To colleagues’ cheers, soldier complained about armor to Rumsfeld

WASHINGTON - Saying U.S. soldiers in Iraq “deserve the best,” President Bush emphasized Thursday that the administration was addressing equipment concerns like the one about armored vehicles raised by a soldier who questioned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

“The concerns expressed are being addressed, and that is we expect our troops to have the best possible equipment,” the president said in response to a reporter’s question at the White House.

“If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country, I’d want to ask the secretary of defense the same question, and that is, ‘Are we getting the best we can get us?’”

U.S. soldiers “deserve the best,” Bush said, adding: “I’ve told many family I’ve met with, ‘We’re doing everything we possibly can to protect your loved ones.’”

In a related development, it was revealed Thursday that a reporter claims to have helped the soldier prepare the question directed at Rumsfeld. The Poynter Institute, a news media think tank, published on its Web site an e-mail attributed to reporter Edward Lee Pitts of the Chattanooga Times Free Press that states Pitts worked with the soldier since he wasn't allowed to question Rumsfeld himself.

"Before hand we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld about the appalling lack of armor their vehicles going into combat have," says the e-mail, which was sent to newspaper colleagues.

"I have been trying to get this story out for weeks — as soon as I found out I would be on an unarmored truck," the e-mail said.

Story Copyright to MSNBC