Army Times article on-line critical of Bush's backpedaling on sign

[grannylib]

The Army Times seems to have its ducks in a row when it comes to seeing through the transparencies of the Commander in Thief:

President George W. Bush’s staff played more of a role in the “Mission Accomplished” sign that hung on the carrier Abraham Lincoln than the president suggested yesterday in a Rose Garden press conference.
Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq from the Lincoln’s deck on May 1. Since then about 215 American troops have been killed in action and hundreds more wounded.

The president sought to distance himself from the upbeat message in the banner, explaining at Tuesday’s press conference that the idea for the sign came from the ship’s crew.

“I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff — they weren’t that ingenious, by the way,” he said.

Turns out they may have been that ingenious.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2346349.php

[Qutzupalotl]

1. Be sure to check out the comments section.

They're pretty blistering, for the most part.

Thanks for posting this, grannylib!

[TacticalPeek]

2. No way I believe the "Navy" (whoever that is) requested this.

The WH flacks are fools for image control:


The Peace Bridge - Rebuilt

by MOLLY IVINS

snip

But I was pleased to see that the Stagecraft Administration has already set up the "money shot" for this peace conference, whether any progress is made or not. The New York Times reports the Big Photo-Op is ready to go. The president and the two prime ministers are to appear together on a bridge over the swimming pool behind the King of Jordan's palace.

"White House operatives had the Jordanians build a bridge over the pool, officials said, so that the leaders could walk over the water, side by side, toward the massed cameras. When the first bridge proved too narrow for more than one man to cross at once, the Americans had the Jordanians tear it down and start over, officials said."

This is the kind of attention to detail that got that aircraft carrier turned around so when Bush landed on it, we couldn't see San Diego in the background. Some details are more important than others in this administration.

The Post quotes a (naturally) unnamed official saying of Bush, "He does not have the knowledge or the patience to learn this issue enough to have an end destination in mind." Here's a photo-op idea. If Bush does arrange a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine -- and I am rooting for him -- the White House could take down the bridge yet again and have all three of them walk on the water.

snip

http://www.funnytimes.com/notfunny/20030605MI.html

"The Navy" just got "volunteered" to take the heat for aWol.

:grr:

[freesqueeze]

3. So ... the Sailors on the Ship Requested the Banner that

served the purpose of thanking them for a job well done. I don't think so. A person who would buy this would believe that intentions to develope a weapons program sometime in the future is the same as having the actual weapons.

Don't see how any but the most political could even pretend to believe this.