Free Republic

Reporter in Rumsfeld 'Armor' Flap Still on the Job in Iraq By Brian Orloff Published: January 07, 2005 10:30 AM ET NEW YORK Whatever happened to Edward Lee Pitts? He is the embedded reporter from the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press who last month helped a national guardsman in Kuwait ask Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that critical question about lack of vehicle armor, leading to much controversy. Since then, except in accounts that have rehashed that incident, Pitts has disappeared from the national media, but he has hardly stopped writing. In fact, he is still on the war beat,...

OK....I just saw this on the local news.Here in Chicago. On the local Fox News channel. But I've Googled it to death and haven't found any news reports on it yet. Don Rumsfeld was asked a question today by a soldier that went very much as follows: "Everything we see on the news is negative. But when we build a bridge or a school house, we can't get that on the news. We publish things on the internet, but the media isn't interested in reporting on it. How do we get our story out?" That's very close to what he...

The truth trickles out. "It now appears that the premise of the question that caused an uproar around Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was, so to speak, off base," FNC's Brit Hume noted Tuesday night in reminding viewers how two weeks ago National Guardsman "Thomas Wilson said to Rumsfeld, quote, 'our vehicles are not armored, we do not have proper armament vehicles to carry with us north,' into Iraq." But, Hume relayed, "according to senior Army officers, about 800 of the 830 vehicles in Wilson's Army regiment, the 278th Calvary, had already been up-armored" at the time of his widely...

"The reporter who managed to get a National Guardsman serving in Iraq to question Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld about why his unit's vehicles lacked sufficient armor coached the soldier using false information," NewsMax.com reports. "In fact, by the time Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Edward Lee Pitts rehearsed Spc. Thomas 'Jerry' Wilson on what to say to Rumsfeld, the Pentagon had already up-armored 97 percent of the vehicles in Thomas' 278th Regimental Combat Team, senior members of the Army's combat systems development and acquisition team said Thursday. "Further undermining the premise of Pitts' question, orders to up-armor the...

Soldier Says He Asked Rumsfeld 'Armor' Question Without Aid of Embed By E&P Staff Published: December 19, 2004 NEW YORK In his first public account of last week’s controversy, Spc. Thomas Wilson says that he came up with the now famous “armor” question for Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld himself, without the help of oft-criticized reporter Edward Lee Pitts. And he adds, "If this is my 15 minutes of fame, I hope it saves a life." The account appears in next week’s edition of Time magazine. Wilson, who serves with Tennessee’s 278th Regiment in the National Guard, tells Time that he...

SEC. RUMSFELD: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. My goodness. What a group this is. Impressive gathering. General Steve Whitcomb, thank you so much for your kind words. Sergeant Major Kellman, it’s good to see you again. I appreciate your able leadership as well. First, I want to say thank you to each of you, to your families for your superb service to our country. You are doing noble work, it’s vitally important work and your country is deeply grateful. Today’s December 8th. Sixty three years ago today our nation declared war on an enemy that had launched...

NEW YORK In a front-page note to readers this morning, Tom Griscom, editor and publisher of the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times Free Press, quoted a local military spokesman and a top ethicist in defending his reporter Edward Lee Pitts, who prompted a U.S. soldier to put a challenging question to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld on Wednesday. He also quoted from an email from Pitts: “It is amazing these guys are defending freedom but don't want free speech in their own country." Griscom admitted that, in hindsight, “information on how the question was framed should have been included” in the reporter's story...

Lee Pitts, an embed reporter of the Chattanooga Times traveling with a National Guard unit, prodded one of its soldiers to ask Rumsfeld about why military units in Iraq are lacking proper armor for many vehicles. Tony is also talking to Lieutenant Bryan Suits, who hosts a radio show in Seattle, Washington on KVI, but is serving in Iraq now. Suits recently experienced an IED attack... Listen to the inside story - You can hear Tony Snow's radio show audio streaming online at www.tonysnow.com.

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) -- A newspaper should have told its readers promptly that an embedded reporter had helped frame a question that a serviceman asked of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this week in Kuwait, the publisher says. The question to Rumsfeld from Spc. Thomas "Jerry" Wilson, 31, of Nashville, Tennessee complaining that many military vehicles in Iraq are not adequately armored, has touched off a storm of new publicity about the issue. "In hindsight, information on how the question was framed should have been included in Thursday's story in the Times Free Press. It was not," the paper's publisher and...

