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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2003 10:44
AM
Subject: RE: [Futurework] A very, very
worried Bush
Hi,
Keith,
What
is your source on the Rice move being done without Rummy's knowledge? That
seems highly unlikely to me...
Lawry:
It
was from the following article in the Financial Times (UK). Also posted
at the Common Dreams website.
B.
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Rumsfeld 'Not Told' of
Postwar Shake-Up |
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by Peter Spiegel in
Colorado Springs |
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Donald Rumsfeld, US defense secretary, said on
Tuesday he had not been told by President George W. Bush or
the National Security Council that the White House was to
restructure the handling of postwar Iraq before the media were
briefed on the plan by NSC officials.
Mr Bush has ordered the creation of an "Iraq Stabilization
Group," which will be run by Condoleezza Rice who is head of the
NSC, which co-ordinates foreign policy in the White House.
In an interview with the Financial Times and three European
news organizations, Mr Rumsfeld insisted that the new NSC role
appeared to be no different from the policy-co-ordinating
structure that had existed for more than a year.
He said he did not know why Ms Rice, Mr Bush's national
security adviser, had felt it necessary to send a memorandum about
the new organization to cabinet officials or brief the New York
Times about the move.
"That's what the NSC's charter is," Mr Rumsfeld said. "The
only thing unusual about it is the attention. I kind of wish
they'd just release the memorandum."
Mr Bush on Monday welcomed the new organization, saying:
"Condi's job, and Condi's team is going to make sure that the
efforts are continued to be co-ordinated."
Mr Rumsfeld declined to comment on the perception that the
move was an attempt by the White House to strip control of the
rebuilding from the tight grip of the Pentagon. He sought to
portray it as a reiteration of existing policy and seemed
perturbed that Ms Rice had decided to draw attention to the memo
by "backgrounding" the media.
"I don't know quite what the purpose of the backgrounding
was . . . she gave a background, she said what she said, and the
way I read the memorandum is that it is basically what the
responsibility of the NSC is and always has been, which is what's
been going on," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld added: "My impression of it is that that is
what is the charter of the National Security Council, and I
haven't been able to detect any difference from the memo -
unfortunately it's a classified memo, it shouldn't be, there's
nothing in it that's classified."
Mr Rumsfeld said he was not upset that he had not been told
about Ms Rice's memo beforehand. Senior administration officials
frequently produced such policy memorandums and distributed them
to "principals" without informing them the missive was being
produced.
But people close to the Pentagon said on
Tuesday that Mr Rumsfeld's account appeared to be at odds
with that of Ms Rice who told the New York Times that she had
devised the new structure with Mr Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, the
secretary of state, and Dick Cheney, the vice-president.
Before issuing her memo, Ms Rice had been criticized for
giving the Pentagon too much control in Iraq.Paul Bremer, civilian
administrator, and General John Abizaid, chief military commander,
report to Mr Rumsfeld.
© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2003
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