GEN. MYERS: WE KNEW IN JANUARY

(This is just some of the evidence that proves Rumsfeld is a rotten fucking liar.)
At the hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 7, 2004¹

GEN. MYERS: They were going to air the photos. We didn't talk about that with CBS. Previously, in our discussions back in January when they said there were photos, they described them to me and the secretary, up through the chain of command to the secretary, and I happened to be there. It was discussed several times. And the general nature of the photos, about nudity, some mock sexual acts and other abuse was described.

SEN. L. GRAHAM: When you were informed that these photos, even though you hadn't seen them, were going to come out, who did you tell about that, and when?

GEN. MYERS: There were a lot of people that knew inside our building. The people that had been working with the media knew that there were photos out there and the media was trying to get their hands on them from January. So they'd been working that for three months.

SEN. L. GRAHAM: At that time is it fair to say you knew there was a story about to come out that was going to create a real problem for us?

GEN. MYERS: At that time what my concern was was the impact it could have on our forces in Iraq. That was my -- my focus at the time was, okay, if these photos are revealed right now, given the intensity of operations, what could be that impact on our troops? And my conclusion was this would be the worst of all possible times for these to come forward, realizing that eventually they're come forward, understand that.

SEN. L. GRAHAM: Did you feel a need to inform the Congress or the president or the secretary of Defense about the potential damage this could do?

GEN. MYERS: We had discussed the potential damage back in January and in February and in March. And as we marched through those events on that chart, a lot of those events were based on our concern with where this might lead; in other words, is there a --

¹Federal News Service
May 7, 2004 Friday
SECTION: PRESS CONFERENCE OR SPEECH
LENGTH: 25040 words
HEADLINE: HEARING OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: MISTREATMENT OF IRAQI PRISONERS
CHAIRED BY: SENATOR JOHN WARNER (R-VA)
WITNESSES: SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD; GENERAL RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF; LES BROWNLEE, ACTING SECRETARY OF THE U.S. ARMY; GENERAL PETER SCHOOMAKER, CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE U.S. ARMY; LIEUTENANT GENERAL LANCE SMITH, DEPUTY COMMANDER, CENTRAL COMMAND

LOCATION: 106 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D.C.