bush* Used Selective Data in His Address, Critics Say

[leftchick]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/01/22/bush_used_selective_data_in_his_address_critics_say/

<snip>

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's State of the Union speech painted a rosy picture of his administration's foreign and domestic accomplishments. But the president's selective use of information -- and, critics say, some exaggerations -- obscured the troubles plaguing the economy at home and democracy-building efforts overseas.


Bush accurately reported growth in the economy and an increase in productivity, but he failed to mention that some 2.5 million jobs have been lost since he took office and that job growth in December was flat. And while the president noted the US military's capture of Saddam Hussein and the writing of a new constitution in Afghanistan, he left out that investigators have not found weapons of mass destruction, which was the stated justification for invading Iraq.

Instead, Bush noted that investigators have "identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities" -- a reference to plans and equipment that could be used toward building an actual arsenal.

Bush's carefully crafted language did not include the pointed accusations he made last year, when he reported that British intelligence had obtained evidence that Hussein was seeking nuclear material from Niger. Nor did he suggest direct ties between Iraq and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist organization Al Qaeda, as he did in the 2003 State of the Union address.

[Libby2]

1. With any luck at all

that will be the last SOTU speech we will have to listen to from bushit.

[pinniped]

2. I thought pres. Monkeyboy was to defend his warped position on Iraq.

I surely have not read anything "REAL" lately to back up that ASSHOLE's WMD claim.

But I shouldn't be too quick to judge. That evil Lucifer Chainknee said the jury is still out and the terror battle could last decades. I'm sure those jerks want their futile search for non-existant WMD's to last for decades too. Oh, I see they have identified programs, blueprints and equipment now. My baaad.

Hey what happened to the 45-minute battlefield deployable WMD's? From blueprints and schematics to a real live WMD in 45-minutes?

I didn't watch that puke's SOTU because I already know what a lying POS on tv looks like.

Eviction time is coming, the WH clan can go back to hell where they came from.

[opihimoimoi]

3. He got caught lying last year. What make him think people going to believe

him this year??

[RC]

4. No, not back to where they came from. To Prison where they belong!

"Eviction time is coming, the WH clan can go back to hell where they came from."

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. In case any freeper tries to defend this speech

Direct him to FactCheck.org's page called What Bush Left Unsaid in His SOTU Address

Link: http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docid=129

Excerpt:

Weapons of Mass Destruction

The President made no mention of the failure so far to locate nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Iraq.

Bush: We are seeking all the facts. Already the Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations.

True, former UN weapons inspector David Kay, now heading the US effort to locate Saddam Hussein's unconventional weapons, did report last October that he had uncovered "dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002."

But Kay also told the House and Senate intelligence committees:

We have not yet found stocks of weapons . . . We have not yet been able to corroborate the existence of a mobile BW (biological weapons) production effort . . . . Multiple sources (say) that Iraq did not have a large, ongoing, centrally controlled CW (chemical warfare) program after 1991 . . . . (and) to date we have not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook significant post-1998 steps to actually build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material . . . . (and) no detainee has admitted any actual knowledge of plans for unconventional warheads for any current or planned ballistic missile.

(Mods, hope I didn't copy too much-felt I needed this much to show how the page works)

[Stephanie]

7. Cheney on NPR just now repeating the mobile bio weapons lab LIE

These are rough notes from NPR interview, not ver batim:

Cheney: We're looking for WMDs in cubby holes

Q; WMD programs?
Cheney: We know he had a stockpile of bio weapons - we got it from the UN - not something WE dreamed up or the CIA
In terms of what is there now, we know he had spent time acquiring mobile bio weapons labs
We found semi trailers we believe were part of that program
We don't know if he was ready to produce weapons or getting ready for next war
We know SH was running a bloody regime, had used chem weapons, we know We underestimated him in the past. Even WJC was making statements about SH's weapons

Q: In O'Neill book you're calling for regime change early on
Cheney: That's policy we inherited from WJC

Q: You continue to believe that SH was working with AQ?
Cheney: There's overwhelming evidence. Abdel Akbar Yassim (?) SH had record of providing safe harbor for terrorists. He provided bonus payment to suicide bombers. I'm very confident that there was established relationship there.

[Braden]

8. so does that mean DC thinks

that the suicide bombers are AQ linked?

and not just palestians who lost hope two generations ago?

[Cooley Hurd]

10. Great site - and it's an "Annenberg" affiliate, to boot!

The Annenberg Public Policy Center is a right-wing think-tank, isn't it?

[papau]

13. Annenberg focus is school - helping teachers

:-)

I've not seen a right wing bias.

[leftchick]

9. thanks for the link..

what a great site! :)

[icymist]

6. He did mention Iraq and Al Qaeda in the same line

about the War on Terror. Bush must be actually thinking that he can tie the two together! Somebody needs to remind Bush and Cheney that Powell has already admitted lying to the UN.

[Matilda]

11. Stephen Zunes has an excellent point by point rebuttal

of Bush's foreign policy statements, on Common Dreams:

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0121-02.htm

Just one big lie after another.

[DUreader]

12. Hey, Boston.com Whores, do your JOB and check the data!!!

Instead of attributing it to 'critics'

We already know that critics criticize.

Scumbags

[hey2370]

14. Better headline

"Bush Is A Serial Liar, Say All Independent Observers"

[leftchick]

15. agreed...

MUCH better!