Bush and Blair Deny 'Fixed' Iraq Reports - NEW YORK TIMES

[steve2470]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/international/08prexy.html

By ELISABETH BUMILLER
Published: June 8, 2005

WASHINGTON, June 7 - President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain presented a united front on Tuesday against a recently disclosed British government memorandum that said in July 2002 that American intelligence was being "fixed" around the policy of removing Saddam Hussein in Iraq.


"There's nothing farther from the truth," Mr. Bush said in his first public comments about the so-called Downing Street memo, which has created anger among the administration's critics who see it as evidence that the president was intent to go to war with Iraq earlier than the White House has said.

"Look, both of us didn't want to use our military," Mr. Bush added. "Nobody wants to commit military into combat. It's the last option."

Mr. Blair, standing at Mr. Bush's side in a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House, said, "No, the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all."



<snip>

[Triana]

1. JUST BECAUSE THEY DENIED IT...

...doesn't mean it isn't true. Can they PROVE they didn't 'fix intel around policy'?

We have a LOT more proof to the contrary, actually. Their collectively denying doesn't change the facts/evidence.

THEY NEED TO BE FORCED TO EXPLAIN THE EVIDENCE instead of being allowed to just deny it. I can deny that the sun rises in the morning too, but that doesn't change the fact that the sun rises in the morning.

[City Lights]

5. True enough, but at least the NYT acknowledges that they denied it.

Others, both here and in the media, keep saying they didn't answer the question.

[City Lights]

2. Glad to see this.

I like the ending:

The White House has always insisted that Mr. Bush did not make the decision to invade Iraq until after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell presented the administration's case to the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 5, 2003, which relied heavily on claims, now discredited, that Iraq had illicit weapons. But as early as Nov. 21, 2001, Mr. Bush directed Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to begin a review of what could be done to oust Mr. Hussein.

[hedda_foil]

3. Bumiller has gotten feisty lately.

She's not the type to do that without approval by the higher ups. Look at this. It's straight, no-nonsense reporting. Too far down, but played totally straight!

The two expressed common ground most emphatically on the Downing Street memo, which was written by Matthew Rycroft, a top aide to Mr. Blair.

In particular, it reports that Sir Richard Dearlove, the chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, had been in talks in Washington and had told other senior British officials that Mr. Bush "wanted to remove" Mr. Hussein "through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and W.M.D.," or weapons of mass destruction.

"But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy," Sir Richard was reported in the memo to have told his colleagues.

Since the disclosure by The Sunday Times, 89 Democrats in the House of Representatives have written to the White House to ask if the memorandum accurately reflected the administration's thinking at the time, eight months before the American-led invasion of Iraq began. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, has said there is "no need" to respond to the letter.

In his comments at the news conference, Mr. Bush noted of the memorandum that "they dropped it out in the middle of his race," indicating that he thought it had been made public last month to hurt Mr. Blair's chances for re-election.

Mr. Blair, who spoke frequently about the memorandum during his campaign, said it was written before the United States and Britain went to the United Nations seeking a resolution to justify military action in Iraq.

[killbotfactory]

4. "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out"

Very believable Shrub. You are quite convincing and sincere.

[Fridays Child]

6. I did not have sexual relations with that war.

May B*sh's lie, today, become at least as historical a moment as that day, in 1998, when President Clinton denied having sex with Monica Lewinsky.

[kevinmc]

7. Had to give the news conference.......

indoors, for fear of a lightning strike.

[shraby]

8. Bush called the people who wrote the DSM liars.

Note this statement from him:
""There's nothing farther from the truth," Mr. Bush said in his first public comments"

[Walt Starr]

9. OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!

We got them on RECORD outright DENYING IT!!!!

In most instances, ther would be a non-denial denial.

They've both screwed up royally.

[insane_cratic_gal]

10. Spin Spin!

Why do they keep saying this!!

which has created anger among the administration's critics who see it as evidence that the president was intent to go to war with Iraq earlier than the White House has said.


It wasn't the intent that pissed most of us off, we knew BushINC was a crazy fek to begin with BUT.. FIXING evidence!! fucking fixing evidence. Lying! What does the "press" not get about Fixing evidence! Exaggerated intelligence, Bolton ignoring weapons inspectors (firing people who didn't FIX it for invasion)

Bolton and DSM ..and Fixing..:

Gaaarrrrr:crazy:

[Botany]

11. Hey bush .....

He is on record as Gov of Tex ASS saying as .......
...... president he would have a war w/ Iraq. Either 98 or 99.


Also google PNAC ..... look @ the 1998 letter to Clinton ......
those shits have had a hard on for Iraq for a long time .

Dick Clark in March of '01 maps of Iraqi oil fields on cheney's
desk.

now will the media cover the facts or bush's ass?

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Elizabeth Bumiller? Oy gewalt

Could they have found a bigger bushista ass kisser to write this one up?