Rumsfeld: I stand for 8-10 hours, why shouldn't they?

In a recently declassified 2002 Pentagon memo, Donald Rumsfeld displayed the typical shoot-from-the-hip thoughtlessness that we had come to eventually expect from him during his time as Secretary of Defense.  The memo was an order that Donald Rumsfeld signed pertaining to interrogation techniques.

The following was what Rumsfeld wrote as a side-comment on the document:

"..I stand for 8-10 hours a day.  Why is standing limited to 4 hours?"

Was that necessary?  If anything, he could have at least put the document into a larger context:

• How would these techniques impact U.S. reputation abroad?
• How would these techniques impact U.S. national security?
• Are these techniques appropriate for a civilized democracy in the 21st century?

Instead, we got a comment that came from the gut, not from the head.

Comments

[Arlen]

Dude, this wasn't "recently declassified" at all. It's been public for 3 years.

[Administrator: Todd]

Really? Sorry about that. I got this via email from someone that visits this site regularly. I guess I should have checked.

[Arlen]

Ya, that memo was part of a group released in '04 shortly after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. See this column I wrote for Truthout back in January for more info.