Asked on Thursday about that exchange, the defense secretary said he believed the session in general was “very fine, warm (and) enjoyable.” As for Wilson’s statement, RUMSFELD said it could be constructive.
“I don’t know what the facts are, but somebody is certainly going to sit down with him and find out what he knows that they may not know,” RUMSFELD said.
RUMSFELD gave no indication that the soldier would face any kind of disciplinary action for speaking up. Indeed, the defense secretary said he found it healthy for soldiers to feel free to express their views.
He also said military vehicles that go into Iraq without full armor are used only inside U.S. compounds, rather than used on street patrols where they are vulnerable to roadside bombs. And he said those vehicles without full armor are moved into Iraq on transport vehicles rather than being driven.
RUMSFELD: Army has adjusted ‘pretty rapidly’
More broadly, RUMSFELD said people should understand that the military has done all that can reasonably be expected to adjust to changing circumstances in Iraq as the insurgents have refined their tactics.
“That is the way war and insurgencies and combat operate,” he said. “You go in, you have an enemy with a brain that does things, and then you make adjustments.” He added, “Does everything happen instantaneously as the brain in the enemy sees things and makes changes? No, it doesn’t happen instantaneously.” But, he said, the Army has adjusted “pretty rapidly” to the evolving tactics of the insurgents, including the need to have more armor on vehicles like the Humvee.
Ret. Gen. Tommy Franks, who oversaw troops in Iraq as head of the U.S. Central Command until July 2003, told NBC's "Today" show that he felt RUMSFELD's response was appropriate, as was the soldier's questioning.
"I thought it was terrific," he said of the soldier's stand, adding the he felt RUMSFELD "will work hard" to improve the flow of needed equipment.
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