The Press "Dramatizes" Prisoner Abuses, Scolds Angry Rumsfeld

By Kirsten Anderberg, www.kirstenanderberg.com

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld seemed really irritated at all the questions asked of him recently, on June 17, 2004, during his press conference at the Pentagon. Not only was he agitated, but he took time out to lecture the press, as if he was a paternalistic figure qualified to give advice about integrity. It was laughable. I am sure it was very hard for the journalists present to not burst out laughing, I was laughing out loud watching it on CSPAN! Hard questions about ghost detainees got Rumsfeld flustered as he tried to change the subject by lecturing the press about "dramatizing" American torture patterns and how that lowers the morale of the troops and puts them in danger.

Rumsfeld started off the press conference reporting cheerfully that 63% of Iraqi citizens believe a new government will improve their lives in Iraq. He went on to say that the "global war on terror" had several positive side effects: 1) The Reservists were called up. Now, I could swear that was what he said, maybe I got that wrong, but I don’t think so. How that is "good" is beyond me. The second benefit he said we were getting from the "global war on terror" was that the army was becoming more self-reliant and lastly, he said it had catapulted us into a new posture, as our old posturing was built around the Cold War framework, and these are new times, with new "enemies." General Peter Pace, the Vice-President of the Joint Chiefs of Staff then spoke for a brief moment, and then reporters let the questions fly. Rumsfeld’s cheerful mood quickly changed to more resemble an angry father annoyed with a child who is not obeying his authority blindly.

Reporters immediately asked hard questions. Charles Aldinger dove right in, asking why prisoners were hidden from the Red Cross at American detainee and prison camps. Rumsfeld said that there were current investigations related to these incidents, so of course, since it is in the investigation phase, he cannot comment on it definitively. I have noticed "it is being investigated" was used by Ashcroft a lot today at the 9/11 hearings too, so that is a pretty convenient way of not commenting on something, it appears. Rumsfeld said that one prisoner in particular, is now being registered with the Red Cross, after being held for what I believe was 7 months. Reporters stayed the course. "Why didn’t you tell the Red Cross you had these prisoners?," they asked repeatedly. Rumsfeld said that in the incidents in question, the Department of Defense felt it was "most appropriate to not tell the Red Cross" about the prisoners! Okay, wait a minute. So you can just decide NOT to follow international laws when you decide it is "not appropriate" for arbitrary reasons? We are in huge trouble in the international community as we watch America now treat its international treaties the way it treated its treaties with American Indians!

Rumsfeld got angry and insisted the prisoners were treated humanely, even though they were hidden from the Red Cross. Again, reporters asked why America was hiding these ghost detainees, what the motive was for the hiding of these detainees. Rumsfeld said "There are certain circumstances when that occurs." Again, he was pressed, what ARE the certain circumstances when that occurs? Rumsfeld said it was "not the case at all" that these hidden prisoners were being mistreated. He said he had briefed the pressed on this matter already, and he got quite cranky. He said something very close to, if not this exactly, "Why are there ghost detainees? We are looking into investigations about that." Again, a reporter asked if the president told Rumsfeld to not tell the Red Cross about these detainees and prisoners. Rumsfeld said the president gave his approval. The reporter asked if the president told him why to hide them? Rumsfeld said the president has the authority to authorize ghost detainees, and he said most every case has clearly understood and accurate specifics, including why it is important to hide the detainee or prisoner. Rumsfeld then distanced himself from the whole operation by saying he does not do the interrogations, nor does he read them. He said there are huge piles of interrogations and they go to the appropriate person, rarely him, to read. Then Rumsfeld took an unexpected turn.

Rumsfeld went into a monologue about how he had seen all the headlines about torture by American soldiers and though he cannot read every article about it, he is upset about how the press and media "dramatize things." He said, "I have read editorials, one after another" about the prisoner torture scandal, and then he said, "Our forces read that." He said the press is wrongly implying that this prisoner torture is condoned military behavior and not a few isolated incidents. (Well, yeah, that is pretty much evidenced by how the government tries to justify their tortured "free will" confessions as necessary interrogation technique, whether we are talking about American prisons, inside or outside of America. Also, the answer is still not clear, what is up with the ghost detainees if everything is on the level? And indeed, the NY Times reports there are several cases in which Iraqi prisoners died at Abu Ghraib in connection with interrogations. In one such case under investigation by the CIA, a dead prisoner’s body was packed in ice, and the prisoner had never been assigned a prisoner number.)

