Sorry, Rove, Bush Did Lie About Iraq.

[Octafish]

Robert Parry spells out the truth about America's former warmonger-in-chief:

Sorry, Rove, Bush Did Lie About Iraq

By Robert Parry
In These Times
March 9. 2010

George W. Bush’s political adviser Karl Rove claims “one of the biggest mistakes” of that presidency was not aggressively challenging critics who charged that Bush “lied” to the American people about the reasons for the Iraq War, an accusation that Rove insists was false and unfair.

In his forthcoming book, Courage and Consequence, Rove calls the “lie” charge “a poison-tipped dagger aimed at the heart of the Bush presidency” and blames himself for “a weak response” that underestimated “how damaging this assault was.”

But the problem with Rove’s account is that not only did Bush oversee the twisting of intelligence to justify invading Iraq in March 2003 but he subsequently lied – and lied repeatedly – about how Iraq had responded to United Nations inspection demands.

So, while it may be impossible to say for certain what Bush believed about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, it can’t be argued that Bush didn’t know that Iraq declared that it had destroyed its WMD stockpiles and let U.N. inspectors in to see for themselves in the months before the invasion.

Nevertheless, Bush followed up his false pre-war claims about Iraq’s WMD with a post-invasion insistence that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had barred U.N. inspectors from his country, a decision that Bush said left him no choice but to invade. Bush began reciting this faux history just months after the invasion and continued the tall tale until the end of his presidency more than five years later.

CONTINUED...

http://inthesetimes.com/article/5663/sorry_rove_bush_did_lie_about_iraq/

Wonder what else Bush lied about, considering all the, eh, misfortune that comes to those who bring up the truth about him and his relations and cronies.

[FLyellowdog]

1. What a friggin' turkey!!!nt

[lpbk2713]

2. Who? Her?

Damn right. :rofl:

[MisterP]

4. I still can't believe that's real and not a Fey special appearance on "Parks & Recreation"

or a "30 Rock" interview gone horribly wrong

[lame54]

5. that was surreal...

and hilarious

[Octafish]

8. The guy must be a turkey in the straw...

...going by his brains, because he really doesn't have a clue.



Smirko, though, did have the presence of mind to sum things up:

Money Trumps Peace.

[malaise]

3. They'll be trying to revise the history of that lie

but they lied about WMDs and lots of other things and there is no escaping that truth.

[Octafish]

9. 8 Years Worth of Lying -- on top of Pruneface and Poppy's 12 Years of Lies

The Bush Administration's Top 40 Lies about War and Terrorism

Going by the reactions of those I expect to prosecute traitors, crooks and warmongers, I guess I'm supposed to grin and get over it.

[EFerrari]

22. Brian Lamb is going to have to scrub the CSPAN archives.

Think of the hours BushCo has spent lying to Congress on camera. The Taguba hearings, the Iraq war first supplemental hearing where Wolfie said Iraq would pay for itself. Rumsfeld blaming digital cameras for Abu Graib. We could compile an entire alternate Presidential Library -- of Bush Lies.

[Octafish]

32. That's why I harp about certain, eh, themes, my Friend.

If we on DU don't give a damn, what chance does America as a whole have to "remember" the good works of Democrats, particularly Liberal Democrats?

An example:

The Posthumous Assassination of JFK, Part I

[Enthusiast]

35. We need a new documentary

to show just how dishonest that Maladministration was.

[EFerrari]

37. Link has been running "Orwell Rolls in his Grave" but you're right,

we need a new one.

[Diane R]

6. Was that the plastic turkey?

[Octafish]

10. Both are totally plastic. Fakes. Replicants. Pretenders. Ersatz Bird Brains...

Bush's turkey raises questions.

[Qutzupalotl]

38. That turkey is just a prop

and he's holding a plastic centerpiece.

[doc03]

7. I saw Rove on TV a couple days ago and he said we were

dishonoring the military when we criticize Bush appearing in front of the "Mission Accomplished" banner. According to Rove the banner was put up to celebrate the ship's 10th year in service not winning the war in Iraq and he said this with a straight face. You gotta admit he is an accomplished liar.

[Octafish]

12. A most accomplished Big Lie liar...

Bush's Bird Brain learned from the master:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” – Joseph Goebbels

Joseph Goebbels: The Karl Rove of Nazi Germany

[newspeak]

24. The worse insult to the military

was * joking about looking for WMD--I thought it was pure tasteless and unconscionable, along with the joke about hitting the trifecta after 9/11.

[Nikki Stone1]

11. Karl, hon, it was the FACTS not the critics that prove that Bush lied.

This is just silliness, and a rewriting of history. Anyone who was watching knew that Bush lied.

[Octafish]

13. They know time flies, my Friend.

Look at how fast the 9 years since 9-11 have gone by. Rove and his masters know that fewer and fewer people are around each year to remember their treasons, criminality, and gross derelection of duty. That's why they pay big money for professional fancy re-writers of history like Philip Zelikow.

What JFK really said.

For people of my age, November 22, 1963 seemed like yesterday. Those who don't remember it, can't be blamed for not knowing what the country was like then and what it's become since. And that's what they're counting on.

[Nikki Stone1]

14. So Zelikow is the official whitewasher

I've linked to the article. Give me a minute to read it.

[Octafish]

19. Thus, he stood qualified to "serve" as ED for the 9-11 Commission.

A fine choice for getting attention fixed on the sanitized version of things.

[Nikki Stone1]

15. Jesus Christ. Zelikow deliberately lies.

In the data collection! What a tool.

[Octafish]

16. JFK comes across as the real Decider in the accurate transcription.

Even when pressured to go to war by the Joint Chiefs, most of the Cabinet, and the bigwigs in Congress, Kennedy asked pertinent questions and stayed on top of things. In short, he lived up to our ideals for a Commander-in-Chief.

