FLEISCHER SAYS BUSH DID NOT HAVE ACCURATE INFORMATION…….

[peterh]

ABOUT NIGER AND IRAQ BEFORE HIS 2003 STATE OF UNION ADDRESS

<http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=03070701.tlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml>

"The information about the yellowcake and Niger was not specifically
known prior to the State of the Union by the White House," Fleischer
said.

"We've acknowledged that the information turned out to be bogus
involving the report on yellowcake," Fleischer said. "That's not new.
Dr. Rice has said it repeatedly. I've said it repeatedly."



There are lies and there are damn lies and then there’s Ari supporting his boss.

[indepat]

1. There are lies, damned lies, statistics, and PNAC

implementation.

[supernova]

2. So, it's not like as a WH staffer

IT'S YOUR FREAKIN' JOB to make sure the POTUS has accurate information!

No, can't be that at all. /sarcasm

They all know the twit can be easily manipulated. That's why they do it.

[LeighAnn]

47. No doubt. WE KNEW...

I about jumped out of my chair when he cited that durning the SOTU address, it was an outright lie. I knew it, why didn't he?

[htuttle]

3. Wow, it might have been my imagination

...but I swear I saw a buck just go flying through the air when he said that...

[Fridays Child]

4. Two words: criminal incompetence

[hatrack]

5. bullshit! Bullshit! BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!

The Niger yellowcake case was specifically dismissed, in detail, by the State Department official designated by the White House to investigate the validity of such claims in SEPTEMBER 2002!!

And now it's "Oh, my staff didn't provide me with good accurate information! Ooh, so sorry!"?!?! What a bunch of fucking BULLSHIT!!

BITE ME, ARI! BITE ME, CHIMPY!!!

[joeunderdog]

13. How come everyone else knew? Read this..

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0319-08.htm

Unfortunately, Bush has an excuse. He can't read.

This information was available not only to the president, but to the general public and th rest of the world. It's is not news.

At the time of the SOTU, someone grilled Colin Powell on it, asking him to comment on the fact that the basis for war was built in large part on a forged document, he replied, "So be it." No denial. No outrage. No apology.

"So be it."????

[catzies]

45. Holy moly that's the Ray McGovern recently interviewed by Will Pitt

:wow:

I don't know how I missed that Common Dreams article before. It was new to me too.

For Will Pitt's interview with Ray MGovern:

http://truthout.org/docs_03/062603B.shtml

[ewagner]

71. JJJJJeeeeeeesssssshhhhhhh!!!!!

Thanks for the great link. I took the time to read the whole interview.

This may well be the demise of Cheney and a big dent in dubya's popularity.

To you Sir, a:toast:

[MercutioATC]

6. I see, so Bush has to have personal knowledge of EVERY aspect

of the war in order for him to be held responsible for the actions of his subordinates (who were empowered, of course, by him)?

There were records of the yellowcake being there. That fact is undisputed, as far as I know. Saying that Bush is not responsible because he overlooked data (or was improperly briefed by his appointed advisors) is ludicrous.

[otohara]

7. The Offical Change In Niger Story

has begun.

[diamond14]

8. here's more of Ari's lies...these people are all war criminals....

but Wilson's NY Times Editorial covered all the bases, including bush* knowledge BEFORE the State of the Union...and here, Ari fails to mention the knowledge BEFORE powell's UN address, and BEFORE the WAR started...war criminals....there's a huge amount of pressure on this WMD issue...

-snips-

"The vice president's office asked a serious question," Wilson said.
"I was asked to help formulate the answer. I did so, and I have every
confidence that the answer I provided was circulated to the
appropriate officials within our government."

Fleischer said the vice president's office knew nothing of Wilson's
trip to Niger until the media reported the story.

"The vice president's office did not request the mission to Niger,"
Fleischer said. "The vice president's office was not informed of his
mission. He was not aware of Mr. Wilson's mission until recent press
reports accounted for it."

It is now old news that the report saying Iraq acquired uranium
yellowcake from Niger is false, Fleischer said,

<http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=03070701.tlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml>




photo from http://bartcop.com

[WhataBildeberger]

12. so if I understand,

Cheney, through Flyshit, is specifically denying that his office made the request that resulted in Mr. Wilson being sent to Niger to investigate? And Mr. Wilson's story is the exact opposite? Thankfully, there's a place in America for settling this sort of he-said/he-said dispute. Under oath.

[diamond14]

17. my guess is that the CIA already has all 4 reports covering

Wilson's trip, which were noted in the NYT editorial....there will be no need for a he-said/he-said dispute...there's plenty of documentation....Wilson is too smart to go out on a limb without that...and he was working for the CIA at the time, though not on their payroll, they funded his trip...

bush* made a BIG mistake blaming the CIA, rather than thinking this through strategically and working with the CIA...his father knows that it is very important to have the CIA as your friend....

Central Intelligence Agency vs. KKKarl Rove, bush*'s brain (who never finished college)...Ari can spin it all he wants, but Wilson covered all the bases in his NY Times editorial...it's really hot here in DC... it would have been better for Ari if he had hurried up and left, rather than stay and stick his nose into this pile....

[SeattleDem]

18. wordplay -

Ari is saying that Cheney didn't request a MISSION to Niger.

Cheney asked a question of the CIA. The CIA responded by sending someone on a mission to gather the info. But that doesn't mean Cheney requested the actual mission.

Technically, Ari is NOT lying. He's obfuscating and hiding the truth, as typical for this administration.

[WhataBildeberger]

21. "that depends on what the definition of the word 'Cheney' is." n/t

[janx]

9. Ambassador Wilson

says that Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to look into the yellowcake matter and that he did. Ambassador Wilson says he reported his finding to the CIA. Ambassador Wilson did just that.

And the CIA then wouldn't follow through with this report to the White House? We're not talking about some huge or lengthy chain of command here, with hundreds of FBI agents running around or something. The link was from Dick Cheney to the CIA and then to Ambassodor Wilson, correct? Ambassador Wilson reported his finding.

So what is the White House now trying to do, blame the CIA?

[MaineDem]

10. Don't we pay them to know these things?

No one vetted the info prior to the speech? Holy shit, this is abysmal!

[DemoTex]

11. Revising history before the ink is dry.

History tailor-made for the murderous, treasonous Bu$h regime. May they all rot in hell. May future generations spit on the ground when the name Bu$h is mentioned.

[iam]

58. My thoughts exactly

May a nauseating visceral revulsion overcome those who dare speak the four-letter word "bush". For those who hear the forbidden word "bush" from the lips of those who are now nauseated, may you vomit into a stiff wind.

[aquart]

73. Oh, why wait?

Spit now.

[Lostnote03]

14. "He's such a good boy"

...This country has gone nuts, period!!!!...If the media passes this off as believable, then it's time to target the outlets themselves with protests...Where are the damned leaders of the Democratic Party?!!!...Chickenshit, Rat Ass Lying Bastards!!!...There is NO Plausible Deniability built into this scenario!!!.....IMPEACH THE REGIME....

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. according to Wilson whom Cheney sent into Niger Bush* knew

the intel was FALSE/wrong and chose to LIE and used it anyway!!
BUCK FUSH!

[bpilgrim]

16. they should start using the DU then!

best source of IMPORTANT BREAKING INFO online :toast:

gonna have to add that to the wmd page...
http://news.globalfreepress.com/wmd

http://mall.globalfreepress.com/foundation/images/items/Bush-Lied,-Thousands-Died.gif
http://mall.globalfreepress.com

LIARS!

peace

[bigtime]

19. implausible deniability

see, that's the beauty of being well-known to be an idiot. nobody expects you to know anything. sadly, most people don't make the distinction between stupidity and ignorance. of course, in reality, he's neither ignorant nor stupid, just evil.

[9215]

36. LOL,hee, hee

I likes it! "implausible deniability"

[quilp]

48. "That answer is no longer operative"

Ron Ziegler must be looking down (or is it up??)at Ari.

[dansolo]

60. He was out of the loop

Hey, it worked for his father.

[Jack Rabbit]

20. If Bush was as badly misinformed as Ari says

If Bush was as badly misinformed as Ari says then your favorite Frat Boy and mine should start firing those who have served him so poorly.

Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz . . . .

If he doesn't, then perhaps being poorly served doesn't bother him. In which case, he is serving us poorly.

Of course, we know that.

[Frances]

22. Excuses, Excuses

Remember how the Press jumped on Gore when he reported what a father said about an overcrowded classroom in Florida. It turned out that the problem was corrected the day after the father contacted Gore. Gore was accused of LYING BIG TIME for repeating what turned out to be a TRUE story.

[neuvocat]

23. Let's see if I have this right...

we still have some troops over there, hundreds of whom died, all on the basis of false information.

Thanks Ari.

[TreasonousBastard]

24. cheeseatin'...

lyin', miserable, useless, incompetent, thievin', despicable, brainless, sophomoric, ignorant, arrogant, irresponsible...

(need I go on?)

...sacks of batshit.

If the country buys this, it deserves them.

