Rummy Visits Troops Gives MSMThug-Accomplices Hell

Rummy was in town and took the time out to call MSM members what Bloggers have always known them as: Enablers, accomplices:

"During a question-and-answer session with aviators and other Navy personnel at this training base for Navy and Marine pilots and carrier wings, Rumsfeld said he is deeply troubled by the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media" to influence Westerners.

"That's the thing that keeps me up at night," he said.

Rumsfeld was asked whether the criticism he draws as Pentagon chief and a leading advocate of the war in Iraq is an impediment to performing his job. He said it was not, adding that he knows from history that wars are normally unpopular with many Americans.

"I expect that," he said. "I understand that."

"What bothers me the most is how clever the enemy is," he continued, launching an extensive broadside at Islamic extremist groups which he said are trying to undermine Western support for the war on terror.

"They are actively manipulating the media in this country" by, for example, falsely blaming U.S. troops for civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

"They can lie with impunity," he said, while U.S. troops are held to a high standard of conduct.

Rumsfeld often complains about what he calls the terrorists' success in persuading Westerners that the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of a crusade against Islam. In his remarks at Fallon, he did not offer any new examples of media manipulation; he put unusual emphasis, however, on the negative impact it is having on Americans in an era of 24-hour news.

"The enemy is so much better at communicating," he added. "I wish we were better at countering that because the constant drumbeat of things they say -- all of which are not true -- is harmful. It's cumulative."

"And it does weaken people's will and lessen their determination and raise questions in their minds as to whether the cost is worth it," he said alluding to Americans and other Westerners."

RGJ.com: Defense secretary visits Fallon base