Help Me Write My Term Paper On The FCC’s Process and New Media Ownership Rules

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I’m writing a term paper for my Ethics class on whether Michael Powell followed all the correct procedures when he pushed through the New Media Ownership rules last June. I’m guessing that he followed everything to the letter of the law, but writing the paper will help me learn about what “the process” actually is and know for sure.
Please email me at lisarein@finetuning.com with any links or relevant articles you know of about this subject that you think would be useful to my research. I’ll be publishing the finished product here when I’m done.
Thanks!

Help Free The Berkeley 3!

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Time constraints prohibit me from elaborating on this. Read for yourselves 🙂
(Thanks, Kevin.)

Help Free The Berkeley 3!
11-17-03- Drop All Charges Against The Berkeley 3!
Free speech at Berkeley is under attack. Anti-war student organizers need your immediate help.

Call, email or write to: Asst. Chancellor John Cummins Office of the Chancellor 200 California Hall #1500 Berkeley, CA 94720-1500 jcummins@uclink4.berkeley.edu 510-642-7464
**Please CC your emails to the administration to: DefendBerkeley3@aol.com

Dean of Students Karen Kenney turned the clock back decades by approving sanctions against three Berkeley students for their part in a peaceful on campus sit-in on March 20 (for more details go to www.antiwarnetwork.org). The protest was organized by the Berkeley Stop the War coalition and involved 4,000 students at a rally with 400 participating in the sit-in. Rachel Odes and Snehal Shingavi face 20 hours of community service and a letter of reprimand permanently placed on their academic record. Michael Smith faces 30 hours of community service, plus a stayed suspension for one semester. Outrageously, Smith will be forced to submit to “anger management” at the university’s infirmary. If he completes that “successfully,” his suspension might be commuted to a letter of reprimand. This use of psychological treatment as punishment for a political activity recalls the classification of dissent as a “psychiatric disorder” in Stalinist Russia. Dean Kenney’s actions mock Berkeley’s reputation as a haven for freedom of speech and progressive political action.
Besides the obvious chilling effect on student’s exercising their civil liberties on campus, the university continued its disregard for due process procedure in sentencing the students. For example:
*Chair of the Disciplinary Hearing Board Prof. Robert Jacobsen arbitrarily ruled that only 25 members of the Berkeley campus community could attend the hearing, despite repeated requests on the students’ part that the hearing be open. At least 15 university police and private security guards barricaded the entrance to the hearing site to enforce this decision.
*Jacobsen missed the university-mandated deadline for issuing the disciplinary report.
*The university provides only unpaid undergraduates “advocates” to help with the defense. When the three students obtained legal representation on their own initiative, Jacobsen announced that he would allow the lawyer to participate only marginally in the hearings at his discretion as chair.
Following the hearing, the university announced that it would eliminate students’ right to legal counsel so as to make the process more “educational.” The Berkeley Daily Cal student newspaper editorial board correctly noted that: “To suggest students have something to learn from defending themselves already assumes their guilt.” (http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=13525)
Perhaps the most shocking component of the administration’s prosecution stemmed from its conception of “progressive discipline.” Under this theory, students who take part in more than one political protest face harsher and harsher punishments. So, for instance, the university based its argument to prosecute Shingavi, at least in part, on the fact that he was the “point person” for a previous protest conducted by the Students for Justice in Palestine. Although he was not arrested or charged in connection with that protest, his association with that organization and protest helped single him out for “progressive discipline.” This legal theory of “guilt by association” led the Daily Cal to editorialize that “by picking out only three, the message sent from the university seems to be that free speech includes the right to participate in a protest, but not the right to organize one.” (http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=13176)
As the Bush administration carries out unprecedented attacks on hard won civil liberties, the Berkeley administration is shamefully jumping on the band wagon. Now that Dean Kenney has rubber-stamped Jacobsen’s verdict, the last appeal goes to Asst. Chancellor John Cummins. He will issue his final decision within 15 days.
Ironically, on November 20, Amy Goodman from Pacifa Radio’s “Democracy Now!” will receive the Mario Savio prize for free speech at a mass meeting on campus. The Berkeley Stop the War coalition plans to work with her to make sure that Asst. Chancellor Cummins hears the support for the Berkeley 3 loud and clear. We urge everyone who cares about free speech, the right to protest and academic freedom to take immediate action, by calling, emailing or writing to Cummins this week to demand that he drop all charges against the Berkeley 3. Especially, the frightening and irresponsible use of psychological “treatment” as a punishment for political activity.
We thank you in advance for you solidarity,
Todd Chretien Committee to Defend Student Civil Liberties
PS Many of you generously sent contributions towards the printing of a full page ad in the Daily Cal defending the Berkeley 3. That ad ran on October 27 and we believe it played an important part in forcing the university to back down from even harsher punishments for the students. (It can be viewed at www.antiwarnetwork.org) Some of you may have had your checks returned to you. That is because after the university found out that the Berkeley Stop the War coalition was soliciting defense donations, they took the unprecedented action of freezing all mail to that on-campus address. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. If you’d like to re-send your contributions (or send one for the first time), you can send them to: BSTW PO Box 4001 Berkeley, CA 94704-0001