:grr:

[Piperay]

25. I believe at the time he knew it was a lie but

IF he didn't than that is every bit as bad because he is an incompetent idiot who didn't check his "facts". :mad: What a "great" leader (NOT) who sends people into harms way without accurate information. :puke:

[NNN0LHI]

26. Nice find peterh. Thank you for this post. n/t

[BuckeFushe]

27. What did Nixon say, I am not a crook?

What will Bush say, I am not a fool? Now the proverbial shit will hit the fan. Ari Fliesliar just left the CIA hung out to dry, and the paper trail will lead directly to "Heartbeat's" office. If our leadership and the press allows this to die, there is no hope left.

[RainDog]

32. Bush must either say "I am an idiot"

...or "I am a liar."

gee, makes you so happy he stole the election, huh?

seems like it's karma payback big time for the whole HeeHaw gang.

...at least I hope and pray, for the well being of our troops and our very country, that this is the case.

[diamond14]

28. link to NYT Wilson's Editorial with selected quotes....

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/opinion/06WILS.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fContributors

-snips-

After consulting with the State Department's African Affairs Bureau (and through it with Barbro Owens-Kirkpatrick, the United States ambassador to Niger), I agreed to make the trip.

....The next morning, I met with Ambassador Owens-Kirkpatrick at the embassy. For reasons that are understandable, the embassy staff has always kept a close eye on Niger's uranium business. I was not surprised, then, when the ambassador told me that she knew about the allegations of uranium sales to Iraq — and that she felt she had already debunked them in her reports to Washington.

But news accounts have pointed out that the documents had glaring errors — they were signed, for example, by officials who were no longer in government — and were probably forged. And then there's the fact that Niger formally denied the charges.

...there should be at least four documents in United States government archives confirming my mission. The documents should include the ambassador's report of my debriefing in Niamey, a separate report written by the embassy staff, a C.I.A. report summing up my trip, and a specific answer from the agency to the office of the vice president (this may have been delivered orally).

The vice president's office asked a serious question. I was asked to help formulate the answer. I did so, and I have every confidence that the answer I provided was circulated to the appropriate officials within our government. It's worth remembering that in his March "Meet the Press" appearance, Mr. Cheney said that Saddam Hussein was "trying once again to produce nuclear weapons."

[diamond14]

31. Wilson "this may have been delivered orally"

Wilson covered all the bases...because it "may have been delivered orally"...there is no way that cheney can deny receiving the written report, as condi is so prone to say (like the Osama bin Laden report that didn't make it to bush*'s desk prior to 9-11)

and the CIA will trot out some high level people who remember clearly briefing the VP on all this...along with the written report that they used for the briefing...

it's beautifully done, professional, reminds us why every President should be "friends" with the CIA, in case they need something done...
and the Ambassador's reports will be damning (coming right out of the U.S. State Department...Powell's revenge)

shrub's in trouble...

cheney will leave for "health reasons"....

now....WHO will be chosen to replace the VP and later, assume the Presidency of the United States ? That is the question !

[peterh]

33. You think Cheney might leave for health reasons….

Maybe it’s just a coincidence…..maybe not…


WASHINGTON (AP)--U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will undergo a routine
physical Tuesday to check the condition of a high-tech pacemaker that was placed
in his chest in June 2001.
Spokeswoman Cathy Martin said the tests at George Washington University
Medical Center would include a physical exam, an electrocardiogram, an
echocardiogram and a stress test. It is a noninvasive procedure and the vice
president plans to be back at work by midday, she said.
The doctor will electronically scan the pacemaking device - called an
implantable cardioverter defibrillator - to make sure it is working and to see
if it has ever been activated to adjust Cheney's heartbeat, she said.
Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, attended a fund-raiser in New Jersey
on Monday evening.

[diamond14]

34. it worked for Pinochet....cheney will just go back to his very

successful multi-billion dollar business endeavors with the Defense Department, and the privacy of his beautiful home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, just outside Grand Teton National Park....

you can't expect a guy with a bad heart to testify...that would be cruel beyond belief...which is why they let Pinochet go....

(watch for a new doctor to be brought in as a consultant and make the diagnosis: cheney needs some rest...recommend immediate retirement...)

[ward919]

50. Who in Congress has the guts to call for IMPEACHMENT?

Even if it doesn't go through...it should be documented for posterity that an attempt was made to impeach this President for war crimes...high crimes...treason.

[diamond14]

51. it's whenever "We the People" decide......

that's when Congress will act...contact your Congressional reps, write, email, phone.....spread the word, call into talk shows, ?W, write to your local papers....

[DEM FAN]

29. Watch It Ari. Your Nose Is Growing.

_!_

[DiverDave]

Hey ARI!!

Are your pants really on fire??

Fascist mouthpiece. Criminal. Liar.

