Geithner on AIG: 'We Had No Good Choices'

Gates backs Obama on Afghanistan; Petraeus says Cheney wrong

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 29, 2009 10:53 AM CDT

(Newser) – Timothy Geithner may have reignited the AIG bonus brouhaha on ABC’s This Week just as calls for his ouster had begun to subside. “We had no good choices. The contracts were set,” he said, insisting Treasury acted quickly to renegotiate the parts of the bonuses it could. Geithner also said there’s $135 billion of “uncommitted resources” left of TARP funds, Politico reports.

The Pentagon wasn't left out of the circle of Sunday talk today:

Robert Gates backed Obama's decision not to send more than 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, as military commanders in the region have requested, until officials evaluate their effectiveness. The Pentagon chief also told Fox News Sunday the US is "not prepared to do anything" about North Korea's upcoming missile test.
On CNN's State of the Union, Gen. David Petraeus countered Dick Cheney's assertion that Obama's policies are making Americans less safe.
Richard Holbrooke fumed over comparisons between Afghanistan and Vietnam on CNN's State of the Union. "The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese never posed any direct threat to the United States and its homeland," said the Vietnam vet-turned-envoy.
Asked if he'd like to see Sarah Palin become president, John McCain didn't take the bait on NBC's Meet the Press. "I'd like to see her compete," he said of his former runningmate. "I think we got some very good candidates."

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies at a Capitol Hill hearing on the economy. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

In this Feb. 14, 2009 file photo, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner meets journalists at the end of the G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Rome. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 24, 2009, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on AIG. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates speak to reporters during a news briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, March 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner talks to NBC's "Meet the Press" about the AIG bonus scandal. (msnbc)

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Geithner on AIG: 'We Had No Good Choices'