Get Ready To Rumble

NYTimes (08.29.05):

"With lawmakers facing tough questions at home about the war in Iraq, Senator John W. Warner (R - VA), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, says he intends to summon Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld quickly for a hearing when Congress returns next week. Senator Warner, who said he intended to visit Iraq soon, also said he had not formally asked for Mr. Rumsfeld to testify." Senator Will Ask Rumsfeld to Testify to Panel on Iraq

In February, Rumsfeld was testifying in front of the House Armed Services Committee. He pretty much flipped 'em off. Washington Post (02.17.05):

"At 12:54, he announced that at 1 p.m. he would be taking a break and then going to another hearing in the Senate. 'We're going to have to get out and get lunch and get over there,' he said. When the questioning continued for four more minutes, Rumsfeld picked up his briefcase and began to pack up his papers." Secretary On the Offensive

Before he took off, Rumsfeld was a bit, uhhhh, sassy:

• Asked about the number of insurgents in Iraq, Rumsfeld replied: "I am not going to give you a number."
• Did he care to voice an opinion on efforts by U.S. pilots to seek damages from their imprisonment in Iraq? "I don't."
• Could he comment on what basing agreements he might seek in Iraq? "I can't."
• How about the widely publicized cuts to programs for veterans? "I'm not familiar with the cuts you're referring to."
• How long will the war last? "There's never been a war that was predictable as to length, casualty or cost in the history of mankind."
• About an estimate of the costs for increases in troops' death benefits and life insurance: "I've never heard that number."
• About long-term Army expenses being included in an emergency spending package: The matter was "beyond my pay grade."
• About soldiers' death benefits: "As a presidential appointee, I tend to support the president."
• To Virginia Republican Representative J. Randy Forbes:"You had so many questions there. Now let me see if I can pull out another one."

We're hoping Warner and the rest of the good Senators aren't gonna put up with this kind of shit. Then there's this: "Mr. Warner has also said he will schedule a hearing in the next several weeks on whether the Pentagon has failed to hold senior officials and military officers responsible for the prisoner abuses that took place at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, and at other detention centers in Iraq, Cuba and Afghanistan." This may prove to be far more interesting. Once upon a time, the Senate, led by Warner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, wanted to attach an amendment to July's fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill which would have:

• Barred the military "from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross";
• Prohibited "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees"; and
• Required that "only interrogation techniques authorized in a new Army field manual" be used.

The White House sent Dick Cheney over for a little arm-twisting. The Senate threw down the gauntlet, and attached the amendment anyway. The good Dr. Frist, after first trying unsuccessfully to block the amendment, just pulled the whole bill. For its part, the White House "had threatened to veto the defense-spending legislation if it contained either of those provisions." September could be an interesting month, eh?