Rumsfeld: I Stopped Reading About The Civil War Because There Were So Many Americans Killed
Rumsfeld: I Stopped Reading About The Civil War Because There Were So Many Americans Killed
At a Pentagon townhall meeting today, outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said he began reading books about the U.S. Civil War, but “turned away from that” because he “there were so many people killed and wounded, and they were all Americans.” Rumsfeld said he began reading books about World War II instead.
Rumsfeld appears to be in denial about civil wars, refusing to read books on the U.S.’s history and failing to recognize there is one going on currently in Iraq. Watch it:
Full transcript:
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I’m wondering what books you read while you were secretary that you found most useful and edifying.
RUMSFELD: Well, I’ve read a great many books. They’re all history books; a number about the Revolutionary War and about George Washington and John Adams and others, Jefferson.
I started reading a number of books about the Civil War. And one particularly good one was a book on Ulysses S. Grant. But I stopped. I found the struggle going on — gosh, those years, there were so many people killed and wounded, and they were all Americans, except for the foreign fighters who came over from Germany and Poland and elsewhere.
So I turned away from that and read a great deal about World War II. And that has been basically what I’ve been reading.
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75 Responses to “Rumsfeld: I Stopped Reading About The Civil War Because There Were So Many Americans Killed”
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I call bullsh*t, Rummy.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:50 pmI like reading about brown and yellow folks getting killed by the tens of thousands.
-GSD
December 8th, 2006 at 4:51 pmHe can’t read about people who died over a hundred years ago, but he can send people to their deaths with a smile. And why did no one stand up and start screaming when he said this?
December 8th, 2006 at 4:52 pmAnd why did no one stand up and start screaming when he said this?
Comment by motherlowman
I’m guessing it’s a hand-picked crowd, motherlowman. No messy dissent.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:55 pmPoland? Did he say Poland? And don’t forget Poland.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:55 pmI think it’s called denial Rummy, ever heard of it?
December 8th, 2006 at 4:56 pm[…] so many people killed and wounded, and they were all Americans, except for the foreign fighters who came over from Germany and Poland and elsewhere.
Doesn’t the presence of foreigners disqualify a struggle from being called a “Civil War”, according to the Bush-compliant media?
Wouldn’t this mean there never was a civil war in the US after all?
Better start re-writting the history books, and have them talk about the “US widespread sectarian violence” instead.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:58 pmSo he has a distaste for war because people die?
Why, then, be Sec. of Defense under 2 presidents? The attention?
This reminds me of a history teacher I had in 7th grade. He said that when watching war movies on TV his young son would ask “Why do we have wars?” As a result, he cancelled his cable TV.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:04 pmSo I turned away from that and read a great deal about World War II. And that has been basically what I’ve been reading.
Interesting. It’s not the thought of death that puts Rumsfeld off, but the fact that most of the dying is/could be done by Americans.
That’s why he couldn’t read a book on the civil war, but is comfortable with a book on WWII; a conflict in which the death toll was simply mind-boggling, and the cruelty and destruction beyond what was imaginable at the time.
Maybe that is why he can send people to kill and die in Iraq: Most of the dying is done by them darn Iraqis. See, it’s all about the ratio…
December 8th, 2006 at 5:04 pmNow we know why Rummy could so easily torture murder and not care about the lost of life to human beings. Hell will have a good friend in Rummy. Friends like Hitler will welcome Rummy as he followed Satan’s rules. Now Rummy feels he should not be charged with criminal acts of murder and torture yet the GOP is all for Saddam paying for his crimes. New US Policy is all GOP can commit crimes, molest children, steal, lie and use God’s name to do Satan’s work and no one can be charged with a criminal charge. But for the Dems and the rest of America we have to follow the law or go to jail. What Rummy is really saying is he never saw combat nor ever protected the US while in the military he stayed safe on American soil. So he wouldn’t understand what soldiers are doing for Rummy it’s a game and the lost of our soldiers mean nothing.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:06 pm“I would like to follow up your response with another question, if I may Mr. Secretary. What is the color of the sky on the planet you live? I ask this, sir, because what you say and the manner in which you look at things like, say, Iraq, leads me to believe that you are actually on the surface of another planet. While your corporeal body appears here on earth, your mind seems many, many, many, many light years away from here. My guess is that this is how you’re able to sleep at night. Seeing as most people who actually lived on this planet and caused the kind of bloodshed and chaos that you have done might actually feel something that would keep them awake at night. Or they might at least have the decency not to act in the manner of an arrogant, spoiled, half-brained nitwit as you have done.”
