| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Richard Armitage Bitch-Slaps Arab Reporters |
| 2004-04-20 |
| Conclusion of Pan-Arab Print Reporters’ Interview with Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State QUESTION: One follow-up, sir, very quickly -- DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Sure. QUESTION: -- about human rights in Iraq. There have been civilian casualties, women and children, in Fallujah. How can you promote democracy in the Middle East when you’re sending out a message that it’s okay to shoot at children and -- DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Oh, stop. Stop. Shame on you. I hope you were screaming about human rights during the time of Saddam Hussein. I didn’t hear many in the region. We are the most humane military in the world. We punish our people when they exceed bounds, and we do it transparently. We regret every single civilian life which is lost, and we do our utmost, even putting our soldiers at risk, to prevent those. It is true that there are civilian casualties and it is true that these scenes are shown over and over, particularly on our Arab friends’ television networks. Now we spend enormous amounts of time and put our soldiers and Marines at risk in order to try to prevent it. War is dangerous and it is difficult times, but when you ask that question, I would hope that you’d reflect on your own writing over the past, say, 30 years and see what you’ve said about human rights in Iraq. Thank you all very much. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #10 It's about sometime someone said something like that... I wish that was the reply of every state official everytime one of these "truth challenged" reporters asked a stupid question like that. |
| Posted by: Glyph 2004-04-22 4:16:40 PM |
| #9 Frank---those people are not handicapped, that is very insensitive of you. These reporters are truth challenged, don't ya know. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-04-21 11:48:33 PM |
| #8 I'd like to see more prominent ID (names, credentialing media names) on the reporters asking the stupidest questions....to brand their employers/media ID as "hiring the |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-21 11:17:06 PM |
| #7 Way to go Uncle Festor. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-04-20 11:27:42 PM |
| #6 How nice to see someone spit out words whole instead of the usual mincing. It appears that several of them landed directly in that last reporter's eye. I'm confident that this will result in Mister Armitage laying awake during the long winter nights. |
| Posted by: Anonymous4388 2004-04-20 11:09:09 PM |
| #5 I love this guy! This guy should be the Secretary of State :^) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-04-20 10:58:13 PM |
| #4 We need to have Bush make a presidential citation for Rummy and Armitage standing up and getting in the faces of these slimey media types. Way to go!!!!! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-04-20 10:49:38 PM |
| #3 They could tag each other as they switched to address the assorted morons. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-20 10:32:34 PM |
| #2 Me too! I want the popcorn concession. :-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-04-20 10:29:49 PM |
| #1 I'd pay money to see a joint press conference for Armitage and Rumsfeld. |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-04-20 10:20:53 PM |