Kucinich grills Rumsfeld on Tillman coverup

Video Transcript

i thank the gentleladyi think it's very important for this committee to put into contexttillman casebecause uh...there is an underlying questionnaire that i don't believe it has beenprogram equipmentwith respect to my good friend on the other side of the aislewhen you're talking aboutmatters of fact and fiction and warit's incumbent upon this congress's oversight capacityto be able to determine whether or not there was a particular type ofmanagement of the news of the warand so in connection with that uh... miss rumsfeldcan you tell this committeewhether or not in your capacity assecretary of defenseuh... you had discussions within the white houseregardingpress strategiesthat would define that would be involved in thecommunications of theuh... of the events of the war to the american peoplei can saying air without qualification that i can't recallever having a discussionwith anyone in the white house compress that if you relating to looked at thetomb of matterin any aspect of itdid you ever happendiscussions in the white house generally speaking about press strategies withrespect to the conduct of the war in iraqthe entrance sure that disease subject ofthe press andy governments dealing with the press has come up on a number ofoccasions i can recall onewhen general casey was out there and there were questions raised aboutthe relationship that the command head with someiraqi press peopleand there was a criticism for example of the fact thatstories were ending up in in the articles which were accurate but wouldnot have been in there had there not been some relationship between hiscommand and the reporter and there was a big debate on that i remember anotherexampledat and which general myers will remember well and that's the very phraseglobal war on terror and differences that some people had thinking thatterrorists not you don't war on terror terrorism technique have choice a weaponof choice for a terroristbut it's not something you you necessarily war againstand uh... and that that type of thing would be discussed and i frequentlywould end up using the phrasethat this was the first conflict of the twenty first century and it was really astruggle against violent extremists was a repressed strategy and the white housefor the war in iraqyou'd have to ask the white houseamra gravity was surprised strategythat the department of defense was expected to be mindful ofwith respect to the conduct of the war in iraqto my knowledge there was no white house press strategy that they will because iwas told to be mindful of flights there is department of defense press strategywhich which effectively or if there was it obviously wasn't very goodwhere you know maybe it was very good because you actually covered up thetelling case for a while you cover up the jessica lynch caseyou covered up applegate so something was working for you under a strategy todo in this drum selfpurple congressman the implication that that you said you covered up that's justfalls you have nothing to base that i knew that not a scrap of evidence for apiece of paper or a witness that wouldattest to thatuh... i have not been involved in any cover-up whatsoever and i don't believeit's an individual at this table who i know well in observed a close quartersin very difficult situations to any role in a cover upon this matterwell thank you for quitting yourself i was speaking of the department ofdefensei was speaking of things that are manifest an obvious we held a hearing onthe thoma casewe held hearings have a rightand hearing on this you have not been able to establish how is it thatthis news could get out no one managed it no one communicated it to theamerican public it just happened you haven't really given this committee agood explanation as to how it happened this drum selfthis committee has held many hours of hearings on the subject and they'dhad the witnessesof the people who are responsible for the management of this issue and it wasthe united states armyand outsourcing that message that was a regular linking group involved incommunicating a message you have to ask ranjanyou'd have to ask the army did the department of defense have anyconnection at all with any outside individuals to communicatemessages to the general public to help in the shaping of that messagewas there a press strategy involved on this subject nine-month-old lesser apress strategy involved on this subject not to my notes repress strategyinvolved generally that you you have already answered that question why ithink you have that's my satisfactionand that's a liability was surrendered group involved in communicating a pressstrategyon behalf of the department of defense with respect to the war in iraqyou would have to ask the people in the departmentyou have no knowledge of this whatsoever i am aware that there have been overheatover the years contracts with that organization from various entitieswithin the department and outside of the department whether there was in innovmanner that would fit your question i'm not in a position to doing you just saidthat you have some awareness of it could you elaborate on that sirdenied a leverage of the extent of my abilityi know that the there are some entities in the department of use contractors forsome things of that type over the yearsand uh... you would have to ask experts on that subject nothing mister chairmani think it's very important that this committee determine whether or not theoutsourcingof press was one of the elements responsiblefor communicating to the public something that seemed to be beyond theunderstanding of the department defense

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