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Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2003

Rumsfeld said the effort fit a pattern of psychological warfare used by remnants of the Baathist government, who want to create the impression that no amount of U.S. firepower can end the insurgency.

"They've called Al-Jazeera to come and watch them do it [attack American troops], and Al-Arabiya," he said at a Pentagon news conference. "`Come and see us, watch us; here is what we're going to do.'"

Pressed for details, Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated that U.S. forces in Iraq had collected more than just circumstantial evidence that one or both of the Arab news organizations might have cooperated with the attackers.

"Yes, I've seen scraps of information over a sustained period of time," Rumsfeld said. "I'm not in a position to make a final judgment on it," but it needs to be examined in an "orderly way," he added.

Neither Rumsfeld nor Myers provided details of any evidence.

"I opined accurately that from time to time each of those stations have found themselves in very close proximity to things that were happening against coalition forces, before the event happened and during the event," Rumsfeld said.

The question arose when Rumsfeld was asked about a videotape that surfaced in Baghdad showing a man firing a surface-to-air missile at a DHL cargo plane. The tape appeared to record an insurgent operation Saturday in which a missile struck the wing of the cargo plane, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing at Baghdad's airport. It was the first time insurgents struck a civilian plane in Iraq.

Rumsfeld said he had been told of the videotape but did not know enough about it to comment, beyond saying, "It doesn't take a genius to fire off a shoulder-fired missile at an airplane."

On Monday, the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council in Baghdad raided the offices of Al-Arabiya television, banned its broadcasts from Iraq and threatened to imprison its journalists. Media groups said the action called into question the future of a free press in the country.

Al-Arabiya said it would not fight the ban and would report on Iraq from its headquarters in Dubai.

Asked about the ban, Rumsfeld said he had no opinion because he had not seen the details.

Al-Arabiya has clashed with authorities before for its coverage of Iraq. In July, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera incited violence against American forces with slanted reports.

In September, the Governing Council temporarily banned both organizations from entering government buildings and news conferences, accusing them of being aware of attacks on American troops before they occurred.

And last week, Rumsfeld called the two stations "violently anti-coalition" as he announced the planned launch of a U.S.-run satellite channel to compete with the popular news stations.

© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Editor's note:
Donald Rumsfeld refuses to answer questions -- find out why -- click here now

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