Rumsfeld...defended U.S.-led coalitions, like the one recently sent to pacify Haiti, as a swift solution when the bureaucratic wheels of the United Nations and other international organizations turn too slowly.
Contra Costa Times article
So, you better act quickly if you don't want the U.S. to jump in and fix things its own way, I guess is the message there.
But he acknowledged that for all their firepower and intelligence techniques, the United States and its allies did not have an effective strategy to crush terrorism at its source.
We have a pretty good one for fanning its flames, though.
He said that the U.S.-led campaign must extend beyond arrests and warfare to a political effort that stems the recruiting and development of terrorists in the Muslim world.
Well, that sounds perfectly reasonable. What the hey?
"If the schools that are teaching young folks are teaching them terror instead of mathematics," Rumsfeld said, the supply of militants will never end.
Oh. I should have known. Maybe we can shut down all schools in Arab countries. That should take care of it.
The Bush administration's own public diplomacy efforts have been hampered by scant resources, the resignations of high-level officials and a failure to engage ordinary Muslims in the battle over ideas, critics say.
Geez, even the critics want to wage war on ideas.
Thousands of anti-American protesters took to Dhaka's streets on Friday and Saturday to renounce Rumsfeld's visit, calling him a war criminal.
Rumsfeld was the first American defense secretary to visit Bangladesh.
CNN article
Rumsfeld was the first American defense secretary to visit Bangladesh.
Great first showing, huh?
He didn't specifically ask for troops in Iraq, but that was apparently his hope in making an appearance in Bangladesh. Kind of given up on the idea that the western troops could kick ass, I guess we're now looking to put some Muslim troops in to pacify the hornets we stirred up.
Rumsfiend was told that Bangladesh troops were only deployed under the "blue helmet" (UN peacekeeping troops), and that they would only go where they were asked by the country to which they were deploying. I guess Bangladesh doesn't realize that we own Iraq now.
"I think countries ought to do that which they are comfortable doing," Mr. Rumsfeld said, after meeting with the foreign minister, Morshad Khan.
NY Times article
Toned down a notch since "with us or against us", huh?
Back in Singapore...
In a question-and-answer session, Mr. Rumsfeld brushed aside most Southeast Asian security concerns to focus on the war in Iraq.
Just change the whole agenda - unilaterally. I mean, the conference was intended for discussions about Asian security. That was its title, actually: Conference on Asian Security.
But, hey, you know, we're America. And America is really all that matters. In fact, we have to run things, because nobody else is capable. Look, if we let them, they'd just be discussing Asian security. And lord knows, nobody's secure if America isn't. They're focusing on themselves, when we need them to be focusing on us. Like George Tenet said about Hugo Chávez back in '02, "He doesn't have the United States' best interests at heart."
