Rumsfeld: Muslims “Against Physical Labor”
The Bush administration is trying to distance itself from newly-released comments from then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during his time at the Pentagon. On Thursday, the Washington Post published excerpts of memos that Rumsfeld dubbed “snowflakes.” In one entry, Rumsfeld said Middle East oil wealth had detached Muslims “from the reality of the work, effort and investment.” He continued: “Too often Muslims are against physical labor, so they bring in Koreans and Pakistanis while their young people remain unemployed.” White House spokesperson Dana Perino said Rumsfeld’s comments are not in line with the president’s views. The memos also show Rumsfeld was distressed by news coverage criticizing his record and the Iraq war. After several retired generals called for his resignation in April 2006, Rumsfeld ordered staffers to deflect attention from Iraq. He wrote : “Talk about Somalia, the Philippines, etc. Make the American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists.” Rumsfeld also instructed Pentagon officials to write letters responding to newspaper columnists who had criticized the war.