Online Policy Group vs. Diebold Case Heard Yesterday

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Civil rights group fears effect of e-voting company’s threats
By Rachel Konrad for the Associated Press.

Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, argued in federal court Monday that North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc. should be barred from sending cease-and-desist letters to activists, who are publishing links to leaked documents about alleged security blunders at one of the nation’s biggest e-voting companies.
Judge Jeremy Fogel is expected to issue a ruling as early as this week.
Free speech advocates at San Francisco-based EFF compare the case to the groundbreaking Pentagon Papers lawsuit. The secret government study of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was leaked to The New York Times, sparking a 1971 Supreme Court battle pitting the government against the media.
“I’m not making a judgment about which is more important, Vietnam policy or the future of voting in a democracy,” Cohn said after the hearing in federal court in San Jose. “But this is important to the public debate … and you can’t squelch it.”
Computer programmers, ISPs and students at least 20 universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received cease-and-desist letters. Many removed links to Diebold documents, but some – including San Francisco-based ISP Online Policy Group – refused, and sued Diebold.
They say the leaked documents raise serious security questions about Diebold, which controls 50,000 touch-screen voting terminals nationwide. They argue they have a right to publish the data under the “fair use” exception of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
OPG, which hosts at least 1,000 Web sites of nonprofit groups and individuals on 120 computer servers, also argues that the volunteer organization cannot be responsible for every link of every client.

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New Article For OpenP2P.com — Interview With LimeWire COO and P2P United President Greg Bildson

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Interview with
LimeWire COO Greg Bildson

By Lisa Rein for OpenP2P.com

Lisa Rein: So, you guys paid Brianna’s RIAA fine?
Greg Bildson: Yes, we cut the check to her mother to reimburse her. We felt that suing a 12-year old in the Bronx wasn’t the answer.
LR: Tell me more about P2P United.
GB: P2P United is basically trying to make sure that Congress doesn’t do anything stupid, which they’re apt to do in the technology world. We’re trying to make sure to protect our rights to innovate and write software, and to address all of the bad mouthing the RIAA is constantly doing to P2P.
P2P was proven to be legal in that California decision. If there’s anything we can do with respect to the overreach of the DMCA and invasion of privacy and, basically, due process — we feel that there should be due process, and there should be an actual lawsuit before they are able to get information about users.
Congress is writing bills targeting P2P, and the RIAA is talking about pornography and homeland security and identity theft and all of these things that are really minor concerns, with regard to P2P. For the most part, Congress is either overreacting or doing the bidding of the RIAA.
O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference.
For instance, there was a hearing regarding P2P and porn a few weeks ago. There are already laws that exist to punish people for being pedophiles; P2P’s got nothing to do with it. In these cases, the content itself is illegal. P2P is not the concern when it comes to child endangerment, but they are constantly targeting P2P. They should go look at AOL and Yahoo chat rooms rather than P2P networks. Orin Hatch’s presentation of child pornography began with a movie sponsored by the RIAA. The record industry is probably the last group of people to be protecting children, when their lyrics and videos are so explicit.
So the RIAA is basically using the high $150,000 per infringement to extort a settlement out of people who wouldn’t even consider fighting it. People view this more like a speeding ticket instead of something where one act of infringement can cost you $150,000. We’re in favor of people being able to protect their copyrights, but in a way that is fair. If the government is going to regulate, they need to know what they’re doing. They shouldn’t be getting their information only from the RIAA.
LR: So are you trying to educate Congress?
GB: Yes. P2P United is trying to educate Congress. However, their staffers need to be willing to be educated. So far, they’ve been willfully blind or ignorant.

