Posted on 12/10/2006 7:31:15 PM PST by Kaslin
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld returned to Washington Sunday after his surprise trip to Iraq.
Rumsfeld's press secretary, Eric Ruff, said the defense secretary did not meet with any Iraqi government officials - as has been his usual practice - before leaving the country around noon Sunday.
"It was not a public trip whatsoever," Ruff said. The main purpose, he said, was to express thanks to the U.S. troops and their commanders.
Rumsfeld met over dinner Saturday with several top commanders, including Gen. George Casey and Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the two most senior commanders in Iraq. He also met with Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, who is in charge of the training of Iraqi security forces, and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, who recently arrived to replace Chiarelli.
Ruff said Rumsfeld began Sunday in the Baghdad area, having breakfast with troops and attending a church service at Camp Victory, the main U.S. military command headquarters on the outskirts of the capital. He later held a town hall-style meeting with several hundred U.S. troops in the northern city of Mosul.
The only member of the media allowed to accompany Rumsfeld was Sean Hannity, a conservative Fox News Channel host. On all of his 14 previous trips to Iraq, as well as all other overseas trips, Rumsfeld has taken reporters who cover him regularly at the Pentagon. Ruff offered no reason why reporters were not invited this time, except to say that Rumsfeld viewed it as a "private" visit.
Rumsfeld remains defense secretary until Dec. 18.
Ruff said Bradley Graham, a Washington Post correspondent who previously covered the Pentagon for that newspaper and who is now writing a book about Rumsfeld, was invited on the trip but declined to go.
Rumsfeld doesn't have to suffer the fools any longer so he doesn't.
Sean Hannity was with Rumsfeld and he will have an exclusive on H&C on Monday, Dec. 11.
I went to school with Ray Odierno. Great guy.
Looks like I'll be listening to Hannity again...........at least for one day.
That is what I like about Freepers! We always have someone who really knows something about almost everything that is going on.
Good post. I'll see it tommorrow night.
LOL! Good for Rummy!
Ditto! Can you remind me? ;*)
What's that last bit about Bradley Graham. Is he a Graham family Graham? I wonder why he turned down the trip offer?
If I were Rummy, I wouldn't want the very people who worked day in and day out to get me out of my job on my trip either! Rumsfeld has done a terrifice job for this country and has gotten grief instead of thanks from a thankless nation. If I keep going, I'll say something I shouldn't...
I'll miss Rumsfeld as SecDef. He was a class act.
I think he told the generals not to worry. That and saying thank you and goodbye to the troops was a very important thing for Rummy.
DITTO....
If you took a poll on the popularity of Rumsfeld vs. Bush, I believe Rumsfeld would be by far the winner.
Completely understand! Rummy was the best and I will miss his wonderful sound bytes addressing the mediots!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1751092/posts
See this?
The majority would agree.
What's his military background?
So is it just on Hannity and Colmes, or also on Hannity's radio show?
I have a significantly difficult time with poor mr colmes......
He was a Captain when I was in grad school with him. He got his master's in Nuclear Engineering from N.C. State University.
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