But leave it to the faux noose types spin history their way --- purely by accident, of course.

[Nikki Stone1]

20. It's easy for those not responsible for the decision to cry "war" right away.

I would say that I am amazed that Zelikow has not been called out on this by more people, but considering the wholesale whoredom in academics these days, I'm really not surprised at all.

This is a great find, Octafish. You always have the best links.

[newspeak]

18. I clearly remember the first attempts by the media

"to catapult the propaganda." Talk about using fear--Saddam had the capacity to launch an attack on the US--he had missiles that could hit the US. Then, it was Saddam has WMD--then, Saddam is a bad man who gassed his own people, we must free the people. I guess eventually something had to stick with the people. But, I remember their first argument for attacking Iraq.

[Octafish]

21. Same thing happened to Poppy in Gulf War One.

I remember he had to lie his way to getting a "majority" of public support. It started out "Saddam invading Kuwait is a threat to Saudi Arabia," but then they switched it to the guy's a monster ready to use nukes on America and her allies.

George Bush's War by Jean Edward Smith.

Lies about Iraq

How PR Sold the War in the Persian Gulf

[upi402]

23. The film 'Panama Deception' showed King George 1st lied about that too

and our media was frighteningly silent. Even my local PBS station refused to air the film even after it won awards.

[Octafish]

28. King George's enemies end up with ruined careers.

The lucky ones. How many even heard of, let alone remember, Danny Casolaro and the Octopus?

[newspeak]

31. I won't forget Danny Casolaro

We were reading his columns, could hardly wait for more information to come out about the Octopus. You might say, that's when my eyes opened. I knew, as Danny knew, that this information not only about Iran-Contra, BCCI; but the PROMIS software, drug trafficking, our nation was in jeopardy.

Real investigative reporters lost their lives attempting to get the truth to the people. These are the real heros.

[newspeak]

27. yes, didn't Soviet satellite photos

show that Saddam was not amassing on Saudi's border?

[Octafish]

29. St. Petersburg Times pegged Poppy, Cheney and Co. to the wall. Yet, the war rolled on...

Our Government Lied about Iraq before.

[upi402]

17. Investigate these crooks NOW!

kick
rec

[Octafish]

26. Thanks for putting it into words, upi402!

Adlai Stevenson Jr. said it well:

"Corruption in public office is treason."

ADLAI E. STEVENSON: A VOICE OF CONSCIENCE

[deutsey]

25. I don't agree with this

Forget the "sorry" shit...It should read: "Fuck you, Rove, Bush Did Lie About Iraq."

[Octafish]

30. Absolutely correct, my Friend.

The little turd from Crawford's tonsils deserves no fucking respect. I still cling, perhaps naively, to the hope he'll be frog-marched to the Supermax, where he'll spend the rest of his natural days making little rocks out of big ones.

Remember, Karl's the man when it came to rebuilding Katrina. I still cling, perhaps naively, to the hope he'll be frog-marched to the Superpen.

[Raster]

33. For 10 bonus points, point out the fake turkey in the featured photo!

[Turborama]

34. I remember like it was yesterday that Saddam Hussein gave the inspectors "unfettered access"

Ecellent article that deserves 1,000 recs! Thanks for sharing.

There are so many trolls on YouTube and elsewhere who to this day swear otherwise, though, and has been my main bone of contention over the past 7+ years.

Two of the few remaining articles on this on the internets. Might be worth taking a screenshot in case they get scrubbed.

Iraq Offers Inspectors 'Unfettered Access'

Sept. 24 2002

Hussein Adviser Promises Cooperation; Britain Releases Detailed Dossier on Iraq’s Weaponry

An adviser to Saddam Hussein told reporters today that U.N. arms inspectors would have "unfettered access" to any site in Iraq — hours after British Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled a long-awaited dossier on Iraq's weapons program.

In a press conference in Baghdad, Saddam adviser Amir al-Sa'adi was asked if the weapons inspectors could go wherever they wanted.

"Wherever they want to go," he replied. "This will be the subject of practical arrangement, in order so there's no misunderstanding about the procedures that have to be adopted during inspection. Mr. (Hans) Blix (the United Nation's chief weapons inspector) wants to do this coming here. We are complying."

The remarks came on the same day Blair released a dossier claiming the Iraqi leader has "military plans" to use chemical and biological weapons that could be launched with 45 minutes notice.

More: http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79836&page=1

-

Iraq agrees to weapons inspections

September 17, 2002 Posted: 3:26 AM EDT (0726 GMT)

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- In a letter handed over to the United Nations on Monday, Iraq said it would allow the return of U.N. weapons inspectors "without conditions" to "remove any doubts Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction."

The White House was dismissive of Iraq's pledge: "We do not take what Saddam says at face value," said a Bush administration official, referring to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

In the letter, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri wrote: "The Government of the Republic of Iraq is ready to discuss the practical arrangements necessary for the immediate resumption of inspections."

Sabri hand-delivered the letter in a meeting Monday evening with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League.

"I am pleased to inform you of the decision of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to allow the return of the United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq without conditions," the letter said.

Full article: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/16/iraq.un.letter/index.html

[Echo In Light]

36. k/r

[Martin Eden]

39. The REAL "imminent threat" before the invasion of Iraq

The UN inspectors were on the ground with unfettered access to every site. They were finding no evidence of chemical & biological weapons and were coming to the conclusion that the extensive infrastructure necessary for a nuclear weapons program simply didn't exist in the country.

Bushco could NOT let the inspectors continue because there was an imminent threat of a report declaring Iraq in compliance with UN resolutions. The primary rationale for this war would have evaporated along with the "mushroom clouds" Bush told us to fear.