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Come To The Protest/Press Conference Wednesday At Noon In San Francisco

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The schmuks running this country are about to do it all over again. They are requiring a second round of immigrant special registrations.
Incredible.
Wish I had more time to elaborate. But I’ll just see you at noon on Wednesday.

Refuse & Resist has endorsed the opposition to the special INS registrations – has part of taking on the whole reactionary agenda! Please get your friends and co workers to come out on Wed Nov 19th – Support our Arab, Muslims and South Asian brothers and sisters!
Remember what happened in World War 2 to the Japanese Americans – what would you have done then, what will you do now?
TAKING A STAND AGAINST SPECIAL RE-REGISTRATION
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2003 BICE (INS) BUILDING, WASHINGTON AND SANSOME, San Francisco 11 AM TO 1 PM (Press conference at 12 noon).
The Dept. of “Homeland Security” Special Re-registrations of men and boys from 24 mainly Muslim countries has already begun again this month. Last year special registration meant humiliation, detentions and brutality for many of the nearly 90,000 who came in to register. This program has created fear, anxiety, frustration and despair in the Arab and Muslim communities, causing great distress to wives, children and relatives as reported by the American Muslim Voice nationwide hotline. Last year, registerees were fingerprinted, photographed, and had to turn over bankcards, social security cards, driver’s licenses, credit cards and other information. Every time they left the country they were required to get an exit stamp and re-register upon return. And in the end, about 13,000 men are facing deportation proceedings! The pettiest of visa violations, even those caused by INS incompetence are now tearing families apart.
Now the same people who registered last year are being registered again.
Last year the protest of Iranians in Los Angeles in December and opposition in the streets in January across the country, brought the reality of this ugly program to light. These actions drew attention to the fact that the 1940s Alien Registration Act foreshadowed the round up and detention of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Registration also preceded the round up of Jews in Europe. This year, as the ACLU has pointed out, the secrecy surrounding registration has all the markings of a TRAP, by which those who do not realize they have to register or miss a deadline will be subject to deportation. The Blue Triangle Network in close association with American Muslim Voice and many other organizations is calling for a rally and press conference Wednesday, Nov. 19 to denounce special re-registration, demand an end to it, and stand in solidarity with people subjected to it. Please join this effort and PASS THE WORD.

A Few Words About The Last Few Posts And Life In General

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Bill Moyers and friends have been outdoing themselves lately on NOW With Bill Moyers.
The last two programs on November 7 and November 14, 2003 have been so shocking and relevant that I find myself saying “damn” out loud over and over again with my mouth hanging open.
I really am going to have to ease up on my blogging over the next few weeks so I can concentrate on my graduate work (which, ironically, I will also be blogging about shortly). However, before I take that plunge, I decided I had to get this stuff up first so the ball could get rolling on properly exposing this stuff. (Stuff = Mistreatment of Shrub War Vets and The Connecton Between Certain Shrub Administration Officials and “Gold Rush” Iraqi reconstruction contracts.)
I don’t know what exactly can be done about these situations, and I’m certainly in no position to do anything personally about them anytime soon. But I have to believe that somehow, some way, there’s someone out there that has the power to help fix things, if only they knew about them.
Maybe now they will know.
Have a great day everybody!

Bill Moyers On The Insider Business Deals Between Shrub Administration Officials And Iraqi Reconstruction Companies

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Specifically, between Douglas Feith, the Undersecretary of Defense and several companies (many related to his “former” business associate Marc Zell), including: Zell, Goldberg and Company, Diligence, New Bridge Strategies, Barber, Griffith and Rogers, SAIC (courtesy of current Shrub Administration Official and former SAIC Senior Vice President Ryan Henry), and The Iraqi International Law Group.




This story aired on NOW With Bill Moyers on November 14, 2003.
This story, “Cash and Carry,” was Produced by Katie Pitra, features correspondent Roberta Baskin, and was Edited by Alison Amron.
This incredible segment documents the direct connections between the Shrub Administration and the main two or three companies that are profiting directly from the Iraqi reconstruction.
Join them as they connect the dots and talk to several of these people first hand. (Many would not return their phone calls, but others were very up front and matter-of-fact about it.)
I’ve taken screen grabs of many of the diagrams and things and transcribed information straight from the program for your convenience.
Here’s some technical information about getting quicktime going to watch these movies.
Bill Moyers – Cash and Carry – Complete (Small – 36 MB)
Bill Moyers – Cash and Carry – Part 1 of 3 (Small – 12 MB)
Bill Moyers – Cash and Carry – Part 2 of 3 (Small – 14 MB)
Bill Moyers – Cash and Carry – Part 3 of 3 (Small – 11 MB)
Below: Roberta Baskin


