Rummy Plays Dumb.

Big Gray asked before if the White House really said that Iraq was an immanent threat. At the time i found a random quote or 2 and mentioned that the exact word 'immanent' was used, but added that it didn't matter because that was the clear position stated over and over by the white house, and it would be semantical to get into the use of the particular word.

Well, Donald Rumsfeld was asked that question on Face the Nation this week. I saw the clip and read the transcript--its pretty funny to watch him squirm, actually--and i decided to add it here. at this point it seems like i'm piling on, since it's been posted elsewhere, but here you go:

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, let me just ask you this. If they did not have these weapons of mass destruction, though, granted all of that is true, why then did they pose an immediate threat to us, to this country?
RUMSFELD: Well, you're the--you and a few other critics are the only people I've heard use the phrase 'immediate threat.' I didn't. The president didn't. And it's become kind of folklore that that's--that's what's happened. The president went...
SCHIEFFER: You're saying that nobody in the administration said that.
RUMSFELD: I--I can't speak for nobody--everybody in the administration and say nobody said that.
SCHIEFFER: Vice president didn't say that? The...
RUMSFELD: Not--if--if you have any citations, I'd like to see 'em.
TOM FRIEDMAN: We have one here. It says 'some have argued that the nu'--this is you speaking--'that the nuclear threat from Iraq is not imminent, that Saddam is at least five to seven years away from having nuclear weapons. I would not be so certain.'
RUMSFELD: And--and...
FRIEDMAN: It was close to imminent.
RUMSFELD: Well, I've--I've tried to be precise, and I've tried to be accurate. I'm s--suppose I've...
FRIEDMAN: 'No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world and the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.'
RUMSFELD: Mm-hmm. It--my view of--of the situation was that he--he had--we--we believe, the best intelligence that we had and other countries had and that--that we believed and we still do not know--we will know.

I'm sorry, but this isn't faulty intelligence and this isn't getting caught up on your words. this is Rumsfeld, the guy known for being so no-nonsense, and he's outright lying to cover his rear. at what point do we finally say that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes?