Bush issued false statments

[dragon]

Say it ain't so. Hundreds of false statement. And even more when the White House spokes man said that the world community viewed him as a threat. Most of the world was against the US going in.

WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
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The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.

"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.

"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.

The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.

"The cumulative effect of these false statements — amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts — was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study concluded.

"Some journalists — indeed, even some entire news organizations — have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it said.

what a shock

[wautd]

As long as doesn't include "I did not have sex with that woman (or man)", I doubt anyone will care

[Havok]

Is this even news anymore. Great, they did a study to show what everyone already knows. I'm sure there is a very logical and intelligent reply to this, but in my very tired state I think that "Duh" pretty much covers it.

[Edi]

This sort of study would be prime material for a war crimes indictment against all of the assholes mentioned in it. If we did live in a just world, Bush & Co would end up swinging from the end of a rope after being tried for war crimes Nürnberg style.

[K. A. Pital]

The american administration lied? That's not news. That's normal now. They aren't even covering it up... what's the point of shouting "liar" if the liar isn't hiding his lies at all - talking to a brick wall which is the American public....

[The Spartan]

Is this even news anymore. Great, they did a study to show what everyone already knows. I'm sure there is a very logical and intelligent reply to this, but in my very tired state I think that "Duh" pretty much covers it.

Given how many Americans still don't know or think he lied, yeah, I'd say it's still news.

Granted, most of those aren't going to believe this anyways (liberal media and all) but since there are still independents out there who are apathetic and probably not following along enough to connect the dots, having something that says, flat out, "Captain Chucklefuck and His Merry Band of Morons lied at least 935 times to get us into war" is necessary.

Now we just have to get past all the morons who think that regardless of why we went there in the first place that we have to stay there forever because if we pull out of this disaster we're not supporting the troops. Jesus Titty Fucking Christ that one pisses me right the hell off.

[dragon]

This sort of study would be prime material for a war crimes indictment against all of the assholes mentioned in it. If we did live in a just world, Bush & Co would end up swinging from the end of a rope after being tried for war crimes Nürnberg style.

Hum wonder what would happen if after he's out of office a county took him to the world court as a war criminal. The U.S. would not be willing to extride him as it would set a bad example, but that doesn't mean he might disappear one night as several citizens in other ountries did.

[Thanas]

^Yes it does, because no country would be willing to indict him in a court of law.

[Molyneux]

Hrm...I wonder if this news bit has turned up anywhere other than Yahoo News. Hardly shocking on the whole, but it'll be a nice bit of info to throw in Bush enthusiasts' faces next time I'm in an argument.

[Surlethe]

I was reading about this to some friends today, and I commented that the really sad thing was, conservatives aren't going to listen to this because they'll hear the conclusions and immediately accuse the organization of liberal bias without looking at the methodology or the facts the study used.

I was still reading out tidbits some time later when a known conservative walked by. In between statements, he said something like: "Oh, that study. I heard about it a couple of weeks ago. I know some of the businesses that run that organization -- they're biased."

[Phantasee]

It was on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight on CNN (I think it was AC360, might have been Raw Politics, unless that's a section of his show).

[Darth Servo]

Hrm...I wonder if this news bit has turned up anywhere other than Yahoo News. Hardly shocking on the whole, but it'll be a nice bit of info to throw in Bush enthusiasts' faces next time I'm in an argument.

No it won't. They'll deal with it the same way they deal with everything else that proves they're full of shit. "left-wing-liberal media propaganda. Nya-nya-nya-nya! I can't hear you!"

[Edi]

In general, there is no whinier creature than an American conservative of the current Republican rank and file. It's fucking unbelievable. And when they accuse liberals of whining, it's a case of projection almost always.