Ambassador Paul Bremer's Comments at DePauw Explored on NBC's Meet the Press

January 15, 2006

Also: Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III's Ubben Lecture

January 15, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - L. Paul Bremer's September 16, 2004 Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture at DePauw University is back in the national spotlight today, as the former presidential envoy to Iraq was asked about his comments in Greencastle on this morning's edition of NBC's Meet the Press. Host Tim Russert quoted a story that first appeared on DePauw.edu and was published the following day in Greencastle's Banner-Graphic.

Shortly after Bremer returned from Iraq, Russert noted, [Download Video: "Paul Bremer on Meet the Press" - 6319kb] "At a DePauw student forum, Ambassador Bremer admitted, 'The single most important change -- the one thing that would have improved the situation -- would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout. Although I raised this issue a number of times with our government, I should have been even more insistent.'"

The story was written by Ken Owen '82, director of media relations at DePauw and coordinator of the Ubben Lecture Series; the question that Bremer responded to came from Bruce Stinebrickner, professor of political science, who moderated the student forum in Meharry Hall of historic East College.

"You were pretty firm about that," Russert told Bremer, who responded, "Yeah, I am... Throughout the time I was [in Iraq] I was focusing on this question of combat capability. And more troops could have been better, more trained Iraqi troops, it could have been more coalition. In the end, as it was, we had about the same number of troops when I left as when we got there."

After the Ubben Lecture at DePauw, [Download Video: "The Fallout" - 9465kb] "John Kerry, the democratic candidate [for president], immediately began to quote you, 'Ambassador Bremer said we needed more troops, he had asked for more troops,'" Russert reminded his guest, and asked why, just a few weeks later, Bremer declared in a New York Times op-ed, "For the task before us now, I believe we have enough troops in Iraq." The host asked Bremer, "Were you forced to say that by the Bush administration? It seems to be so different from what you said three weeks ago."

Bremer, author of the new book My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope, responded: "No, no Tim, look. The good news that happened about the time I left was we learned the lesson of how we had to change the training of Iraqi forces." Bremer says training was revamped and "by the Fall of 2004, that had already begun to have major impact on the quality of the Iraqi forces -- both the army and the police. And so by the end of the year, by the end of '04, we were beginning to see real improvement in Iraqi forces."

Learn more about Meet the Press by clicking here.

You can access the original story on Ambassador Bremer's Ubben Lecture at DePauw, including video and audio clips, here, and read about the subsequent national coverage of his comments in the Washington Post and New York Times.

The Ubben Lecture Series has brought distinguished individuals to the DePauw University campus since 1986. Mikhail Gorbachev spoke October 27, 2005; other Ubben Lecturers have included former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, Spike Lee, Mike Krzyzewski, 2004 presidential candidate and retired General Wesley Clark, former CIA Director Robert Gates, Hotel Rwanda's Paul Rusesabagina, National Football League Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning, Barbara Bush, General Colin Powell, Ross Perot, and ice cream entrepreneurs Ben & Jerry.

To view a complete list of Ubben Lecturers, which includes links to video clips and news stories, click here.

Source: "Meet the Press"/NBC News

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