Rumsfeld Says He Contacted Ex-Official on Bush Book

[Khephra]

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, pulling back one veil shrouding personal discussions among cabinet-level officials, said Tuesday that he twice telephoned former Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill after hearing he was writing a "sour grapes" book on the Bush administration.

Mr. Rumsfeld said that he did not urge Mr. O'Neill to refrain from writing or contributing to such a book and that he had not read "The Price of Loyalty," by Ron Suskind.

In a Pentagon news briefing, Mr. Rumsfeld said that when he heard that Mr. O'Neill was writing a book that would be sharply critical of the administration, "I said I can't believe that; I have known him for 30 years.

"So I picked up the phone and called him," Mr. Rumsfeld added, "and said, `What is this business? Someone tells me you're going to write a — you know, one of those, what do you call them? Sour grapes or — you know, one of those insider things.' " Mr. O'Neill assured him the book was "about policy and substance," he said.

more...........

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/14/politics/14ONEI.html

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. ".Mr. Rumsfeld said that he did not urge Mr. O'Neill...

...to refrain from writing or contributing to such a book."

Yeah, and I'm Queen Marie of Rumania.

[revcarol]

2. Implied threats in calls.

And O'Neill ignored them until he got the REAL threats.

[Virginian]

3. I wonder what they threatened him with.

n/t

[Norquist Nemesis]

4. I keep hearing conservatives saying the same thing

"What could they threaten him with?" Hmmmm... I wonder if people said the same thing if Al Capone made a statement like, "I don't think that's a good idea." No threat there. *rolleyes*

[goforit]

8. LOL!!!......And those same conservatives will too be threatenned by

the same Bush Cabal.

It is all a matter of time with these felons given their predictable
track record.

[ozymandius]

5. Remember "Bush at War"?

Woodward's love fest with Bush included Bush sharing classified information during their conversations. Did this information ever make it into the book? Who knows? It's classified.

[ithacan]

6. is this a sign they're really DELUSIONAL???

or just liars?

If Rummy could not believe anyone, including conservatives, would have anything to criticize the Bush regime about, then he's either delusional or a liar. Or a combination of both.

[lostnfound]

7. Rumsfeld also trumped up yet another reason for Iraq war..

He said to a reporter..to paraphrase, I don't have the exact quote..but it was something like: "Look..there was only one place in the world where our boys in uniform were being shot at and not punished..and that was in Iraq (in the Northern and Southern no-fly zones).