It was as compelling a piece of video as you'll ever see: A scout with the Ten nessee National Guard, whose unit is headed for Iraq, publicly berating Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over his fellow soldiers' alleged lack of adequately armored vehicles. What made the footage even more powerful was Rumsfeld's response: The normally unflappable secretary stood motionless momentarily, seemingly at a loss for words, before answering. Rumsfeld responded with characteristic candor. "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time," the secretary said...

Another controversy about Iraq and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has developed. A soldier asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in the Iraqi theater why the troops do not have armored M98HUMMVVV’s (Humvees). He told Rumsfeld that troops have to scavenge metal and improvise armor for the vehicles. The soldier, a Tennessee National Guardsman, is currently in Kuwait scheduled to go to Iraq. He asked this during one of Rumsfeld’s question and answer sessions with troops stationed in the Iraqi theater. Implicit in this question was that Rumsfeld and his Defense Department is either incompetent or corrupt or both. Its purpose...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Readers should have been told promptly that an embedded reporter had helped frame a question that a serviceman asked of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld this week in Kuwait, the reporter's publisher says. AP Photo The question to Rumsfeld from Spc. Thomas "Jerry" Wilson, 31, of Nashville, complaining that many military vehicles in Iraq (news - web sites) are not adequately armored, has touched off a storm of new publicity about the issue. "In hindsight, information on how the question was framed should have been included in Thursday's story in the Times Free Press. It was not," the...

...Pitts said in the e-mail that because only soldiers were being allowed to question Rumsfeld during Wednesday's session with troops in Kuwait, he recruited two grunts from the Tennessee National Guard unit he was embedded with. "Beforehand, we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld about the appalling lack of armor their vehicles going into combat have," Pitts gloated. "While waiting for the VIP, I went and found the Sgt. in charge of the microphone for the question and answer session and made sure he knew to get my guys out of the crowd." Sure enough, Pitts' plant, Spec. Thomas Wilson,...

IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Statement from Pentagon Spokesman Mr. Lawrence Di Rita on Question Posed at Town Hall Meeting “The issue Specialist Wilson raised at the Town Hall meeting in Kuwait is important. This department takes the matter seriously, and is addressing it aggressively. Town Hall meetings are intended for soldiers to have dialogue with the Secretary of Defense. It would be unfortunate to discover that anyone might have interfered with that opportunity, whatever the intention. The Secretary provides ample opportunity for interaction with the press. It is better that others not infringe on the troops’ opportunity to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said on Thursday U.S. troop concerns about inadequate equipment for Iraq (news - web sites) combat are being addressed and he did not blame soldiers for raising the issue with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. A day after he was bombarded with criticism from U.S. soldiers based in Kuwait, Rumsfeld promised more would be done to protect forces. He also said steps were being taken to deal with explosive devices, a leading cause of death in Iraq, where more than 1,000 American soldiers have been killed in action. Since invading Iraq last...

Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., publisher and CEO of the Washington Post, today blamed Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for attacks Mr. Jones endured at a recent town-hall style meeting of Post employees. "Ever since Rumsfeld let those troops air their grievances in an open meeting, our employees have been out of control," said Mr. Jones. "They destroyed my team meeting today with their complaints about aging equipment, long hours and inadequate pay. Not to mention the raucous cheering after each whining question." In fact, by soliciting and answering unscreened questions from troops in Kuwait, Mr. Rumsfeld sparked what may become an epidemic...

It's a great question: why don't we have enough armor? Kind of like it's great to see a contestant win a lot of money on a game show - but it's a LOT better when it's not manufactured. Fixed. Staged. Chroreographed. Whatever you want to call it, the news is always better when the reporter doesn't insert himself into the mix, as Edward Pitts has supposedly done. According to Drudge: From: EDWARD LEE PITTS, MILITARY AFFAIRS Sent: Wednesday, December 8, 2004 4:44 PM To: Staffers Subject: RE: Way to go I just had one of my best days as a...

NEW DELHI, India - A day after being challenged by a soldier on the Army's failure to provide adequate armor for vehicles used in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday he expects the Army to do its best to resolve the problem. Thousands of miles away, President Bush echoed Rumsfeld's sentiments. "The concerns expressed are being addressed and that is - we expect our troops to have the best possible equipment," Bush said at the White House. "If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country I'd want to ask the secretary of defense the same...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait - In a rare public airing of grievances, disgruntled soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday about long deployments and a lack of armored vehicles and other equipment. "You go to war with the Army you have," Rumsfeld replied, "not the Army you might want or wish to have." Spc. Thomas Wilson had asked the defense secretary, "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?" Shouts of approval and applause arose from the estimated 2,300 soldiers who had assembled...

