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Press Briefing 04/18/06
— Wednesday, April 19, 2006 — Q Scott, you talk about the views of these retired generals being well-known, and yet it seemed like the President immediately discounted those views by coming out with his statement, even though these are commanders on the ground. And every time we bring up those retired generals and the views they had about Secretary Rumsfeld, you talk about the generals who didn't have those views. Does the President just simply discount these views? It appeared he did. MR. McCLELLAN: No, in fact, I think he expressed otherwise in his comments. I don't know how you're drawing that conclusion. Q Because he immediately came out and said he supported Donald Rumsfeld, even though these generals had questions about Donald Rumsfeld and, in fact, had called for his -- MR. McCLELLAN: Well, but I think I would go back and look at what he said in the Rose Garden a short time ago because I did not read anything into that that you are. Q And you can't read into the fact that on Friday, immediately he came out, after there were six generals who came forward? MR. McCLELLAN: He felt it was important to make a strong statement reiterating his full support for the Secretary of Defense. And that's why he issued the statement. Q But he had no interest, as Victoria said -- MR. McCLELLAN: And the President called the Secretary of Defense that morning, around 10:00 a.m., to let him know. Q And you don't think that's immediately saying, you guys are wrong? MR. McCLELLAN: I think you're drawing too broad of an interpretation from the comments that he made, and I think that the comments he made actually said otherwise. He said, people are expressing their views, he hears those views, he listens to those views, but he made very clear -- Q -- an immediate statement saying -- MR. McCLELLAN: -- but he made very clear where he stood. Well, he thought it was important to do so, Martha, for the reasons that we stated in that statement, as well as the ones that I mentioned prior to that statement going out last week. Q I guess -- how are we to look at that and say that he's not listening to the advice he wants to hear, or the people, the voices he wants to hear that back up his position, and not commanders on the ground who seem to have a different one? MR. McCLELLAN: Again, there you go, over-interpreting things and drawing the wrong conclusions from what he has said. That's not at all what he was saying. White House Press Corps | Press Briefing | Scott McClellan | News Media
Posted by WhiteHousePressCorps.org @ 12:42 AM
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