AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE , Beating back calls for his resignation, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has summoned military commentators for special Pentagon briefings on Iraq and the war on terrorism, a spokesman said April 17.
The session, which is scheduled for April 18, has all the earmarks of a public relations push to shore up support for the secretary through an influential group with connections to both the media and the military.
On April 14, the Pentagon emailed the commentators a fact sheet intended to rebut charges by a group of retired generals that Rumsfeld has given short shrift to military advice, leading to strategic blunders in Iraq.
The fact sheet enumerated the number of times Rumsfeld has met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The commentators
