"Hello," he lied.

[shereads]

In honor of Valentine's Day, I spent an hour or so reuniting these mates: the matching components of contradictions made by the Bush administration regarding Iraq. Some stories write themselves.

I think everyone will love the ending.

BEFORE:

We know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.
Dick Cheney
Meet The Press
3/16/2003

AFTER:

You may be reading too much. I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
DoD News Briefing
6/24/2003

BEFORE:

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney
Speech to VFW National Convention
8/26/2002

The president of the United States and the secretary of defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press
12/4/2002

If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
12/2/2002

AFTER:

I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
7/9/2003

BEFORE:

We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.
George W. Bush
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
10/7/2002

We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas.
George W. Bush
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
10/7/2002

AFTER:

DIANE SAWYER: But stated as a hard fact, that there were weapons of mass destruction as opposed to the possibility that he could move to acquire those weapons still —

PRESIDENT BUSH: So what's the difference?
George W. Bush
12/16/2003



BEFORE:

It {Iraq} actively maintains all key aspects of its offensive BW [biological weapons] program.
John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control
Speech to the Hudson Institute
11/1/2002

AFTER:

A British scientist and biological weapons expert, who has examined the trailers in Iraq, told The Observer last week: "They are not mobile germ warfare laboratories. You could not use them for making biological weapons. They do not even look like them. They are exactly what the Iraqis said they were -- facilities for the production of hydrogen gas to fill balloons."
Unnamed British Weapons Inspector
The Observer
6/15/2003

BEFORE:

There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Addresses the U.N. Security Council
2/5/2003

AFTER:

The biological weapons labs that we believe strongly are biological weapons labs, we didn't find any biological weapons with those labs. But should that give us any comfort? Not at all.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Associated Press Interview
6/12/2003

BEFORE:

I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction. Kenneth Adelman, Defense Policy Board member
Washington Post, p. A27
3/23/2003

We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
ABC Interview
3/30/2003

AFTER:

We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country.
Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Fox News Interview
5/4/2003

No one ever said that we knew precisely where all of these agents were, where they were stored.
Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
Meet the Press
6/8/2003

BEFORE:

But make no mistake -- as I said earlier -- we have high confidence that they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found.
Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
4/10/2003

AFTER:

I'm not sure that's the major reason we went to war.
Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
NBC, Today Show
6/26/2003

For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction (as justification for invading Iraq) because it was the one reason everyone could agree on. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
Vanity Fair interview
5/28/2003

BEFORE:

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.
George W. Bush
Address to the Nation
3/17/2003

There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction.
General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief Central Command
Press Conference
3/22/2003

AFTER:

Based on my experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war, I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat.
Joseph C. Wilson IV,Ambassador
New York Times Editorial
7/6/2003

SIMULTANEOUSLY:

But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them.
George W. Bush
Interview with TVP Poland
5/30/2003

We've been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they're simply not there.
Lt. Gen. James Conway, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force
Press Interview
5/30/2003

BUT AT LEAST:

One thing is for certain: Saddam Hussein no longer threatens America with weapons of mass destruction. George W. Bush, President
Speech at a weapons factory in Ohio
5/25/2003

 

[BlackSnake]

good job...

 

[shereads]

good job...

Thank you.

 

[A7inchPhildo]

Sher,
That almost looks like work putting that all together, I know you just read so...

Any way I have said it before and I will say it again. What is wrong with you people have you forgotten the real reason of the war?

It is like getting a shiny new bike for Christmass if it rains every day it is no good.

So here we have these really neat toys and unless we can play with them they are no good. Who better to play with than Iraq? No body likes them. It was a logical choice.

If we were to go after a bigger nation it would not take to long before the rest of the world figured it out. This way we can still pick another country in the years to come to play with.

I think the question to ask who is next?

 

[Edward Teach]

That was a lot of work.

Thanks, Sher

 

[snooper]

For our US bretheren, there is a satirical magazine in the UK called Private Eye whaich always has a topical comment front cover.