Here’s Bill Moyers’ Introduction:

“Welcome to NOW. The news from Iraq just keeps coming. A secret CIA report this week warns that ‘more and more Iraqis believe the U.S. could actually lose the war.’ American troops have started using Vietnam-like tactics, hitting back at suspected enclaves without proof that they’re harboring insurgents. And American authorities are now limiting press access to both troops and independent contractors in Iraq…
As you know, there’s a big debate over those billion dollar contracts being handed out to rebuild Iraq. Some Democratic Presidential candidates say the government is playing favorites. Defenders of the process, however, say “nonsense.”…
..it’s not easy to sort out the facts because the whole process in shrouded in buracracy and secrecy. One thing is certain, a lot of people in Washington and Baghdad look upon what’s happening as a modern equivalent of a gold rush. They’re not shy about promoting their political connections to get to the front of the line.”

Here’s Roberta Baskin’s opening:

“Here beneath Iraq’s landscape lies a vast ocean of oil. The second largest oil reserve in the world with over 100 billion barrels of crude ready to be tapped. When America invaded Iraq last March, troops raced first to secure the rich fields of Kier Cook (sp). So with vast reserves just waiting, why is the U.S. Government paying the Halliburton Corporation $2.65 per gallon to ship gasoline into Iraq from Kuwait, when one investigation discovered it could be done for less than a dollar a gallon.
The price difference alone is costing tax payers as much as a 100 million dollars. When we asked Halliburton about this discrepancy, they wouldn’t tell us. And even a United States Congressman (Henry Waxman D-CA) can’t find out why.
‘Why are we paying $1.65 a gallon more? Is it because Halliburton is gouging the public? Is it because the Kuwaitis are overcharging Halliburton? Is it because there’s a culture where they don’t care what they pay because the tax payers are going to pay the bill so there’s no reason for them to want to hold down the costs?’ (Waxman) …
‘If the evidence of what Halliburton has been charging for gasoline to be brought into Iraq is emblematic of anything, it’s emblematic of no oversight, no transparency, and fleecing of the tax payers.’ (Waxman)…
Just as the war started, Halliburton was awarded a no bid 7 billion dollar contract to repair Iraq’s oil industry…Halliburton proved itself after the first Gulf war, putting out the fires in the oil fields. The Pentagon has said it didn’t want to waste time finding someone new if Saddam burned the oil fields again, but Waxman says it’s a prime example of what’s wrong with the secrecy surrounding the government’s contracts, because in the initial 87 billion dollar Iraq aid package there was another 2 billion dollars for Halliburton. And when Waxman started asking, he says neither the goverment nor the company seemed to know whay the 2 billion dollars was there or what it was for.
‘We’ve got billions here, billions there. As one senator once said “A billion here, a billion there, it starts adding up into real money.” ‘ (Waxman)…



Who is Mark Zell?
Mark Zell is the principal of “Zell, Goldberg and Company,” which assists American companies in connection with Iraqi reconstruction projects.
From Roberta Baskin:

“And just who at the firm can connect you to the American Government? None other than Marc Zell. A former law partner of Douglas Feith. Who’s Douglas Feith? Undersecretary of Defense. One of the handful of advisors who, long before September 11, championed the campaign to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Now Douglas Feith is the man in charge of the Pentagon’s reconstruction of Iraq.
To sum up, Marc Zell is one well connected middleman standing right between the people to give the contracts and the people who want them. We asked to interview him about all this, but our calls were not returned.”







More from Roberta Baskin:

“But even at the war’s front lines, middlemen are busy making their deals. Marc Zell also works with a different firm called “The Iraqi International Law Group,” which very much wants to be “your professional gateway to the new Iraq.” Who’s in charge of that gateway? A man named Salem Chalabi.
He has a famous uncle, Ahmed Chalabi. You see him there in Iraq, but before the war, this exile was hand picked by the planners in the Pentagon to shape the new government. When the war started, they air lifted Chalabi into the country with his own 700 man militia. At the center of all that planning, Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. Whose old law partner, Marc Zell, now works with Ahmed Chalabi’s nephew, providing that gateway to the new Iraq.”