Thanks.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:07 pmRummy admits he’s a racist, in addition to being a stuffy old codger suffering from dimentia.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:09 pmAngie, I hope you were being sarcastic about the Kim family. I think you probably were.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:17 pmI swear to God. These guys have their heads so far up their own asses that they would have to unzip their pants to see the light of day.
I know the Democrats have said they won’t seek Impeachment proceedings but if Bush & Co. don’t do something drastically different after this Iraq Report. I say that’s it. Their time is up. Thanks for Playing. Drive Through.
–d
December 8th, 2006 at 5:19 pmThey’re not in denial. They know what’s happening…and they want more and more chaos so that the US can keep troops in Iraq forever.
Rummy is gone. Bush is still there…and tragically, he alone can make the decisions now. Imagine..the power we’ve given to a madman.
But that power can be taken back. Call to Action here: (not an impeachment call….but a very lega, very quick way to defuse Bush)..
CLICK HERE
December 8th, 2006 at 5:20 pmFor a minute there I thought I’d logged on to The Onion.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:20 pmangelina from Ga.,
What happened to James Kim is tragic.
He was somebody that I worked with in my day to day job.
Very sad, he was a great guy who was very talented.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:26 pmOT but cool nevertheless…
If anyone here lives on or near the East Coast, you may be able to see the shuttle streaking into space when it launches Saturday evening. The launch time is around around 8:45 ET I think (check the news for specific time).
Read an article that said in past night launches when the shuttle had flown to the ISS, when it takes a northeasterly path, it could be seen as far north as Nova Scotia at which point the main engines were shut down.
Years ago when the shuttle returned from a trip to the Mir space station, it flew over our area on its way to Florida and we heard the sonic boom as its speed slowed. Very cool indeed.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:26 pmThis will teach them damn foreign commies to come over here and try to steal our nuclear secrets!
Comment by angelina from Ga. — December 8, 2006 @ 5:08 pm
Wow… what a disjointed post. James Kim was born in Kentucky, didn’t work with nuclear technology, and this has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
Stop trolling.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:31 pmMe thinks Don is a bit confused. There were no troops sent to the US by Germany nor Poland. He’s thinking about the Revolutionary War when German troops were hired and imported by the British to fight the colonists, and when some Poles came over to join in the war for independence on the American side (Kosciusko and Pulaski are the most well-known).
Rumsfield confused. Imagine that. Maybe “Rummy” is more than just a nickname.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:32 pmso many people killed and wounded, and they were all Americans
December 8th, 2006 at 5:32 pmoh, yeah, i forgot, it’s always better when other people get killed.
that makes it okay.
back to the slaughter!
angelina from Ga.,
What happened to James Kim is tragic.
He was somebody that I worked with in my day to day job.
Very sad, he was a great guy who was very talented.
Comment by SpudgeBoy — December 8, 2006 @
So you`re in on the plot with him then huh?
I thought as much.
I will be making a phone call to the State Dept.
I will have my nephew pull some strings and monitor this site.
Oh shit,did I say that? He just told me on the phone it already IS
being monitored. he tells me satellites put posters names with
posters locations………..then he could not reveal anymore to me.
He said he would lose his clearance with a very very long prison
sentence to follow.He told me this site has been monitored for a very
long time though.
Everywhere you look.Commies,commies,commies.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:35 pmJames Kim
Kim Jong Il
What`s the diff?
Commies one and all.
angie
December 8th, 2006 at 5:36 pmThe fake tears are sickening. Isn’t it telling though that he was so repulsed by our civil war that he could no longer even read about it. Talk about you head in the sand. No wonder he refuses to see or admit there is a civil war WHICH HE CAUSED going on in Iraq.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:39 pmBut I stopped. I found the struggle going on — gosh, those years, there were so many people killed and wounded, and they were all Americans, except for the foreign fighters who came over from Germany and Poland and elsewhere.
So I turned away from that and read a great deal about World War II. And that has been basically what I’ve been reading.
#of killed:
Civil War: 600,000
WWII: 30,000,000 (est)
ASS!
December 8th, 2006 at 5:48 pmRumsfeld, America was not in a civil war. There were foreign fighters present. Therefore, it wasn’t a civil war.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:50 pm“What happened to James Kim is tragic.
He was somebody that I worked with in my day to day job.
Very sad, he was a great guy who was very talented. ”
That was indeed a tragedy. Very sorry these things happen. If you go to his funeral SpudgeBoy, give them my condolences.
