Remember 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'? For Bush, They Are a Nonissue

[Tinoire]

Remember 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'? For Bush, They Are a Nonissue

By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

Published: December 18, 2003

<snip>

On Tuesday, with Mr. Hussein in American custody and polls showing support for the White House's Iraq policy rebounding, Mr. Bush suggested that he no longer saw much distinction between the possibilities. "So what's the difference?" he responded at one point as he was pressed on the topic during an interview by Diane Sawyer of ABC News.

<snip>

This week, at a news conference on Monday and in the ABC interview on Tuesday, Mr. Bush's answers to questions on the subject continued a gradual shift in the way he has addressed the topic, from the immediacy of the threat to an assertion that no matter what, the world is better off without Mr. Hussein in power.

Where once Mr. Bush and his top officials asserted unambiguously that Mr. Hussein had the weapons at the ready, their statements now are often far more couched, reflecting the fact that no weapons have been found — "yet," as Mr. Bush was quick to interject during the interview.

<snip>

In the interview, Mr. Bush said removing Mr. Hussein from power was justified even without the recovery of any banned weapons. As he has since his own weapons inspector, David Kay, issued an interim report in October saying he had uncovered extensive evidence of weapons programs in Iraq but no actual weapons, Mr. Bush said the existence of such programs, by violating United Nations Security Council resolutions, provided ample grounds for the war.

"If he were to acquire weapons, he would be the danger," Mr. Bush continued, referring to Mr. Hussein. "That's what I'm trying to explain to you. A gathering threat, after 9/11, is a threat that needed to be dealt with, and it was done after 12 long years of the world saying the man's a danger."

<reluctant snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/18/politics/18PREX.html?ex=1072774656&ei=1&en=edaa7b66df3a0191

MY GOD. THE UTTER OBSCENITY!!

[Darranar]

1. So...

The US invaded a sovereign country, lost hundreds of soldiers, killed somewhere between 8000 - 30000 Iraqi civilians, devestated Iraq's infrastructure, alienated itself from the world, spent billions of dollars, created a haven for terrorists, and plunged a nation into chaos and violence - all supposedly for the purpose of removing weapons of mass destruction.

But now they don't matter?

[opihimoimoi]

2. BUT BUT, "We got um"

First no Osama, Then no WMD, then cannot quell the pesky insurgents, finally, 1 touch down, we got Saddam.

If you look at the Pubs celebration, you would think the whole enchilada was won. No it wasn't. We lost 3 quarters of the game and 1 quarter remains with us trailing badly. Bush needs a new quarter back, or do we need a new Coach...?

[doc03]

3. Sad but true!

Bush and the news media have got people so confused the average American thinks Saddam flew the planes himself on 9-11. Just saw this
on Hardball 53% of Americans believe Saddam was directly involed on
9-11.

[NYC]

4. Heard it with my own ears.

Unbelievable he could use this as a response:


"If he were to acquire weapons, he would be the danger," Mr. Bush continued, referring to Mr. Hussein. "That's what I'm trying to explain to you. A gathering threat, after 9/11, is a threat that needed to be dealt with, and it was done after 12 long years of the world saying the man's a danger."

[Tinoire]

5. You are a brave soul indeed!

I can NOT stand to even see his face on TV. The mere sight of him spouting his filth energizes a very hefty two-finger salute.


Pressed to explain the president's remarks, Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said Mr. Bush was not backing away from his assertions about Mr. Hussein's possession of banned weapons.

"We continue to believe that he had weapons of mass destruction programs and weapons of mass destruction," Mr. McClellan said on Wednesday.


Could he maybe explain them a little more?!

[grannylib]

6. I nearly fell out of my chair at that line...."What's the difference???"

And the impatient arrogant tone in which he said it; the little puke really really truly really believes his own bullshit.
We have got to rid ourselves of this little dictator. And the PNAC puppetmasters behind him too.

[maddezmom]

14. no fooling

:wtf:

[Dagaz]

7. Bush is using the Chubakka defense

AAAAAARgh!

[Manix]

8. Lying Asshole!!!!

nt

[opihimoimoi]

10. The Rove Manuver, just say what comes to your mind, People don't

really listen to anything much less understand.

"We got um!"

wuz they talking about Saddam or the Sheep??

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. Why does Bush keep getting away with the term "gathering threat"?

He keeps repeating it like a mantra and no one calls him on it, as though repeating it often enough will change the written or videotaped record. In his State of the Union speech, he used the term "grave and growing danger". He also used that same term "grave danger" in his Global Message of September 26, 2002 still posted at the Whitehouse website in which he said that Saddam could deliver WMD within 45 minutes (without any attribution to British sources), had sought nuclear weapons material from Niger, and had links to Al Qaeda. I don't understand how interviewers like Diane Sawyer can pass over his claims that he said it was a "gathering" threat before the invasion, when he used the term "grave danger". His words indicated that the danger was ALREADY THERE, not that it was building up to some future potential.

[PartyPooper]

11. It was simply revenge. He was removing Saddam because he went after Poppy.

[colorado_ufo]

12. I have a different take on this.

In spite of references to Hussein's alleged assassination attempt on Poppy, I think that * really wanted to "one up" his Poppy, to be remembered as the one who "finished the job." I have seen numerous instances where, if one looks closely, * relishes getting the advantage over his "Poppy" whenever he can. Perhaps this was Jr.'s way of proving himself to his old man, albeit a bit late in life. And I don't think that this constant belittling of Poppy's legacy has gone unnoticed by Bush, Sr.: note the recent honor he bestowed upon Jr.'s outspoken critic, Ted Kennedy - a real spanking to his zealous offspring.

[Skittles]

18. it's because deep down

Dubya knows Poppy thinks Dubya is a f***ing idiot.

[Crunchy Frog]

13. Weapons of Mass Destruction?

What are you talking about? What are those? I thought we went in there to get Saddam and liberate the Iraqi people. I don't remember this ever being about Weapons of Mass Destruction...

Really, the greatest weapon in Bush's arsenal is the short attention span of the American people. It seems like they'll swallow anything if you give them a few weeks and a juicy story about Michael Jackson.

Sorry for the rant, I'm just feeling kind of discouraged right now.

[snippy]

15. Cheney may disagree because of the impact on selling the next war.

A member of Cheney's staff recently told Newsweek that there was concern that the failure to find WMD in Iraq could make it more difficult to persuade the public to support the next pre-emptive war.

[0007]

16. I don't think this will stop the crime cabal -

They are excellent at creating situations to fool us.

[TrueStory]

17. Reminder

http://www.angelfire.com/creep/gwbush/remindus.html