Dave

[karlschneider]

30. Maybe he can get a job with Siemens singing their commercial...

"spin, spin, spin the globe..."

;-)

[Bozita]

35. Dumbya factoid -- The buck stops at someone else's desk.

Bush's Teflon is definitely improved over the older Reagan version.

[9215]

37. What did the President know and when did he know it?

This famous question asked by Howard Baker during Watergate is again, nearly three decades hence, begging to be answered. It has come down to this:

Upon orders from Vice President Dick Cheney the CIA asked ex-Ambassador (Gabon) Joseph Wilson, a career diplomat, to go to Nigeria in February of 2002 to look into a purported sale of uranium "yellow cake" (lightly processed ore) by that country to Iraq . Wilson determined there was no evidence of a sale. One pre-supposes that Wilson's determination was imparted to someone in the intelligence community and that this important information, importance based on the fact that Cheney specifically requested an investigation, was given to the Bush Administration.

Just today Ari Fleischer is contending that the President in fact did not know about the "non-sale" before his January 28th 2003 State of the Union Address where he stated that Nigeria was selling uranium to Iraq. Wilson is contending that the Adminstration must have known.

This "fudging" is moving into the category of lie no matter how you cut this cake. If Wilson's information was not passed on to the White House then what exactly was he doing there in the first place and what happened to it?

Those in the CIA that reported Wilson's conclusions to the Bush Administration should be questioned on this, but there is little doubt that they will back Wilson's contention that Bush knew the Niger uranium sale was bogus and he went ahead and lied anyway.

What did Bush know about the sale and when did he know it?

[diamond14]

38. bush* knew about it, whenever Powell says that he was briefed..

this is Powell's revenge for all the crap that he had to do for shrub...Powell was being set up and now....likely way back last fall was when shrub knew...shrub is so arrogant...he went with the whole reTHUGlican idea that worked before: don't worry about it, we win, the rest of it will all go away, and the victors tell the story...


from Wilson's NYT Editorial:

....The next morning, I met with Ambassador Owens-Kirkpatrick at the embassy. For reasons that are understandable, the embassy staff has always kept a close eye on Niger's uranium business. I was not surprised, then, when the ambassador told me that she knew about the allegations of uranium sales to Iraq — and that SHE FELT SHE HAD ALREADY DEBUNKED THEM IN HER REPORTS TO WASHINGTON....

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/opinion/06WILS.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fContributors

[Old and In the Way]

39. Same FBI/CIA that didn't tell Bush about terror plans to hit us?

Gee, you can't have it both ways....no one was held accountable about not letting this administration know about terror attacks on 9/11. These same agencies now didn't inform Bush that the yellowcake story (a primary reason for the rush to war)was bogus?

Gee, if I was Bush, I might be concerned that the Al-Qaeda has taken over the CIA and FBI....he might want to arrest some of the traitors who are giving him such bogus intelligence...

[nolabels]

40. "IT'S THE PRESIDENT, STUPID! "

http://www.lifeisajoke.com/politics23_html.htm
(snip)
- BUSH QUOTES
"Anyway, I'm so thankful, and so gracious - I'm gracious that my brother Jeb is concerned about the hemisphere as well." -George W. Bush, June 4, 2001

"It's important for young men and women who look at the Nebraska champs to understand that quality of life is more than just blocking shots." -George W. Bush, in remarks to the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, the 2001 national champions, May 31, 2001

"So on behalf of a well-oiled unit of people who came together to serve something greater than themselves, congratulations." -George W. Bush, in remarks to the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, the 2001 national champions, May 31, 2001

"If a person doesn't have the capacity that we all want that person to have, I suspect hope is in the far distant future, if at all." -George W. Bush, May 22, 2001

"For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it." -George W. Bush, May 14

"There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead." -George W. Bush, May 11, 2001

"But I also made it clear to (Vladimir Putin) that it's important to think beyond the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would be safe." -George W. Bush, May 1, 2001

"First, we would not accept a treaty that would not have been ratified, nor a treaty that I thought made sense for the country." -George W. Bush, on the Kyoto accord, April 24, 2001

(snip)

[Dr Fate]

41. So where did the phony info come from then?

I want to know, exactly.

[diamond14]

42. and shrub left for Africa, while the CIA and State Dept are busy

leaking lots of damaging stuff...major network coverage too...

it's a perfect storm for shrub...while working on
getting-a-NEW-war-on in Africa...there's a flood of reveling documents about shrub's ongoing war on Iraq....all the while, shrub is naively completely out of the loop, assuming that ari and his minions are happily working away protecting his criminal activities...it'll be a tidal wave soon, the perfect storm....

this arrogance will be shrub's downfall....