The other day here in Alberta, three guys, two were brothers, were staying in a small hunting cabin. Their propane heater malfunctioned, killing the two brother (23 and 29 or so). The third friend is in serious condition. Very sad.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:51 pmJames Kim did everything he could to save his wife and children. When his efforts to attract outside help failed, he set out to find it. He gave his life for that effort.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:07 pmObviously, angie/angelina from GA share a kindred soul with the great W. Kim Jong Il is closer to Heaven than either of this pair.
Please do not respond to that asinine troll, angelina. It clogs up entire threads with it’s stupid crap — more stupid than mine.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:14 pmHey Site Monitors, please ban Angelina from GA, she is being deliberatley off thread and insulting to the dead.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:17 pmPlease check her IP address.
Zooey, your crap is always inspired, and inspiring!
December 8th, 2006 at 6:18 pmLawyer up, jackass. We’re coming for you, and there’s no place to run, no place to hide.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:20 pmThe other day here in Alberta, three guys, two were brothers, were staying in a small hunting cabin. Their propane heater malfunctioned, killing the two brother (23 and 29 or so). The third friend is in serious condition. Very sad.
Comment by Yikes — December 8, 2006 @ 5:51 pm
I bet they were commie “lookouts”
December 8th, 2006 at 6:21 pmzooey,
You are plain white yank trash.
We will never forget what has happened to our good name down in
Ga.
Never.
I have or will at wars end reclaimed,……….$77,000,000
What do you have?
Peanut butter and jelly for supper and a job.(hopefully)
Who`s yer nanny?
George Bush is a hero.
Go leave your slug trail somewhere else trollip.
December 8th, 2006 at 6:25 pmZooey, your crap is always inspired, and inspiring!
Comment by SKdeA
You say the sweetest things! I try to deliver only the highest quality crap.
You might appreciate this, SKdeA. I was talking to a woman at my old high school in Alameda to get my transcript, because I’m going to college full-time in January. She asked me why I had waited so long between high school and college. Her tone was snippy, so I told her I just got off doing a hard 20 in the pen. She almost choked, but didn’t ask me if I was kidding. I can’t wait until I hear from the reunion committee. :)
December 8th, 2006 at 6:26 pmAngie are you in the KKK?
You are one senile individual, I think it is time to go back on your medication. You call Asians commies, you think that the Confederates should have won the Civil War( even though they supported the horrible act of slavery), and you like the word “Yanks”. You sound like an idiot. The only people who give a shit what you see in Freerepublic.com….
December 8th, 2006 at 6:53 pmE coli
When did this nutjob get here anyways? She is probably the most racist Bushite yet…
December 8th, 2006 at 6:54 pm“and they were all Americans”????
December 8th, 2006 at 6:57 pmImagine.
The narrow little mind of a “heck of a narrow leader…..”?
Put him in “narrow ward”.
War is apparently the answer.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:01 pmRumhead can read?!?!?!?
December 8th, 2006 at 7:10 pmEveryone that hates Rummy & Bush should now be happy that there’s a mosque on the grounds at West Point Military Academy
December 8th, 2006 at 7:13 pmWhen did this nutjob get here anyways? She is probably the most racist Bushite yet…
—- New Prog
It is the same troll that called itself vinnie/ red state loyalist and a few other name changes for the last couple weeks.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:14 pmIgnore it and pitty the poor gender changing racist fool.
Maybe TP will eventually ban it for good.
It’s truly sad how the Internet has made folks so misinformed and quick to prove they’re idiots.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:27 pmJames Kim was an American you fu*king retard. Therefore, he is not a commie.
But, you knew that didn’t you joe?
December 8th, 2006 at 7:32 pmLawyer up, jackass. We’re coming for you, and there’s no place to run, no place to hide.
Comment by RUCerious — December 8, 2006 @ 6:20 pm
Do we have an extradition agreement with Paraguay?
December 8th, 2006 at 7:32 pmEveryone that hates Rummy & Bush should now be happy that there’s a mosque on the grounds at West Point Military Academy
— JA
This is a bad thing?
December 8th, 2006 at 7:34 pmIts called freedom of religion.
personally, I am still waiting for them to allow sweatlodges for us Native Americans. =)
Odd how everyone has forgotten that early in the war, Rumsfeld had one of his staffers use an automatic pen to sign the condolence letters that went out to the families of military personnel killed in Iraq.
He valued their sacrifice so little that he couldn’t sacrifice a few minutes out of his day to acknowledge their sacrifices.
Only after the press shamed him into it did he start signing the letters himself. Or so we were told.
Today he’s calling for “more patience” in Iraq. And he has HOW many kids serving over there?
