Lock ’Em Up
“Every once in a while, there are people in the United States government who decide that they want to break federal criminal law and release classified information, and they ought to be imprisoned. And if we find out who they are, they will be imprisoned.”—Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, NBC, July 15.
Shut ’Em Up
“I never thought I’d be saying, ‘Hold the information,’ but will all the Pentagon and Administration sources telling us how Saddam Hussein will be brought down, please shut up.”—National Public Radio analyst Daniel Schorr, Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 2.
Give ’Em Hell, Tiger
“The Israelis know that if the Iraqi or the Iranian army came across the Jordan River, I would personally grab a rifle, get in a ditch, and fight and die.”—Former President Bill Clinton at a July 29 fund-raising event for a Jewish charity in Toronto, as quoted in the Washington Times, Aug. 3.
No-Think Zone
“Iraq: Why Not Do Nothing?”—Headline, Christian Science Monitor, June 31.
Headline A …
“Report Calls Response at Pentagon Successful.”—Headline on article about report on 9/11 rescue operations, Washington Post, July 24.
… Or Headline B
“Study Calls Rescue at Pentagon Chaotic.”—Headline about the same report, New York Times, July 24.
The Trinity in Battle
“One of the things I believe fervently was probably said 175 years ago by Clausewitz: In battle, outcomes are determined by this trinity. You have to have a decision by the state. You have to have military capacity to get the work done. And you have to have the will of the people. In my lifetime, I have not seen the enduring confluence of those three things until post–9/11.”—Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander, US Central Command, Esquire, August 2002.
Dog to Kick
“I want one dog to kick, but when it comes to intelligence, I have to go down to the pound.”—Richard Haver, the Secretary of Defense’s special assistant for intelligence, quoting his boss, Rumsfeld, on the need for an undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Washington Post, July 15.
On the Other Hand, Carriers …
“I am absolutely convinced you can’t win without dominating the battlespace. You can’t do that unless you own the air, and you can’t own the air when they won’t let you park your airplanes in their country.”—Adm. Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations, The Retired Officer Magazine, July 2002.
We Will Bury You
“All empires and bearers of the coffin of evil, whenever they mobilized their evil against the Arab nation, or against the Muslim world, they were themselves buried in their own coffin, with their sick dreams and their arrogance and greed.”—Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, quoted in the Washington Post, Aug. 9.
Blame the Air Force
“The most amazing thing about the blame game now being played over who was at fault for Sept. 11 is that no one is pointing a finger at the Air Force. … All the Air Force had to do was heed the ample warnings that the United States was a terrorist target, reasonably conclude that Washington probably would be among the first places hit, and plan an air defense.”—Sandy Goodman, former producer–writer for “NBC Nightly News,” Los Angeles Times, July 17.
Lethal Air Defenses
“All of Serbia could be defended against legacy aircraft by two SA-20 [surface-to-air missile] systems.”—Maj. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf, Air Force operational requirements director, on the need for the F-22, Inside the Pentagon, July 23.
Depicting the Saudis
“The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader. … Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our friends.”—Laurent Murawiec, who was a RAND analyst when he presented this view in a briefing to the Defense Policy Board, quoted in the Washington Post, Aug. 6. The White House disavowed the briefing.
Consult but Act
“I promise you that I will be patient and deliberate, that we will continue to consult with Congress, and of course we’ll consult with our friends and allies. … And I will explore all options and all tools at my disposal: diplomacy, international pressure, perhaps the military. But it’s important for my fellow citizens to know that as we see threats evolving we will deal with them.”—President George W. Bush, in a speech in Madison, Miss., Aug. 7.
War Games Fixed
“Neither the construct nor the conduct of the exercise allowed for the concepts of rapid decisive operations, effects-based operations, or operational net assessment to be properly assessed. … It was in actuality an exercise that was almost entirely scripted to ensure a Blue ‘win.’… [Similarly, in a previous exercise] my name was included in post-experiment materials stating that the concept of rapid decisive operations had been validated—a mistruth at best.”—Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, who said he quit as the Opposing Force commander midway through Millennium Challenge 02, Army Times, Aug. 26.