Rumsfeld out of one side of his mouth says that these articles give the false impression that the U.S. government has ordered, permitted and tolerated torture, and Rumsfeld says that is not true. But out of the other side of his mouth he is saying that the government felt it was "most appropriate" to not follow international law and allow the Red Cross access to prisoner camp detainees. And indeed when pushed as to why these ghost detentions were occurring, Rumsfeld intimated it was best the Red Cross not have access to them until AFTER the interrogation process. Um, it is DURING the interrogation process that we all suspect the most abuse, so, no, we are not sitting well with the conflicting answers. He says we do not permit or order prisoner abuse, then says we need to not let the Red Cross know where these prisoners are until after the most potentially abusive part of the detention (as well as the part where they admit criminal guilt or not on some legal record quite often) is over. Rumsfeld complained the press made it seem like the U.S. engages in torture as a matter of policy, but based on facts, I would have to say that seems a fair assessment, honestly. They did not hide one prisoner from the Red Cross. They SYSTEMATICALLY hide prisoners. That in itself is abuse, and violation of international law, in my opinion.

Rumsfeld went on to say that the poor soldiers are confused by the truth, or "dramatizations," in the newspapers, according to Rumsfeld, and he wishes soldiers did not have to read about the busts over American prisoner torture and abuse in the media and press. He said it also hurt the people of the Middle East for the press to "dramatize" the prisoner abuse scandal. He said it gives the Iraqi people an inaccurate impression that those abuses are taking place. Um, Iraqis already know this is taking place! It is the Western world that is just catching up. That is like saying prosecutions over prisoner abuse in America’s jails and prisons in our homeland is giving prisoners a wrong impression that prisoner abuse is occurring! Get real! They already KNOW that! The only way the Arab world could feel even slightly consoled is if the press and media hound this issue relentlessly to not let our government just sweep this under a rug. If Rumsfeld wants to call that "drama," well, so be it. His third plea for the press to please tread lightly on this subject was based on his premise that the press is endangering the troops because Arab militants will take revenge on American captives for the tortures. Yeah, that is not the fault of the press. If the U.S. military and government intelligence was not torturing people, the Arab militants may not want to take revenge for that. But asking the press to cover up American military abuse and torture to protect soldiers is ludicrous. If the military really cared about the soldiers’ safety, they would not have let torture be the rule of interrogation thumb. The military and intelligence decided to go with these techniques and policies, not the press. Do not blame the messenger!

My favorite part of the press admonition was when Rumsfeld said we’re in a war and "someone can sit in an air-conditioned room and be critical and fast and loose with the facts," referring to the press apparently! He then said "I think people should be accountable for that just as I am accountable." So, are we going to start detaining, then whisking the press to other countries, and hiding them from the Red Cross as we torture them via interrogation for "free will" confessions? He said when he gets up in the morning he does not think about pleasing the press, and insisted everything was always consistent with the Geneva Convention. Again, reporters asked how he is interpreting hiding prisoners from the Red Cross as not a violation of international law. He said he is not an expert on the subject, but he thinks he has some semantical room regarding time to register him. He said they do not have to register the prisoners within 15 minutes of detaining them. A reporter said the obligation is to "promptly" register them and one incident of a ghost detainee has him detained for 7 months without registration. The reporter asked if the intention was to hide the prisoner held for 7 months. Rumsfeld snipped, "not on my part."

Again he was asked, why weren’t these prisoners registered with the Red Cross. Rumsfeld said he understood it "looked bad" but that the delay in registering the prisoners was often in the interest of "not interrupting the interrogation process." He then quipped again, "I am not an expert. Ask them." A reporter asked if Rumsfeld asked the experts he was referring us to, about this. Rumsfeld then brought Deputy General Counsel Dan Dell’orto to the podium. Dan said that the Red Cross serial number on one individual in particular should have been reported sooner, he said it was a breakdown in their own process that delayed the registration. General Pace then chimed in that a reason for ghost detainees is that once they are registered, that information is public and they do not want people to know who they have in custody. Yeah, we get that. But that is why the Geneva Convention and international laws are in place. Because NO military wants to tell who they have and what they are doing with the prisoners! Rumsfeld said as they got more information about this, he would give it to the press. A reporter again grilled, was the intention to hide? Rumsfeld angrily said as he gets more information he will pass it on. Another reporter asked how the one detainee not registered for 7 months was different than the rest of the ghost detainees, since Rumsfeld kept insisting the two incidents not be combined. But Rumsfeld’s answer was "I can’t tell you.’ He looked frazzled. He referred to questions from the press as a broken record. Perhaps if he would ANSWER the questions, we would not have to keep asking them repeatedly like a broken record.

He was asked about Fallujah. Rumsfeld said that although there is no evidence that operatives in Fallujah worked with al Qaeda, he said they used similar financing and operations methods, and work in a "very similar nature." He said they were trying to navigate an Iraqi solution in Fallujah, as opposed to an American solution. He said the Iraqi people were thanking the U.S. for liberating them, he spoke of women’s rights to vote, of the joys of wearing brightly colored shoes.He said that Americans are letting Iraqi’s find their own solutions, and that even if America does not like their decisions, we were supporting their independent, new government. Rumsfeld quickly swept back over the landmine of the day, saying investigations about the detainees were underway, and that everything would be reported to Congress. He said "when it is appropriate and possible to tell the American people and press" about these reports, he would. And I believe him, don’t you?