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| Rummy Adresses Editors Society and Newspaper Association |
| 2004-04-24 |
| SEC. RUMSFELD: Tony, thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to be with you. I feel like I belong here. I’ve sold newspapers in Illinois, Washington state, Oregon, North Carolina and California over my career, which Tony left out. (Laughter.) I want to offer some thoughts on our current situation in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in the global war on terror, and then as he suggested respond to questions. But first let me take a few moments to comment and offer a few reflections on the interaction between your business and your government over these past years. Those of us in government need to keep in mind the daily miracle of what it is you do, the work you do. You do something that is rare in Washington: you actually produce something. (Laughter.) Consider what might happen in government were asked to put out a daily newspaper. Well, for starters, there would likely be flurry of meetings, leaked memos, and then I suspect leaked recommendations, followed by the adoption of a draft policy guideline and then a 90-day open comment period where interest groups would proceed to shred that guideline. Then we would need a request for a supplemental budget for sure, possibly even a recommendation for a new federal agency, to be followed by a congressional investigation on why we missed our deadline. (Laughter, applause.) Followed, of course, by an independent commission to study what the congressional investigation had already studied. -snip- So yours is important work. Our republic was founded on the notion that an unchecked government is a major obstacle to human freedom and to progress, and that our leaders need to be challenged, internally through the complex constitutional system of checks and balances, and externally by a free and energetic press. This is a notion I’ve supported throughout my adult life. As a matter of fact, as a young member of Congress back in the 1960s, still in my 30s, I was a co-sponsor of the Freedom of Information Act. Now we all recognize that that act causes government officials occasional pain, but in my view, it has been a valuable act in helping to get the facts to the American people. As secretary of Defense this time, I believe and I certainly hope that our department has offered reporters and media as much or more access than possibly ever before. I’m told that I’ve held over 350 press briefings and press availabilities since I was confirmed in January of 2001. It’s unbelievable. It’s exhausting. (Laughter.) It’s risky! (Laughter.) That’s for sure. I’ve also granted hundreds of interviews, and at Torie Clarke’s suggestion, we instituted an embedding program during the combat operations in Iraq, including some 500 journalists from some 250 outlets that we believe enriched the coverage and serve the public well. Even today, we have dozens of embeds with our forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Our great political system needs information to be self-correcting. While excesses and imbalances will inevitably exist for a time, fortunately they tend not to last. Ultimately truth prevails. The American people seem to have inner gyroscopes that keep them centered and balanced. Consider, for example, Harry Truman. -snip- But during his time as president and for many years thereafter, he was roundly criticized. Indeed, he was brutally ridiculed. But to my -- the amazement of many people he was reelected in 1948 notwithstanding the ridicule and the abuse, and today he has a deservedly proud place in American history. The sheep herd behavior by experts and pundits that led him to be so severely criticized prevailed for a while, but it did not last forever. The public seems to eventually find its way to the truth. Fancy that. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #1 And the fringes of the LLL cry endlessly about Nazis in the White House |
| Posted by: cheaderhead 2004-04-24 9:29:38 AM |