Too bad when he was reading all those history books he didn’t read a couple on Vietnam.
December 8th, 2006 at 7:36 pmin a few years people can read about this callous piece of crap in history books. he would be mentioned under war criminals of the iraq conflict.
December 8th, 2006 at 8:32 pmHe suggested to me it would be in my best interest to stay away from this site from now on,which is what I intend to do.
Comment by bye from Ga. — December 8, 2006 @ 7:35 pm
Don’t worry, we’ll catch you under whatever new identity you assume tomorrow.
December 8th, 2006 at 8:40 pmAnd now he tells us:
He said the United States could succeed in Iraq, “but only if we have the patience and only if we have the staying power.” U.S. forces were doing everything they can, he said.
“But they can’t win this, quote, unquote, militarily,” he said. “It has to be won by the Iraqi people. It has to be won through a reconciliation process and through a political process. And it is those diplomatic and economic and political things that have to move forward in that country.”
Rumsfeld in farewell pleads for patience in Iraq
This is how long it took him to admit what it was evident for many here at ThinkProgress: The war/occupation of Iraq cannot be won militarily.
Rumsfeld and the other lying halfwits all knew that all along, and still sent people to kill and die in Iraq. Not to mention the devastation that the occupation has caused in that country.
War criminals, the whole lot of them.
December 8th, 2006 at 8:44 pmThe Muslim Gym Jihad in Dearborn, The Real Story
The real story here is one of racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and colossal stupidity by the goose-stepping, jackboot-wearing readers of frontpagemagazine.
By the way, are you David Horowitz perchance?
December 8th, 2006 at 8:47 pmComment by ACLU Sucks Smegma
So?
Troll.
December 8th, 2006 at 8:48 pmI wonder how the democrats and the ACLU will spin this one.
Oh, and I forgot to ask: do you wet the bed often?
December 8th, 2006 at 8:48 pmIt’s unfathomable that an orthodox Jewish taxi driver would deny passage to a person eating a ham sandwich or a Jehovah’s Witness would deny service to a passenger carrying a bottle of wine.
Comment by ACLU Sucks Smegma — December 8, 2006 @ 8:40 pm
But it is perfectly reasonable for a pharmacist to deny a woman access to birth control methods, because of his religious belief.
Or maybe only minorities are not allowed to act according to their religion. Does scapegoating minorities make you feel good about yourself?
What a pile of rubbish, and what an inane post.
December 8th, 2006 at 8:50 pmForgot to mention: It didn’t take long for Angie from GA to come back to try to derail the threads.
Ah, trolls, you can never trust they will keep their word.
December 8th, 2006 at 9:01 pmThis stupid endless Bush war on the Iraqi people can be easily and quickly ended in January 2007, simply by having Congress cancel their 2002 Authorization to use force in Iraq. This can be done by a simple majority vote in the House and the Senate. After that cancellation of the Authorization bill passes, the war will have to end immediately. Any continuation of the war by Bush would be illegal and unconstitutional by definition. If the stupid Bush tried to continue his stupid war, impeachment would quickly gain support of a majority of the American people. Of course, in impeachment we would want to be sure to impeach Cheney first, and that way we would get President Pelosi after Bush was removed…
December 8th, 2006 at 9:24 pmCheers.
#50 bye from Ga; my message to the NSA: F*CK OFF!. -from a card-carrying member of the ACLU.
December 9th, 2006 at 12:00 amThis is what a Nation gets when it allows men who have never been to War, declare War.
2 Billion Dollars a week spent on a murderous fiasco abroad, but health care and education here in America is anathema.
Follow. The. Money.
December 9th, 2006 at 12:13 amThis man is evil; a person who is in the habit of doing no good just for his own ego. Not money, not glory but his own damn “feelings” no matter how good or bad he’s done.
He used automatic pens to sign the letters to parents of fallen soldiers, this man is heartless.
December 9th, 2006 at 12:31 amRumsfeld’s job now is to absorb criticism; the more outrageously he acts, the more energy he absorbs.
The problem remains: our troops are in Iraq for no useful purpose. The policy may be the result of deranged individuals, such as Rumsfeld, but the policy survives as long as we focus our just anger at the individuals. Notice that the ISG proposes we keep troops in Iraq indefinitely; it just wants to reclassify them as “trainers” and “force protection” troops, not “combat” troops. While it represents a minor rhetorical improvement, it still gives the Bush Crime Family a free hand in Iraq for years …
December 9th, 2006 at 1:13 amrummy is just that, a senile piece of shit..He should be thrown in jail with the rest of them in this administration, sadly, he will probably get off with the insanety plea….Blessings
December 9th, 2006 at 1:27 amTime to Rejoice; in just a short period of time, we have….
