The Clipboard: Rumsfeld faces Iraq letters row

From an article¹:

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has pledged to personally sign letters of condolence to the families of American soldiers killed in action.

He spoke shortly after his admission that he had used a machine to sign letters to relatives of more than 1,000 troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan...

...In a statement to the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes, Mr Rumsfeld tacitly admitted that in the past he had not personally signed the letters of condolence.

"While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter," Mr Rumsfeld's statement said.

"I am deeply grateful for the many letters I have received from the families of those who have been killed in the service of our country, and I recognise and honour their personal loss."

Several families of US soldiers killed overseas said that the machine-signed letters reflected a lack of respect for their losses.

"To me it's an insult, not only as someone who lost a loved one but also as someone who served in Iraq," soldier Ivan Medina - whose twin brother Irving was killed in Iraq this summer - told Stars and Stripes. (link, more here)

I don't think that Rumsfeld has even the slightest genuine concern for the men and women he sends to fight and die, they're expendable to him, to be used and thrown away.

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Complete text of the article, Rumsfeld faces Iraq letters row, by the BBC

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has pledged to personally sign letters of condolence to the families of American soldiers killed in action.

He spoke shortly after his admission that he had used a machine to sign letters to relatives of more than 1,000 troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The issue has led to renewed calls for Mr Rumsfeld to resign - mainly from the opposition Democratic Party.

Mr Rumsfeld faced a public grilling from his own troops earlier this month.

During his visit to a US base in Kuwait, American soldiers alleged they had used scrap metal to armour vehicles.

'An insult'

In a statement to the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes, Mr Rumsfeld tacitly admitted that in the past he had not personally signed the letters of condolence.

"While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter," Mr Rumsfeld's statement said.

"I am deeply grateful for the many letters I have received from the families of those who have been killed in the service of our country, and I recognise and honour their personal loss."

Several families of US soldiers killed overseas said that the machine-signed letters reflected a lack of respect for their losses.

"To me it's an insult, not only as someone who lost a loved one but also as someone who served in Iraq," soldier Ivan Medina - whose twin brother Irving was killed in Iraq this summer - told Stars and Stripes.

The row has led to fresh debates among lawmakers as over whether Mr Rumsfeld - whose handling of the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath have come under close scrutiny - should step down.

"This issue of the secretary of defence not personally signing the letters is just astounding to me," Republican Senator Chuck Hagel told CBS's Face the Nation, noting that President George W Bush did sign such letters himself.

"I have no confidence in Rumsfeld," Senator Hagel, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, added.

'Great confidence'

But President Bush's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, said that Mr Rumsfeld had the full support of the White House.

Mr Card told ABC's This Week that Mr Rumsfeld "is doing a spectacular job, and the president has great confidence in him".

Most leading Republicans have said he should stay.

reference=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4110091.stm