Rumsfeld's October 12, 2001 Slip About Missile Hitting the Pentagon

[NAO]

In light of Rummy's recent slip of the tongue about 'the plane that was shot down over PA', it is interesting that Rummy also let it slip that a missile hit the Pentagon.

This comment was made on October 12, 2001 - fully SIX MONTHS before the 'missile hit the Pentagon' theory became widespread thru the publication of Thierry Meyssan's (viciously reviled) book, "Pentagate".

I came across the missile reference in David Ray Griffin's "The New Pearl Harbor", which is IMHO the best book on 9/11. On p.48, Giffin mentions the statement by Rummy about 'the missile used to damage this building (the Pentagon)'

Giffin cites the source as an interview by Parade magazine, and gives the link:

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2001/t11182001_t1012pm.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[fryguy]

3. 1986 RPG?

what's the story behind this? first time i'm hearing about it.

[borealowl]

2. missile

He could have meant "used the plane...as a missile"

What was more disconcerting was the following statement from that interview: "I had been aware of a plane going into the World Trade Center". That's a curiously passive way of putting it! He was the Sec of Defense, presumably he was making frantic phone calls back and forth with the other Leaders.

[ljm2002]

4. "presumably he was making frantic phone calls "...

...well, actually, no he was not. He and General Myers heard about the planes hitting the WTC, decided there was "nothing they could do" at that time, and continued on with some meeting they were having on the (as it turned out) safe side of the Pentagon. Not only did they continue on with their meeting, they were not reachable by phone. They only came out of their meeting when the Pentagon itself was hit, at which time Rumsfeld heroically (?) assisted victims instead of pursuing his Secretary of Defense duties.

It is all very very strange and reeks to high heaven.

[bluedeminredstate]

6. Actually, Myers was at the Capitol

with Senator Cleland in a meeting, but was unavailable to his staff and apparently could not be reached with a pager or cell phone. No one told him until after his meeting with Cleland. One would think that's something the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs might want to be interrupted for. It's almost impossible to believe that the highest military officer couldn't be reached and was not contacted after such an event. Someone couldn't have called Cleland's office to relay an emergency message? If he doesn't have a cell phone or a pager of some sort for these types of emergencies, shouldn't he? What if a nuclear missile was headed toward New York and he couldn't be reached? It seems just too ridiculous to be true.

Rummy was in a meeting and decided that there wasn't anything to be done and continued on, but I believe he was with Wolfowitz. The fact that they knew of the first building being struck and decided, "Aw fuck it - let's keep going here with the meeting" is one of the most shocking facts about the military response that day. If the Sec. of Defense or his deputy can't get off his ass and react to a plane crashing into the WTC then he's worthless to the American people.

The fact that the press didn't ask questions about these first reponses to the strikes (including Bush's bizarre performance in Florida) is an outrage. Every official who should have been acting to protect the nation was either unavailable or doing something that should have been immediately stopped (and wasn't) while they gathered information and made decisions. These "leaders" failed the public and the press didn't ask them any questions about their abject failure.

[ljm2002]

8. Right you are

Sorry I erred in saying Rumsfeld was with Myers, it was indeed Wolfowitz.

I agree with everything you said in your post: the shocking fact that our highest in command "could not be reached", the fact that they thought there "was nothing they could do", the fact that the media did not press the issue, and of course Bush's damning inaction.

Still unbelievable. I'd like to believe that we may some day know what really happened that day, who was really behind it, why there was such a pitiful response by the world's greatest military power to an attack on its own soil. But I'm not counting on it.

[bpilgrim]

10. everyone in the world REACTED that day, cept our leadership

that consistency and non-reaction was the first thing that tipped me off that we were in on it.

no one can say for sure HOW they might have reacted though EVERYONE knows they would have at the very least REACTED.

for that horrid event to take almost 2 hours any they hit the pentagon last, that is CRAZY.

this was an inside job.

peace

[NAO]

7. Rumsfeld always has odd diction and phraseology, eg question/answer format

Rumsfeld has a very peculiar way of speaking.

I find it charming and entertaining. I especially like it when he asks himself rhetorical questions, then answers himself. Also the wacky analogies and non-sequiters are always a treat.

***************************************************

Pieces of Intelligence : The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld
by Hart Seely (Compiler)

Product Description from Amazon:

Until now, the poetry of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been hidden, "embedded" within comments made at press briefings and in interviews. His preferred medium is the spoken word, and his audience has been limited to hard-bitten reporters and hard-core watchers of C-SPAN.

Just as The Iliad and The Odyssey were spoken aloud by many bards, in many variations, before Homer captured them on paper, the Rumsfeld improvisations have finally met up with their perfect editor/enabler. Hart Seely, coeditor of O Holy Cow! The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto, uncovers the gems hidden within hundreds of hours of Rumsfeld commentary, in the form of Zen verse, haiku, sonnets, lyric poetry, and free verse. In addition, Seely's sharp sleuthing has uncovered two thematic collections: Rumsfeld's Songs of Myself, and Nine Poems on the Media.

The result is a hilarious and irreverently revealing book both by and about one of the world's most powerful men.

*****************************************************

My favorite Rumsfeld utterance is the darkly existential piece "The Unknown"

The Unknown

As we know,
There are known knowns,
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know we don't know.

- Feb 2, 2002, Dept. of Defense news briefing

[karlrschneider]

11. Ah, yes. A classic:

"The Unknown

As we know,
There are known knowns,
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know we don't know."
=====================================================================

As we believe,
There are true Truths,
There are truths we know to be true.
We also believe
There are untrue truths.
That is to say
We believe there are some things
That are untrue but may not be false.
And of course there are true lies,
(I know this because I saw the movie)
And those true lies are actually true
because we know they really are lies.
So the untruths that are lies are actually true.
-------------------------------------------------

Does that sound like something Rummy might say?
:evilgrin:

[goforit]

12. great point.

[lonestarnot]

5. oops sorry I deleted for redundancy

[lovuian]

9. Its the Unconcious coming out and telling the truth

the older a person gets the harder it is to hide it!!!

[goforit]

13. I think these guys could blatantly, publically confess, ....but prosecute?

Hell no.
The GOPrs will never lift one damn finger.

Blatant mihop = massive sweep under the rug

[goforit]

14. Wonder if Barbara Olsen is still alive somewhere?