Rumsfeld agonistes

In case you missed it, Donald Rumsfeld found himself in a pickle yesterday, as a former CIA agent asked embarrassing questions at a public forum. The transcript of the encounter is in that "Countdown" show transcript, first segment.

Excerpt:

MCGOVERN: --"There is bulletproof evidence of links between al Qaeda and the government of President Saddam Hussein." Was that a lie, Mr. Rumsfeld? Or was that manufactured somewhere else? Because all of my CIA colleagues disputed that, and so did the 9/11 commission. And so I would like to ask you to be up front with the American people. Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary, and that has caused these kinds of casualties? Why?

RUMSFELD: Well, first of all, I haven't lied. I did not lie then.

Colin Powell didn't lie. He spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence Agency people and prepared a presentation that I know he believed was accurate. And he presented that to the United Nations. The president spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence people, and he went to the American people and made a presentation.

I'm not in the intelligence business. They gave the world their honest opinion. It appears that there were not weapons of mass destruction there.

MCGOVERN: You said you knew where they were.

The show goes on to compare the interlocutor's accusastions and Rumsfeld's defense with Rumsfeld's actual statements -- as you'll see in the show's transcript. Courtesy Newshounds, here is video of the encounter, which took place during an appearance by the Secretary of Defense in Atlanta.

To Rumsfeld's credit, he did prevent security personnel from removing the man during the encounter.