[davsand]

43. That may have been the biggest mistake they could make

Now the intelligence community is really pissed off--with reason. If you thought the CIA might turn on them all before, look out now! The LAST thing you want is the CIA mad at you if you are in the WhiteHouse. These are the guys that have ALL the dirt both past and present.

I'm actually wondering if we shouldn't feel just a bit sorry for that stupid SOB...

Laura

[acmavm]

44. Pity for that stupid SOB? HELL NO!!!!

n/t

[davsand]

46. I share your anger, however he's opened the gates of hell.

He's a wart on the bum of humanity, but he's also in a world of hurt with the CIA mad at him.

Maybe sympathy *is* too sweet a word--how about a morbid fascination with the looming trainwreck?

Laura

[aquart]

74. No.

To Barbara's boy we're all frogs, and he has the firecrackers.

[MUAD_DIB]

49. Emperor Chimp is a

murderer!

murderer!

murderer!

murderer!

murderer!

murderer!

[diamond14]

52. Nuremberg war criminals: because they STARTED the war

Statement by American Justice Jackson at Nuremburg War Criminal Trials... August 12, 1945

"We must make clear to the Germans that the wrong for which their fallen leaders are on trial is not that they lost the war, but that they started it. And we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into a trial of the causes of the war, for our position is that no grievances or policies will justify resort to aggressive war. It is utterly renounced and condemned as an instrument of policy."

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/jack02.htm

[proud patriot]

54. That's one hell of a quote

:D

[RMJ]

53. this is his defense??

It's not that he's a lying, sniveling, rat bastard...no, no, no.

It's just that he's so wholly clueless and incompetent.

:eyes:

[Lorien]

55. Worked for 9/11

didn't it? :grr:

[Kool Kitty]

56. How much more proof does anyone need,

fer crissakes? This is the most incompetent bunch to ever inhabit the White House. :argh:

[StandsWithAFist]

57. My sweet ass!

You have got to be kidding me!

Ari, I thought you resigned, go home now. It's in your best health, ask your God for forgiveness for your lies and decection and murder.

Ari, do you remember the last time you were laughed out of the press room? Give it up!

[VolcanoJen]

59. Kick!

Let's keep our discussion about the White House's admission regarding the State of the Union Address in this thread, the earliest one on the topic.

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator

:dem:

[IndianaGreen]

61. Tell that to the troops in Iraq

Tell that to the troops in Iraq, and to the families of the fallen!

[theodoliticus]

62. What they will say next :

--We need to spend more on intelligence, give them boys a few more billion so mistakes like this won't reoccur.


:puke:
:puke:

--You can't trust Government, if intel was contracted out to Halliburton and/or Lockheed this never would have happened.


:puke:
:puke:

[diamond14]

65. Hi theodoliticus! Welcome to DU.......

:toast:

:toast:


:toast:

[theodoliticus]

68. Thanks !

New to posting here. I used to battle with some fascist bush supporters on a financial board, this place is much nicer !



favorite pic :

[scottxyz]

63. The new catchphrase

Maybe the new catchphrase should be:

"What didn't the President know, and when didn't he know it?"

[laconicsax]

64. Does this mean that O'Reilley will have to follow through

and hang Bush?

[Mokito]

66. Weigh that in your hands, you misanthropic f*ck!

Lying Sack of Shit Vs. Utterly Incompetent Idiot

[PurityOfEssence]

67. So what the hell are we paying this loser EIGHT GRAND A WEEK for?

I mean, hell, when you're saying something, isn't it your responsibility to know whether it's somewhat true or not?

[peterh]

69. As John Dean said back in June:

<http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030606.html>

Presidential statements, particularly on matters of national security, are held to an expectation of the highest standard of truthfulness. A president cannot stretch, twist or distort facts and get away with it. President Lyndon Johnson's distortions of the truth about Vietnam forced him to stand down from reelection. President Richard Nixon's false statements about Watergate forced his resignation.


The critter fucked up…big time….If the powers that be allow him to pass the buck on this, then this nation is truly in sad shape.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

70. The question now...

What did the President know about the falsified information and when did he know it?

[monobrau]

72. State of the union and the law?

Any legal experts out there?
The president is compelled by law to present the State of the union every year to congress. Under this law, what remedy do we have if this statement if false? This would be lying to congress, which I believe is an impeachable offense, no?

[JohnOneillsMemory]

75. Reagan-esque tactic: "mistakes were made"

Just a little grit in the gravy. Keep on swallowing and ignore the sandy crunch in your diet of swill...
Hey! Look over there! Real live (almost) Africans!