Former CIA analyst grills Rumsfeld at Atlanta talk

WASHINGTON — When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld goes on the road to deliver a speech, it's usually in front of a relatively respectful audience: U.S. troops stationed overseas, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation dinner have been among recent appearances.

An audience in Atlanta on Thursday turned out to be a bit different.

Rumsfeld was interrupted three times by anti-war protesters and was forced to defend himself against charges by a former high-ranking CIA analyst that he intentionally lied to push the U.S. into war in Iraq.

Rumsfeld was speaking to the Southern Center for International Studies, a nonprofit educational group.

Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran who once gave former President George H.W. Bush his morning intelligence briefings, engaged in what became an extended debate with Rumsfeld after asking why the defense secretary had insisted before the Iraq invasion that there was "bulletproof evidence" linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida.

"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," McGovern asked. "Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary?"

At the start of the exchange, Rumsfeld remained his usual unflappable self, insisting: "I haven't lied. I did not lie then," before launching into a vigorous defense of prewar pronouncements on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

But Rumsfeld became uncharacteristically tongue-tied when McGovern pressed him on claims that he knew where unconventional Iraqi weapons were located.

"You said you knew where they were," McGovern said.

"I did not. I said I knew where suspected sites were," Rumsfeld retorted.

McGovern then read from statements the defense secretary had made that weapons were located near Tikrit and Baghdad, which led Rumsfeld to briefly stammer.

After admonishing a security guard who was trying to push McGovern away from the microphone, Rumsfeld recovered his composure and said, "It is easy for you to make a charge." He insisted U.S. troops believed they would encounter chemical or biological weapons.

Before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration repeatedly spoke of evidence that Saddam Hussein had acquired weapons of mass destruction. No such armaments have been found.

Rumsfeld went on to field a dozen other questions, including from a woman whose son was killed in Iraq and who asked about help for the children of slain service members. Rumsfeld asked her to submit her name to Southern Center officials.

"And I'm so sorry about your son," Rumsfeld said.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.