Just BEFORE the start of the Second Gulf War it had a cover showing Bliar in converation with Bush:

Bliar: How do you know he's got those weapons?

Bush: We kept the receipts.

 

[minsue]

Re: Re: "Hello," he lied.

For our US bretheren, there is a satirical magazine in the UK called Private Eye whaich always has a topical comment front cover.

Just BEFORE the start of the Second Gulf War it had a cover showing Bliar in converation with Bush:

Bliar: How do you know he's got those weapons?

Bush: We kept the receipts.

I was going to post a smiley at that because it's really clever, but it's too depressing for a smiley.

- Mindy

 

[shereads]

Re: Re: "Hello," he lied.

Bliar: How do you know he's got those weapons?

Bush: We kept the receipts.

It would be funny if it wasn't true, wouldn't it?



Speaking of people who did business with Hussein during the U.S. and allied embargo (at least two subsidiaries of Halliburton operated in Iraq but weren't registered as U.S. companies, while Vice President Cheney was still on the payroll), Halliburton is now under investigation for bribery. Also during the period when Halliburton was still in charge.

Helps explain why Halliburton is so interested in helping NASA establish a moon base. No extradiction treaty.

 

[Edward Teach]

This is the first administration that I question everything they say about every thing. They have proven themselves to be liars and secretive in the extreme. They think that the public is stupid and easily manipulated. They are bent on changing American doctrine developed over many, many administrations concerning almost everything including foriegn relations, global trade, global environment and space. They frighten me.

 

[shereads]

This is the first administration that I question everything they say about every thing. They have proven themselves to be liars and secretive in the extreme. They think that the public is stupid and easily manipulated. They are bent on changing American doctrine developed over many, many administrations concerning almost everything including foriegn relations, global trade, global environment and space.

It seems so.

It also seems to be a fair assumption that we are easily manipulated. It's not that we're getting stupider, as Bill Maher said, it's that fewer stupid people are being eaten by bears.

If that's true, then a reduction of bears in the wild can only help the Bush administration accomplish its objectives. Which makes the Interior Secretary's proposed privatization of the National Parks ranger program a little sinister...

In a forgotten sub-basement storage room at the Old Faithful Lodge, a Halliburton Park Services employee, trained as a sniper by a top-secret special forces unit, dons his new park ranger uniform.

"Patience, Smokey," he says with an evil little laugh, giving the taxidermied grizzly bear a smack on the fanny. "I'll be back with Yogi and Boo Boo before sunset."

 

[snooper]

This is the first administration that I question everything they say about every thing. They have proven themselves to be liars and secretive in the extreme. They think that the public is stupid and easily manipulated. They are bent on changing American doctrine developed over many, many administrations concerning almost everything including foriegn relations, global trade, global environment and space. They frighten me.

This does not show that they are any more corrupt or devious than any previous, or other country's, politicians. It is just that they are less efficient at hiding things.

I agree with a neighbour who had a standard poster he puts in his window every time an election comes round. It reads, "Don't vote - it only encourages them."

 

[shereads]

This does not show that they are any more corrupt or devious than any previous, or other country's, politicians. It is just that they are less efficient at hiding things.

How do you know they're not extremely efficient at hiding things? What we're seeing now is just the stuff they put out in the open.

"Corrupt" doesn't begin to describe methods of intimidation like "outing" of CIA agent Plame after her husband refused to lie for the White House about WMD.

 

[shereads]

Rumsfeld is ahead!

I'm a little surprised that Some Poor Bastard isn't doing better here.

Although personally, I think there will be a carefully timed announcement that Cheney isn't running because of his health, followed by a few leaks but no solid evidence that he engineered the WMD misinformation fiasco. He'll retire, Guiliani will join the ticket and the president will appear to have been the victim of Cheney's error. Everybody goes home happy.