We're used to hearing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld answer questions about things that went wrong in Iraq by saying they went right. When he does that to reporters, it's annoying. When he does it to troops risking their lives in his failed test of bargain-basement warfare, it's outrageous. Yesterday, Mr. Rumsfeld told soldiers at a staging area in Kuwait to ignore "the doubters" who say the escalating war is not going well. Then he invited the troops, some of them headed to their second combat tours, to ask him "tough questions." They evidently thought he meant it. A National Guard...

Hoooo-rah! Rummy finally got called on the carpet. Not by the president, of course, but by troops fighting in Iraq. Some of them are finally fed up enough to rumble about his back-door draft and failure to provide them with the proper armor for their Humvees, leaving them scrambling to improvise with what they call "hillbilly armor." The defense secretary had been expected to go to Iraq on this trip but spent the day greeting troops in Kuwait instead. Even though Pentagon officials insist that security wasn't an issue, I bet they had to be worried not to travel the...

Let there be no mistake - I am a strong supporter of GW Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. I am an even bigger supporter of our soldiers in Iraq. After reading stories of our troops and even their commanders pleading for adequately armored vehicles, I did an Internet search for modern armored vehicles designed for heavy armor. Upgrading Humvees with armor isn't a good solution since they aren't designed for the weight and the upgrades are moving too slowly, so I specifically searched for available vehicles worldwide designed for heavy armor. After only a few links, I found this interesting site:...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (AP) -- Disgrunted U.S. soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday about the lack of armor for their vehicles and long deployments, drawing a blunt retort from the Pentagon chief. "You go to war with the Army you have," he said in a rare public airing of rank-and-file concerns among the troops.In his prepared remarks earlier, Rumsfeld had urged the troops - mostly National Guard and Reserve soldiers - to discount critics of the war in Iraq and to help "win the test of wills" with the insurgents.Some of soldiers, however, had criticisms of...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2004 – Some soldiers headed for duty in Iraq took the secretary of defense at his word in Kuwait today when he encouraged them to ask him tough questions at a town-hall meeting. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was in Kuwait to visit U.S. troops at Camp Buehring, a military compound about 40 miles south of the Iraq border. The camp is a staging area where troops headed for Iraq receive training on tactical convoy operations. In his opening remarks, Rumsfeld told the troops that the American people "are deeply grateful" for their efforts and that they...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — In a rare public airing of grievances, disgruntled soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (search) on Wednesday about long deployments and a lack of armored vehicles and other equipment. "You go to war with the Army you have," Rumsfeld replied, "not the Army you might want or wish to have."

"You go to war with the Army you have," not the one you might want, was the retort of Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld as reported by CNN to questioning by troops after a morning conference at Camp Buehring, Kuwait . This particular inquiry (as reported by the AP ), presented by Thomas Wilson of the 278th Regimental Combat Team concerned the logistics of combat: "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmor our vehicles?" Wilson asked. "We do not have proper armored vehicles to carry with...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (Reuters) - An American soldier complained to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday troops were being forced to dig up scrap metal to protect their vehicles in Iraq (news - web sites) because of a shortage of armored transport. "A lot of us are getting ready to move north (into Iraq)," the soldier said to Rumsfeld during a question-and-answer session with hundreds of troops at the Camp Buehring military base, 12 miles south of the Iraq border in Kuwait. "Now why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic...

Defense chief speaks to soldiers heading to Iraq. CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (AP) -- After delivering a pep talk designed to energize troops preparing to head for Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld got a little "talking to" himself from disgruntled soldiers. In his prepared remarks, Rumsfeld urged the troops -- mostly National Guard and Reserve soldiers -- to discount critics of the war in Iraq and to help "win the test of wills" with the insurgents. Some of soldiers, however, had criticisms of their own -- not of the war itself but of how it is being fought. Army Spc. Thomas...

A reporter traveling with a National Guard unit prodded one of its soldiers to ask Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld about the lack of armor for some U.S. military vehicles in Iraq, an exchange that made worldwide news Wednesday when the assembled troops cheered the question. Edward Lee Pitts of the Chattanooga Times Free Press told colleagues in an e-mail that he and members of the Tennessee Army National Guard now in Kuwait "worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld about the appalling lack of armor" and that Spec. Thomas Wilson posed the question at his request. President Bush and Rumsfeld...