McGovern calls Rumsfeld a liar - TO HIS FACE

Retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern tore into Donald Rumsfeld during a speech at the Southern Center for International Studies today. And I mean, tore into him. McGovern dropped the gloves and let it all hang out.

And then Donald Rumsfeld did what he does best. He lied.

"Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?" asked Ray McGovern, the former analyst.

With that question, security guards started to move in with intent to remove McGovern from the room. Rumsfeld waved them off.

"Well, first of all, I haven't lied," replied Rumsfeld.

Here's the video from CNN (takes a little while to load. Windows media player)

Now, just to clear this up, McGovern asked his question and referred Rumsfeld back to his precise words of March 30, 2003.

MCGOVERN: You said you knew where they were.

RUMSFELD: I did not. I said I knew where suspect sites were...

MCGOVERN: You did not. You said you knew where they were. Near Tikrit, near Baghdad and north, east, south and west of there. Those are your words.

RUMSFELD: My words, my words were that (scuffle... interruptions, applause). Your getting plenty of play, sir.

MCGOVERN: I'd just like an honest answer.

RUMSFELD: I'm giving it to you.

MCGOVERN: We're talking about lives....

From ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos via the US Department of Defense NewsLink:

MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Finally, weapons of mass destruction. Key goal of the military campaign is finding those weapons of mass destruction. None have been found yet. There was a raid on the Answar Al-Islam Camp up in the north last night. A lot of people expected to find ricin there. None was found. How big of a problem is that? And is it curious to you that given how much control U.S. and coalition forces now have in the country, they haven't found any weapons of mass destruction?

SEC. RUMSFELD: Not at all. If you think -- let me take that, both pieces -- the area in the south and the west and the north that coalition forces control is substantial. It happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed. We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.

So, either Rumsfeld lied then or was so incompetent that he was trying to hide his inadequacies.

It is however, clear that Rumsfeld lied today in answer to his own words in 2003.

I know, I know... "I don't recall that conversation."

But, we do.