Originally published January 24 2006
Rumsfeld wants to rename the Iraqi opposition
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
At a recent briefing, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that he will no longer use the word "insurgents" to refer to the Iraqi resistors, claiming that the word gives those forces more credit than they deserve.
'You know, that gives them a greater legitimacy than they seem to merit," he told journalists during a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday.
Rumsfeld encouraged those at the briefing to consult their dictionaries for the definition of 'insurgent', which, according to one Oxford dictionary means "a rebel", while insurrection is defined as "rising against established authority".
This is a group of people who don't merit the word 'insurgency', I think," Rumsfeld said.
However, the ban proved a problem for the recently-appointed Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Peter Pace, who ran into trouble as the briefing continued, stumbling and pausing as he struggled to come up with a new word to describe the Iraqi insurgents.
When questioned about torture by the Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld said "obviously, the United States does not have a responsibility."
When Rumsfeld tried to correct him, saying, "I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it," Pace stood his ground.
"If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it," the Joint Chiefs Chairman stated.
Commenting on the briefing, Washington Post opinionist Dana Milbank wrote that despite leading the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 as defence secretary, Rumsfeld came across at times as someone simply observing the Iraq war on television.
He deflected one question about the use of white phospherous on the battlefield onto General Pace, and asked how widespread the abuse in Iraq was, he answered: "I am not going to be judging it from 4,000 miles away."
Asked about "uniformed death squads" in Iraq, after the brother of a prominant Sunni leader murdered along with his sons last week said the killers had Iraqi army uniforms and vehicles, Rumsfeld first tried to avoid answering, saying "I'm not going to comment on hypothetical questions."
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