 

[dirtylover]

hmmm

Intelligence like this is seldom come by (above). I feel a shifting paradigm in terms of world politics. The downtrodden, the poor, and those that have nothing to lose are making their voices heard.

Capitalist greed will continually antagonise those from poorer nations. The occident will suffer the consequences of its own success (and already has). Now is the time for selflessness, love and piety; for how else can we make the world a better place?

Let us not worry about the actions of others, for they are only as we see them. Perception and reality are interchangeable; it is within ourselves that differences are made.

"all you need is love," John Lennon

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror," MJ (can't believe he owns the rights to the Beatles.

oops realised I'm babbling, drunk a bottle of wine

sorry...

 

[shereads]

Re: hmmm

"all you need is love," John Lennon

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror," MJ (can't believe he owns the rights to the Beatles.

oops realised I'm babbling, drunk a bottle of wine

Couldn't tell.

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[dirtylover]

lol

"I am the walrus!"

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,"

Fuck Bush in the ass , so confused, and Dick Cheney's not helping either..

You'll be happy to know that the administrators are MFs here too (UK).

Goddam them all!

 

[shereads]

I agree with a neighbour who had a standard poster he puts in his window every time an election comes round. It reads, "Don't vote - it only encourages them."

We are "them," snoop. The decisions are made by the people who show up.

 

[shereads]

Re: lol

"I am the walrus!"

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,"

Fuck Bush in the ass , so confused, and Dick Cheney's not helping either..

You'll be happy to know that the administrators are MFs here too (UK).

Goddam them all!

Dirty, honey, your freeform poetry reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld's. An example of which was posted by Perdita at another thread:

Glass Box

You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—

Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.

—D. Rumsfeld. Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

 

[shereads]

BUMPING this until all hope is gone.

 

[Guest]

Only here to say - That's the most gorgeous pic yet, Mack. O la la! Dazzling gaze and just the right smile. Wicked!

Perdita

 

[TheEarl]

Follow the English example - blame it all on the BBC.

For those in the USA who aren't familiar with the name of Lord Hutton:

The BBC did a bit of undercover investigation by talking to a leading government scientist and then released press reports stating that the government had 'sexed-up' the dossier about Saddam's WoMD, including the highly disputed 45 minute claim where Teflon Tony claimed that Saddam could launch WoMD within 45 minutes.

Teflon Tony's government decided their best way out of the debate was to name the scientist who had given the BBC their information - a Dr David Kelly. Therefore the questions would be diverted onto him.

Dr Kelly killed himself a couple of weeks later.

The government disavowed any responsibility for leaking Kelly's name. They had agreed to confirm the name if the press came up with the right one themselves, but actually leaking the name, why that would be dishonest! However their press release gave more than enough information about the 'unnamed scientist' for a anyone to work out who it was.

And so the government set up an inquiry, chaired by Lord Hutton, to see if they'd lied. Surprisingly enough, the inquiry found that the government were purer than the driven snow and it was all the nasty horrible BBC's fault for putting such pressure on Dr Kelly. Of course this had nothing to do with the fact that the government got to choose who chaired the inquiry.

So the BBC are evil, Dr Kelly's dead and the government didn't lie.

Oh the Weapons of Mass Destruction claims. We forgot all about that one.

Misdirection is every magician's greatest trick.

The Earl

 

[shereads]

Follow the English example - blame it all on the BBC.

For those in the USA who aren't familiar with the name of Lord Hutton:

Yes, we're familiar with the story. Over here, we blame Hillary Clinton for his death.

 

[minsue]

Yes, we're familiar with the story. Over here, we blame Hillary Clinton for his death.

Is it Hillary's fault? I thought it was Bill's? Or maybe it was Billary's?

 

[snooper]

Is it Hillary's fault? I thought it was Bill's? Or maybe it was Billary's?

I always understood it was Hillary who was the first person to climb Mount Everest, and that the sherpa who carried Hillary up there was called Tensing, not Bill.