Andy Card

GOP's Tortured Logic: How We Got Osama Bin Laden

Brian Beutler | May 3, 2011, 8:42AM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Former President George W. Bush.

Like so many memes that persist in politics, this one started on the Internet. The morning after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan, conservatives started crowing that credit should be given to President George W. Bush -- specifically, for having the foresight and courage to torture the people who provided the initial scraps of intel that ultimately led the CIA to a giant compound just north of Islamabad.

The most prominent of these conservatives was Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who took to Twitter to ask sardonically, "Wonder what President Obama thinks of water boarding now?

About two hours later, the Associated Press published a brief story claiming that the CIA obtained the initial intelligence it needed to find bin Laden from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the so-called mastermind of 9/11 -- and his successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi at CIA black sites in Poland and Romania.

Those secret prisons, which the Obama administration contends to have abandoned, were the facilities where Mohammed and al-Libi were waterboarded. There, the detainees supposedly identified by nom de guerre a courier who would years later be located by American intelligence officials, and lead them to bin Laden's compound.

"The news is sure to reignite debate over whether the now-closed interrogation and detention program was successful," the AP wrote. "Former president George W. Bush authorized the CIA to use the harshest interrogation tactics in U.S. history. President Barack Obama closed the prison system."

There's just one problem. The key bit of intel wasn't acquired via torture, according to a more fleshed out version of the same report.

But the myth provided a brief opening. Thus have Republicans constructed a version of events by which they -- and Bush in particular -- deserve some of credit for bin Laden's death. Not all of it. Indeed they have by and large acknowledged Obama's role, and congratulated him on it. And most have not been as brazen as King or the Tea Party Express in attributing the success of the mission to Bush's interrogation policies. But Bush, they argue, played a big part as well, akin to the husband who loosens the lid to a Mason jar only to watch his wife open it effortlessly.

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Donald Rumsfeld

Rumsfeld: Obama's Handling Of Libya 'Worrisome' For The Military (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 24, 2011, 9:30AM

Donald Rumsfeld

By not defining a clear mission in Libya and failing to offer up a distinct exit strategy, President Obama is making the military very nervous. At least that's how former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sees it.

Rumsfeld told Politico that the mission in Libya is "confused" by the way the coalition of nations currently enforcing the no-fly zone was put together. And that's not what servicemen and women going to battle in the Middle East want, Rumsfeld says.

"If peoples' lives are at risk and you're using military forces, you need to have a rather clear understanding as to who's in charge and who's making the decisions," he said.

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Afghanistan

Rumsfeld: Obama Can Win The War On Terror By Emulating Bush (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | February 21, 2011, 9:53AM

According to Donald Rumsfeld, the Bush administration handled the "War On Terror" just fine, as proven by the fact that President Obama is now such a big fan of their work.

Appearing on CNN with Candy Crowley, Rumsfeld noted that Obama -- despite criticizing Bush on the campaign trail -- has perpetuated several highly contentious Bush-era policies since taking office.

"They have now switched from campaign mode," Rumsfeld said. "They are keeping Guantanamo Bay, they are keeping indefinite detention, they are keeping military commissions. So obviously they have come to the conclusion that it's easier to campaign than it is to govern."

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | February 18, 2011, 5:57PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

• Fox News Sunday: Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

• NBC, Meet The Press: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

CPAC

Paul Supporters Hijack Cheney-Rumsfeld Reunion (Video)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 10, 2011, 4:52PM

Dick Cheney just popped up here at CPAC to introduce his old pal and Bush administration colleague Donald Rumsfeld. Fans of Ron Paul turned what should have been a friendly moment before an audience of fellow conservatives into a screaming match and protest action that resembled what a Cheney-Rumsfeld hug at the Netroots Nation convention might look like.

Rumsfeld is being given CPAC's "Defender Of The Constitution" award, a concept that apparently rankled Paul supporters in the crowd. Many of them got up and walked out en masse at the mention of Rumsfeld, though some stayed behind in the conference hall to heckle the architects of the invasion of Iraq.

One shout of "where's Bin Laden?" rang out as Cheney spoke of Rumsfeld.

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Guantanamo Bay

Rumsfeld: 'Heartbreaking Thing' That We Couldn't Persuade People Gitmo Was 'First Class' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2011, 3:27PM

Donald Rumsfeld

During his interview last night on Sean Hannity's TV show, former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld bemoaned the sad fact about the prison camp at Guantanamo -- namely, according to Rumsfeld, that the Bush administration was unable to convince people of just how great it is!

"It is an exceedingly well-run prison. And the folks down there have done, and are doing, an excellent job," said Rumsfeld. "The heartbreaking thing with respect to Guantanamo is not that there's anything wrong with that -- it's one of the finest prison systems in the world. What is awkward is the fact that, for whatever reason, the administration was incapable of persuading people that that was a first class operation, that they were not torturing people, they were not hurting people.

"And it was then, and it is today, a fine operation, and the men and women who operate it for the United States military deserve a lot of credit. And they've taken a lot of heat, unfairly."

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Iraq

Rumsfeld: Still No Apologies For Iraq

Andrew Jones | February 8, 2011, 3:38PM

Donald Rumsfeld

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continued his reappearance to the media world for his new book Known or Unknown: A Memoir. And he continued to defend his decisions on Iraq with little to no regrets.

On ABC's Good Morning America earlier today, Rumsfeld took a series of tough questions from George Stephanopoulos, including one which led him to deny that calls for increasing troops from top officials -- including Coalition Provisional Authority administrator Paul Bremer -- were ever made.

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Donald Rumsfeld

Rumsfeld: 'It's Possible' We Didn't Send Enough Troops To Iraq -- But 'It's Hard To Know'

Eric Kleefeld | February 7, 2011, 9:56AM

Donald Rumsfeld

Former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld is starting to allow for the idea that maybe, just maybe, he and the Bush administration should have sent more troops to Iraq -- though he's not ready to say that it's true.

Rumsfeld sat down for an interview Diane Sawyer of ABC News. He said of the troop level question that he was not ready to agree with the criticism, but that it was "possible." He also added: "You know, the path you didn't take is always smoother."

Pressed on the fact that President Bush has written that cutting troop levels in Iraq was "the most important failure in the execution of the war," Rumsfeld called that "interesting."

"I don't have enough confidence to say that that's right. I think that it's possible. We had [an] enormous number of troops ready to go in. They had -- we had off-ramps, if they weren't needed."

"It's hard to know," Rumsfeld continued. "You know, the path you didn't take is always smoother."

Rumsfeld was also asked about whether he would have gone to war if he had known about the lack of actual weapons of mass destruction. He said that he did not know -- and offered these words of wisdom: "What you know today can help you on things you're thinking about tomorrow. It can't help you with things you were thinking about back then."

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CPAC

Rumsfeld To Get 'Defender Of The Constitution' Award At CPAC

Jillian Rayfield | January 31, 2011, 2:11PM

Donald Rumsfeld

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will receive the "Defender of the Constitution" award at CPAC this year.

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Donald Rumsfeld

Rumsfeld: 'The President's Assertion Does A Disservice To The Truth'

Selena Hill | December 2, 2009, 1:14PM

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld released a combative statement in response to President Obama's speech on Afghanistan last night. Here's the full text:

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