Shaffer
08-29-02, 08:20 AM
CAMP PENDLETON -- The secretary of defense was reminded Tuesday that the
Marines Corps' reputation for toughness isn't a myth.
At an outdoor town-hall meeting, Marines repeatedly -- and bluntly -- asked
Donald H. Rumsfeld whether the United States is likely to invade Iraq, and
if the country would have the support of its allies.
Rumsfeld declined to provide direct answers to about 3,000 troops gathered
next to the headquarters of the 1st Marine Division, the Corps' most heavily
decorated unit -- and likely to be among the first sent into battle.
Although Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Iraq posed a "mortal
threat," Rumsfeld emphasized that the administration had yet to decide if an
invasion will occur.
"The frenzy on this subject, it seems to me, is not useful," Rumsfeld said.
But the defense secretary also said that there are times when a nation's
leader must act to stop a threat even if he doesn't enjoy immediate support
from allies. Rumsfeld was alluding to former British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill's decision to battle Hitler at the onset of World War II.
"It wasn't until each country got attacked that they said: 'Maybe Winston
Churchill was right. Maybe that lone voice expressing concern about what was
happening was right.' "
Rumsfeld's remarks about Iraq didn't satisfy Marine James Guiterrez, 19, a
graduate of Santiago High School in Santa Ana.
"Everybody would have liked to have heard more," he said.
Marines Corps' reputation for toughness isn't a myth.
At an outdoor town-hall meeting, Marines repeatedly -- and bluntly -- asked
Donald H. Rumsfeld whether the United States is likely to invade Iraq, and
if the country would have the support of its allies.
Rumsfeld declined to provide direct answers to about 3,000 troops gathered
next to the headquarters of the 1st Marine Division, the Corps' most heavily
decorated unit -- and likely to be among the first sent into battle.
Although Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Iraq posed a "mortal
threat," Rumsfeld emphasized that the administration had yet to decide if an
invasion will occur.
"The frenzy on this subject, it seems to me, is not useful," Rumsfeld said.
But the defense secretary also said that there are times when a nation's
leader must act to stop a threat even if he doesn't enjoy immediate support
from allies. Rumsfeld was alluding to former British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill's decision to battle Hitler at the onset of World War II.
"It wasn't until each country got attacked that they said: 'Maybe Winston
Churchill was right. Maybe that lone voice expressing concern about what was
happening was right.' "
Rumsfeld's remarks about Iraq didn't satisfy Marine James Guiterrez, 19, a
graduate of Santiago High School in Santa Ana.
"Everybody would have liked to have heard more," he said.