.S. relations with Iraq.=E2=80=9D The Tribune failed to mentio=
n that this help came at a time when, according to the US State Department,=20=
Iraq was actively using chemical weapons.=20
<P>Throughout the period that Rumsfeld was Reagan=E2=80=99s Middle East envo=
y, Iraq was frantically purchasing hardware from American firms, empowered b=
y the White House to sell. The buying frenzy began immediately after Iraq wa=
s removed from the list of alleged sponsors of terrorism in 1982. According=20=
to a February 13, 1991 Los Angeles Times article:=20
<P>=E2=80=9CFirst on Hussein's shopping list was helicopters -- he bought 60=
 Hughes helicopters and trainers with little notice. However, a second order=
 of 10 twin-engine Bell "Huey" helicopters, like those used to carry combat=20=
troops in Vietnam, prompted congressional opposition in August, 1983... None=
theless, the sale was approved.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>In 1984, according to The LA Times, the State Department=E2=80=94in the n=
ame of =E2=80=9Cincreased American penetration of the extremely competitive=20=
civilian aircraft market=E2=80=9D=E2=80=94pushed through the sale of 45 Bell=
 214ST helicopters to Iraq. The helicopters, worth some $200 million, were o=
riginally designed for military purposes. The New York Times later reported=20=
that Saddam =E2=80=9Ctransferred many, if not all [of these helicopters] to=20=
his military.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>In 1988, Saddam=E2=80=99s forces attacked Kurdish civilians with poisonou=
s gas from Iraqi helicopters and planes. U.S. intelligence sources told The=20=
LA Times in 1991, they =E2=80=9Cbelieve that the American-built helicopters=20=
were among those dropping the deadly bombs.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>In response to the gassing, sweeping sanctions were unanimously passed by=
 the US Senate that would have denied Iraq access to most US technology. The=
 measure was killed by the White House.=20
<P>Senior officials later told reporters they did not press for punishment o=
f Iraq at the time because they wanted to shore up Iraq's ability to pursue=20=
the war with Iran. Extensive research uncovered no public statements by Dona=
ld Rumsfeld publicly expressing even remote concern about Iraq=E2=80=99s use=
 or possession of chemical weapons until the week Iraq invaded Kuwait in Aug=
ust 1990, when he appeared on an ABC news special.=20
<P>Eight years later, Donald Rumsfeld signed on to an =E2=80=9Copen letter=
=E2=80=9D to President Clinton, calling on him to eliminate =E2=80=9Cthe thr=
eat posed by Saddam.=E2=80=9D It urged Clinton to =E2=80=9Cprovide the leade=
rship necessary to save ourselves and the world from the scourge of Saddam a=
nd the weapons of mass destruction that he refuses to relinquish.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>In 1984, Donald Rumsfeld was in a position to draw the world=E2=80=99s at=
tention to Saddam=E2=80=99s chemical threat. He was in Baghdad as the UN con=
cluded that chemical weapons had been used against Iran. He was armed with a=
 fresh communication from the State Department that it had =E2=80=9Cavailabl=
e evidence=E2=80=9D Iraq was using chemical weapons. But Rumsfeld said nothi=
ng.=20
<P>Washington now speaks of Saddam=E2=80=99s threat and the consequences of=20=
a failure to act. Despite the fact that the administration has failed to pro=
vide even a shred of concrete proof that Iraq has links to Al Qaeda or has r=
esumed production of chemical or biological agents, Rumsfeld insists that=20=
=E2=80=9Cthe absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.=E2=80=9D=20
<P>But there is evidence of the absence of Donald Rumsfeld=E2=80=99s voice a=
t the very moment when Iraq=E2=80=99s alleged threat to international securi=
ty first emerged. And in this case, the evidence of absence is indeed eviden=
ce."<BR>article by Jeremy Scahill</P></DIV>
<DIV><A href=3D"http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0802-01.htm">http://www.=
commondreams.org/views02/0802-01.htm</A></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>Or, for more recent lies, this should suffice.</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>
<P>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicted Thursday=20=
that a war with Iraq -- if there is one, he stressed -- would not turn into=20=
World War III. </P>
<P>"I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days,=20=
five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that," he said=20=
in an hour-long radio interview for Infinity Broadcasting. </P>
<P>"It won't be a World War III," he added, citing the "vastly more powerful=
" U.S. forces, compared to 10 years ago during the Persian Gulf War. </P>
<P>Rumsfeld made his comments shortly before Pentagon officials said the Uni=
ted States was having air patrols in the region take into account a small up=
grade in Iraq's surface-to-air missile range. </P>
<P>The defense secretary said that a "decision has not been made that war is=
 necessary" to get Iraq's compliance with the latest U.N. resolution calling=
 on Baghdad to disclose its weapons of mass destruction program and disarm.=20=
</P>
<P>"The president has not suggested that that is going to be needed," Rumsfe=
ld said, although President Bush has said many times that military force wil=
l be used to make Iraq comply. </P>
<P>Rumsfeld said the event that would push the coalition to use military for=
ce would be one that would be easy to recognize. </P>
<P>"In the event (war) becomes necessary, there would be the precipitating e=
vent of rejecting the inspectors, which would be such that people would nod=20=
and say, 'Fair enough: If he's (Saddam Hussein) that determined to keep the=20=
weapons of mass destruction and that unwilling to disarm himself, then he mu=
st have a darn good reason and that isn't going to be very good for the neig=
hborhood or for the rest of the world,'" Rumsfeld explained. </P><A name=3D1=
></A>
<H3>Iraq's missile boosters</H3>
<P>What Pentagon officials say is Iraq's modest increase in the range of its=
 surface-to-air missiles is being handled by air-patrol pilots in the area.=20=
</P>
<P>U.S. officials say booster rockets added to the Russian-made SA-2 can inc=
rease its range by several miles. </P>
<P>Coalition air patrols enforcing U.N.-mandated no-fly zones in northern an=
d southern Iraq -- as well as other aircraft on surveillance missions over t=
he country -- have worked with a range for the missiles known to be around 2=
1 miles. </P>
<P>The reported change in range "gives us a different envelope to be aware o=
f, but not sure that it substantially does much," a Pentagon official told C=
NN on Friday. </P><A name=3D2></A>
<H3>Threat assessment</H3>
<P>He told a caller who questioned the imminent threat from Iraq to remember=
 what life was like pre-September 11. </P>
<P>"Was the attack then an imminent threat two, three, or six months before?=
 When did the attack on September 11th become an imminent threat, when was i=
t sufficiently dangerous? Now transport yourself forward ... if Saddam Husse=
in were to take his weapons of mass destruction and transfer them, or use th=
em himself, or transfer them to the al Qaeda, and some of the al Qaeda were=20=
to engage in an attack on the United States or on U.S. forces overseas with=20=
weapons of mass destruction, when is it such an immediate threat that you mu=
st do something?" Rumsfeld asked. </P>
<P>"Our task, your task ... is to try to connect the dots before something h=
appens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to=20=
see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction," he told the caller, a=20=
mother whose son has completed training in the Army and may soon be sent ove=
rseas. </P>
<P>When questioned by another caller about the exact relationship between al=
 Qaeda and Iraq, Rumsfeld gave an answer he said had been approved by the CI=
A. </P>
<P>"That our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda is=20=
still developing, that there is no question but that there have been interac=
tions between the Iraqi government, Iraqi officials and al Qaeda operatives,=
 they have occurred over a span of some eight or 10 years to our knowledge,=20=
that there are currently al Qaeda in Iraq," he said. </P>
<P>The defense secretary added that in a country with such limited freedoms,=
 it would be impossible for the Iraqi regime to be unaware of al Qaeda membe=
rs within its borders. </P>
<P>Rumsfeld said that if coalition forces had to go to war with Iraq, there=20=
would be a period of time after the fighting in which those forces would hav=
e to remain in the country to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction,=20=
provide humanitarian assistance, and assist "some sort of provisional govern=
ment of Iraqis" that would find its way to power. </P>
<P>"Absent a dictator, absent the Saddam Hussein regime, our goal would be f=
irst to have a single country, not have a country broken up into pieces, it=20=
would be to see that it would be a country without weapons of mass destructi=
on, a country that did not try to impose its will upon its neighbors and it=20=
was a country that was respectful of the rights of minorities and the ethnic=
 groups that exist in the country," Rumsfeld said. </P>
<P>And if, one caller queried, no weapons of mass destruction were found by=20=
U.N. weapons inspectors inside Iraq? </P>
<P>"What it would prove would be that the inspection process had been succes=
sfully defeated by the Iraqis," the secretary said. "There's no question but=
 that the Iraqi regime is clever, they've spent a lot of time hiding things,=
 dispersing things, tunneling underground." <BR><A href=3D"http://www.cnn.co=
m/2002/US/11/15/rumsfeld.iraq/">http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/11/15/rumsfeld.ir=
aq/</A></P>
<P>Rose Huskey<BR><FONT lang=3D0 face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3 FAMILY=
=3D"SERIF" PTSIZE=3D"12">Once you lose integrity everything else is easy. </=
FONT></P>
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