John Bolton: GONE
Donald Rumsfeld: GONE
Ken Mehlman: GONE
Rick Santorum: GONE
Bill Frist: GONE
George Allen: GONE
Mike DeWine: GONE
Jim Talent: GONE
Lincoln Chafee: GONE
Conrad Burns: GONE
Richard Pombo: GONE
J.D. Hayworth: GONE
Curt Weldon: GONE
Katherine Harris: GONE
Mark Foley: GONE
Henry Hyde: GONE
Don Sherwood: GONE
Kenneth Blackwell: GONE
Porter Goss: GONE
Dusty Foggo: GONE
Jeb Bush: GONE
Tom Delay: INDICTED
Scooter Libby: INDICTED
Duke Cunningham: CONVICTED
Bob Ney: CONVICTED
Jack Abramoff: CONVICTED
Michael Scanlon: CONVICTED
David Safavian: CONVICTED
Claude Allen: CONVICTED
Brian Doyle: CONVICTED
Frank Figueroa: CONVICTED
Ken Lay: CONVICTED
Jeff Skilling: CONVICTED
Thomas Noe: CONVICTED
Bob Taft: CONVICTED
James Tobin: CONVICTED
Wayne Semprini: CONVICTED
Chuck McGee: CONVICTED
Shaun Hansen: CONVICTED
Ted Haggard: FALLEN HYPOCRITE
Ralph Reed: FALLEN HYPOCRITE/’CHERUB’
Unitary Executive Rule: GONE
Lack of Oversight: GONE
3 Day Work Week: GONE
Karl Rove: GOING SOON
Dennis Hastert: BLASTED BY ETHICS PANEL FOR COVERING UP FOR A CHILD PREDATOR
(and farewell to the rest of the Republican Congressmen/women, Governors, State Legislators who lost/are out of power).
My prediction for the next Bush Admin. official who will dash off before Democrats can subpoena their asses… and air their dirty laundry that the Republicans have been spraying with Febreeze: Alberto Gonzales. Maybe Cheney. Yours?
*
December 9th, 2006 at 3:58 amI’m sure Rummy is pulling for the Nazis as he visits the history of WWII for the first time in his life. He is enjoying the stories of mass torture and death in the concentration camps. He must be thrilled at the parallels between the Nazi rise to power and his Neocon rise to power. The similar tactics, the familar police activites and destruction of truth must make him squeal with delight. This must feel like turning the pages of an old high school Annual for him.
December 9th, 2006 at 7:01 am“But I stopped. I found the struggle going on — gosh, those years, there were so many people killed and wounded, and they were all Americans, except for the foreign fighters who came over from Germany and Poland and elsewhere.”
That is as retarded a comment as I ever heard one.
December 9th, 2006 at 9:03 amRummy, you ignorant slut…
December 9th, 2006 at 10:17 amThank god this idiot is gone.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:54 amWhy does this site allow blatent, repeat trolls? Get some moderators on the job.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:10 am*blatant
December 9th, 2006 at 11:11 amHas anybody noticed how many charmin’ people we have in this administration? Guess the resume requires a strong dose of charm over and above intelligence, intellect, curiosity or common sense.
December 9th, 2006 at 2:50 pmMaybe he tried his best?
December 9th, 2006 at 9:44 pmAnd why did no one stand up and start screaming when he said this?
Comment by motherlowman
weapons grade peer pressure my boy…
awww come on unkle donnie.. if its any consolation, alot of those americans were only 3/5 of a person..
you’d think something that involved alot of colored folk dyin would cheer him up…
in truth, he probably just doesnt like reading about the civil war because it doesnt have the happy ending he hoped for..
(im trying to drive the horrible image of unkle dik reading donnie a bedtime story out of my mind..)
December 10th, 2006 at 7:32 amRumsfeld: I Stopped Reading About The Civil War Because There Were So Many Americans Killed
He loves fresh carnage.
December 10th, 2006 at 11:13 amBye, Bye …you senile old arrogant bastard!
December 10th, 2006 at 11:44 amI happen to know that someone had given Rumsfeld a copy of “The Art of War” in March of 2003 and it was sitting on his desk. I asked him about it and he said someone had suggested he read it (again).
He clearly didn’t.
December 10th, 2006 at 2:48 pm[…] Source: Think Progress Posted by Michael Kolanos Filed in CIA/Pentagon, Current Events […]
December 11th, 2006 at 1:21 am