On the May 4 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer aired a clip of Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld being questioned by an audience member at an event in Atlanta about his prewar statements regarding Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Qaeda. Blitzer went on to conduct “some quick fact-checking.” He asked, “So did Rumsfeld ever suggest that there was proof of WMD in Iraq as the questioner claimed?” He then noted Rumsfeld's comment on March 30, 2003: “We know where they [WMD] are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.” Having supported the audience member's line of questioning, however, Blitzer went on to refer to it as “anti-Rumsfeld ranting.”

During a speech at the Southern Center for International Studies, Rumsfeld was sharply questioned by Ray McGovern, an audience member and former CIA analyst. McGovern noted Rumsfeld's now-discredited claim on September 27, 2002, that the U.S. possessed "bulletproof" evidence of a connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. “Was that a lie, Mr. Rumsfeld,” McGovern asked, “or was that manufactured somewhere else? Because all of my CIA colleagues disputed that, and so did the 9-11 Commission.” Rumsfeld denied that it was a lie and went on to mention the failure to discover WMDs in Iraq. McGovern interjected, “You said you knew where they were.” When Rumsfeld replied that he had referred only to “suspect sites,” McGovern countered, “You said you knew where they were, near Tikrit, near Baghdad and north, east, south and west of there.”

After airing a clip of this exchange, Blitzer fact-checked McGovern's claim by posting Rumsfeld's full statement regarding Iraq's WMDs, made on the March 30, 2003, edition of ABC's This Week. Rumsfeld's comments came in response to host George Stephanopoulos's question, “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?”:

RUMSFELD: We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat ... I would also add, we saw from the air that there were dozens of trucks that went into that facility after the existence of it became public in the press and they moved things out. They dispersed them and took them away. So there may be nothing left. I don't know that. But it's way too soon to know. The exploitation is just starting.

Although Rumsfeld's statement to Stephanopoulos affirms that Rumsfeld did indeed “suggest that there was proof of WMD in Iraq as the questioner claimed,” Blitzer went on to characterize McGovern's questioning as “anti-Rumsfeld ranting.”

From the May 4 edition of CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer:

BLITZER: One unrolled a banner reading, quote, “Guilty of war crimes.” Another stood up and turned his back during the speech. And yet another accused Donald Rumsfeld of lying. Today, the defense secretary gave a speech in Atlanta. One of the most sharp-tongued questioners identified himself as a former CIA analyst.

[begin video clip]

McGOVERN: Atlanta, September 27, 2002, Donald Rumsfeld said, and I quote, “There's bulletproof evidence of links between Al Qaeda and the government of Saddam Hussein.” Was that a lie, Mr. Rumsfeld, or was that manufactured somewhere else? Because all of my CIA colleagues disputed that, and so did the 9-11 Commission. And, so, I would like to ask you to be up front with the American people. Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary and that has caused these kind of casualties? Why?

RUMSFELD: Well, first of all, I haven't lied. I did not lie then. Colin Powell didn't lie. He spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence Agency people and prepared a presentation that I know he believed was accurate. And he presented that to the United Nations. The president spent weeks and weeks with the Central Intelligence people, and he went to the American people and made a presentation. I'm not in the intelligence business. They gave the world their honest opinion. It appears that there were not weapons of mass destruction there.

McGOVERN: You said you knew where they were.

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

McGOVERN: 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 -- no, no, no, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Let him stay one second -- just a second.

McGOVERN: This is America, huh?

RUMSFELD: You're 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 lies and your allegation that there was bulletproof evidence of ties between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Was that a lie, or were you misled?

RUMSFELD: Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the prewar period. That is a fact.

McGOVERN: Zarqawi? He was in the north of Iraq, in a place were Saddam Hussein had no rule. That's where he was.

RUMSFELD: He was also in Baghdad.

McGOVERN: Yeah, when he needed to go to the hospital. Come on, these people aren't idiots. They know the story.

[end video clip]

BLITZER: So, did Rumsfeld ever suggest that there was proof of WMD in Iraq as the questioner claimed? We did some fact-checking and we learned this: In March of 2003, on the ABC News program This Week, the defense secretary said this, and I'll quote specifically, quote, “We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.” Rumsfeld then added this, “I would also add that we saw from the air there were dozens of trucks that went into that facility after the existence of it became public in the press and they moved things out. They dispersed them and took them away. So there may be nothing left. I don't know that. But it's way too soon to know. The exploitation is just starting.”

Aside from the anti-Rumsfeld ranting, the defense secretary did get a chance to talk some substance on the war on terror. One person he mentioned: Al Qaeda's feared leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.