Rumsfeld: We Don't Negotiate With Terrorists: We, uh, Discuss Things

From the transcript of yesterday's brief:

Q Mr. Secretary, there's been some frustration expressed by the Marines in Fallujah, some of the Marines, that sitting still, they're just sort of sitting ducks now and they want to understand the justification for this cessation of offensive operations.

We hear people talk about the folks who are attacking them, calling them thugs and terrorists. Yet there are negotiations going on right now. I thought we don't negotiate with thugs and terrorists. Can you help us understand what are you trying to accomplish with this cessation of offensive operations in Fallujah, and who are you negotiating with, and why?

SEC. RUMSFELD: I will -- I'll try to reach for precisely the right words. I think you didn't hear General Pace. If I heard him correctly, he said there's a cessation of offensive operations, not operations, meaning that there still are engagements taking place.

And second, there are discussions. I don't know that I would characterize them as negotiations, nor do I think that a number of the people in Fallujah are the kinds of people that one would successfully negotiate with. But for the sake of argument, use the word -- instead of "negotiations," use the word "discussion." Now, why would one discuss anything? Well, there are a host of reasons. There are a lot of innocent people in there, and there are people who aren't innocent. And one would like to -- and I think the people doing the discussing tend to be either people on the Iraqi Governing Council or representatives of the people on the Iraqi Governing Council, or neighboring, for the most part, Sunni tribal leaders, officials.

You should not take away any implication that the United States and the coalition forces are going to allow the terrorists to continue to terrorize that city. Now, at what pace and in what way and with what preceding steps one might take of a political nature, an economic nature or a discussing nature is something that the people over there are thinking through and worrying through, and at the right moment they'll do the right thing.

Nice parsing, Donald.

From today's Washington Post:
U.S. Officials Hold First Direct Negotiations With Fallujah Leaders (washingtonpost.com):

FALLUJAH, Iraq -- U.S. military and civilian officials met Friday with leaders from Fallujah, the first known direct negotiations between Americans and city representatives since the siege of the city began April 5.

Hmmn.