a JCS vice chair looking dour was interesting. Rummy opened with a canned speech about fighting terrorism that seemed dead and dull, but claimed there were 68 countries supporting us... out of what? 190? Eeek.
Then some stuff about India/Pak claiming they share an interest in "fighting terrorism" so they should get over their spat with one another and move on. "War is not an option between two nuclear armed powers."
Some claims that N Korea was spreading false rumors about missing American troops in Pakistan or Afghanistan; shame on them. (But what about all the false(?) stories about captives and body-bags that appear in the Pakistani press all the time?)
Rummy played his usual word-games and got snippy and so forth with his interlocutors, who themselves seemed to be annoyed with the lack of information from the DoD and yet seemed to recognize there was something distinctly off at this briefing.
In mentioning Memorial Day, Gen Pace said something very odd to my mind:
"Those of us who wear the uniform today have to re-dedicate ourselves to this country and those who went before us. We will not betray the wonderful legacy and freedom that we have inherited." BIG sigh from Rummy. And the General was clearly shaken.
Neither would confirm or deny the shelving of Iraq invasion plans, but Rummy was on the defensive. The General kept referring to responsibilities all over the world and claimed that the armed forces were ready for any action the civilian heads asked them to do. No "invasion of Iraq" has been requested.
At the end, it was like a funeral.
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