More from Roberta Baskin:

“And Chalabi isn’t the only member of the Iraqi leadership with close relatives lining up for those rebuilding contracts. The son of one Chalabi aid runs a phone company that is part of the group that won the contract to provide cell service to southern Iraq. Chalabi’s aid told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn’t understand what all the fuss over his son’s inside connections. Comparing his son to the Americans, he said “It didn’t stop Cheney from becoming the Vice President.”



More from Roberta Baskin:

“But these aren’t the only friends of government promoting their inside influence in what’s being called The Iraq Gold Rush. One firm was established just for that purpose: New Bridge Strategies…If you can’t find your way around Baghdad, Mike Baker will lend you a hand. He’s a former CIA officer and part of the management team [its CEO] for New Bridge Strategies Strategies and its sister company Diligence, a security firm. Both are staffed by old Washington hands and both are headquartered in the offices of Barber, Griffith and Rogers. The “Barber” in that title is Haley Barber, a former chairman of the Republican party and one of the highest paid lobbyists in Washington. He’s now the Governer-elect of Missippi.”
‘Newbridge Strategies is staffed by people that have a great deal of experience in Washington. Everyone from Joe Albot to Ed Rogers. They understand how the administration thinks.’ (Mark Baker)
“They should understand how the administration thinks. They used to be in it. Joe Albot ran George W. Bush’s campaign for President, and was then put in charge of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Mike Baker’s other collegue is this man, Ed Rogers. He served as a deputy assistant to the first President Bush. Here he is in Iraq with Mike Baker, posing in front of a tank outfitted in flak jackets and sporting a semi-automatic rifle.”







The Center For The Public Integrity has been trying to find out information about the nature of the work specified in some of these contracts, and is getting a lot of resistance.
More from Roberta Baskin:

“No one has tried harder to get at those details [of the deals] than the watchdog group the Center For The Public Integrity. In a six month investigation, the Center found that cozy insider relationships have become an accepted way of doing business in the fight against terrorism.”…
But skeptics might be more easily persuaded if the government didn’t shroud all this in so much secrecy. That secrecy makes it practically impossible to find out if those close to the administration are profiting off their inside information. And it makes it equally hard to find out if tax payers are getting their money’s worth…
For example, in the name of secrecy, the Pentagon redacted almost every page of this contract. They have made it impossible to answer questions about fees being charged, or the work being done, or even the total cost of the job. Just look at the blacked out sections of this deal with the defense contractor SAIC…
All we know for certain about the contractor SAIC is that the top people of this privately held Fortune 500 company are wired into the Pentagon. On the board are a retired general and a former Assistant Secretary of Defense. And then there’s Ryan Henry, he was SAIC’s Senior Vice President. Until, that is, he went through that revolving door into the Pentagon. Into the very office that now supervises his former company’s contract.”









Below: The blacked out numbers of the SAIC contract.


Below: Some Members Of Congress Are Trying To Get To The Bottom Of This




Below: Some Iraqi Native Businessmen Are Complaining They Can’t Compete With American Companies

Bill Moyers NOW On The Mistreatment Of Shrub War Veterans: Case Study – The Stiffler Family

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This story aired on NOW With Bill Moyers on November 7, 2003.
This clip is exerpted from the complete feature, “Coming Home,” which was Produced by Dan Klein, features correspondent David Brancaccio, and was Edited by Amanda Zindman.


Jason Stiffler was manning a watch tower in Afghanistan when it fell out from under him. It’s still unclear whether it was an engineering failure, an attack, or friendly fire. Whatever the cause, he fell 25 feet and suffered seizures at the scene and eventually went into a coma. He suffered serious spinal cord injuries and other injuries. He was quadraplegic for some time after the accident, eventually regained limited use of his legs after months of physical therapy, although it still causes him great pain to move.
A year ago October, he was released from the hospital and placed on the Army’s temporary duty list, which meant he was now eligible for medical care and payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Stifflers say they waited for promised phone call from the VA that never came. With his physical and mental condition deteriorating, Jason visited the regional VA hospital in Ft. Wayne, which had no record of him and was only able to offer limited assistance and care.
As David Brancaccio puts it: “Jason Stiffler, badly wounded veteran of America’s War On Terror, was on his own.”
Background on the complete video of the segment:
This story focuses on several families whose fathers put their lives on the line to go fight in Iraq, and were injured in combat. Upon returning home, they were given little or no medical or financial support whatsoever, and were told to seek handouts to get by.
Excerpt from David Brancaccio’s introduction:

..another young vet from the 101st airborne came home to a different kind of reception, one that was to leave him and his family nearly destitute.
Jason Stiffler followed a boyhood dream into the army at the age of 18. He was eager to defend his country. In return, he assumed it would take care of him.
“It was part of the agreement that we made on March 23, 01, when I signed up. I specifically remember that day because it was the first thing I asked. ‘If anything happens to me, will I be taken care of?’ Oh yeah, yeah, just sign right here.”…
“There was a timeframe when I wasn’t getting paid nothing.” (Stiffler)
“How did you make ends meet during that time?” (Brancaccio)
“You know what they told us? ‘Churches,’ ‘family,’ ‘friends,’ ‘welfare.'” (Stiffler)

Here’s some technical information about getting quicktime going to watch these movies.
The Story Of The Stiffler Family (Small – 10 MB)



Bill Moyers NOW On The Mistreatment Of Shrub War Veterans

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This story aired on NOW With Bill Moyers on November 7, 2003.
This story, “Coming Home,” was Produced by Dan Klein and features correspondent David Brancaccio. It was Edited by Amanda Zindman.
This story focuses on several families whose fathers put their lives on the line to go fight in Iraq, and were injured in combat. Upon returning home, they were given little or no medical or financial support whatsoever, and were told to seek handouts to get by.
This is available in one big 38 MB clip and in three smaller clips for easier downloading off small connections. I’ve also transcribed portions and am including some info with the pictures.
I’ve also put up some clips of one of the families, the Stifflers, that was featured in this segment.
Here’s some technical information about getting quicktime going to watch these movies.
Bill Moyers On Mistreated Vets – Complete (Small – 38 MB)
Bill Moyers On Mistreated Vets – Part 1 of 3 (Small – 12 MB)
Bill Moyers On Mistreated Vets – Part 2 of 3 (Small – 16 MB)
Bill Moyers On Mistreated Vets – Part 3 of 3 (Small – 11 MB)
Excerpt from Bill Moyers’ introduction:

“In Iraq, for every soldier killed, 7 are wounded. 1,300 since May 1st. That’s twice as many as were wounded during the war itself. The New Republic reports that nearly every night, under the cover of darkness, ambulences meet C-17 and C-141 transport planes flying into Andrews airforce base to ferry the wounded to military facilities. The government hasn’t wanted us to see them, but that’s beginning to change as the numbers mount and as journalists keep insisting on knowing who are these wounded and what’s happening to them.”















Rumsfeld On Meet The Press: More On Why Nobody Knows How Many Troops We’ll Need

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This is from the November 2, 2003 program of Meet the Press.

Complete Video and Photos

Rumsfeld: More On Why Nobody Knows How Many Troops We’ll Need (Small – 5 MB)
Donald Rumsfeld:
“The total number of security forces is made up of three categories: U.S. forces, coalition forces, and Iraqi security forces. Now, the answer as to how many U.S. forces will be there a year from now depends entirely on what happens in the security situation on the ground, first and foremost. Second, it depends on how fast we’re able to build up the Iraqi forces. What’s happening is the total number of security forces in that country have been going up steadily. We’ve come down from 150,- to 130,000 troops. The coalition troops of about 30,000 have stayed about level. And what’s changed is the Iraqi troops have come up from zero to 100,000, heading towards over 200,000 next year.
Now, I can’t — I have trouble believing that the security situation in that country will require additional U.S. troops. We’ll have to rotate our forces, and take the ones who’ve been there awhile out, and put additional troops in. But the total number of troops are going up, because the Iraqis are going up. And then, someone says, well, how many will we have? And the answer is I don’t know. Nobody knows. And that’s a fair answer.”
Tim Russert:
“It could go down?”
Donald Rumsfeld:
“Oh, of course. It’s come down. It’s come down from 150,- to 130,000. And I suspect it will continue going down. That depends on if the security situation in the country permits it. The president’s said he’s going to stay there as long as it takes, and not one day longer, and he has said repeatedly we will put in as many U.S. troops as are necessary and no more. And instead of putting additional U.S. troops in, we’ve been able to build up the Iraqi forces, pass responsibility for security in that country to the Iraqi people, who in the last analysis had the responsibility and the obligation to provide for their own security.”