White House mocks suggestion Saddam verdict timed for US vote

[Barrett808]

CRAWFORD, United States (AFP) - White House spokesman Tony Snow mocked suggestions that the verdict in Saddam Hussein's trial in Iraq was timed to help Republican Party candidates ahead of Tuesday's key congressional elections.

"Are you smoking dope?" Snow laughed when asked if US and Iraqi officials colluded to issue the verdict on Sunday to help supporters of President George W. Bush running for office.

"Are you telling me that in Iraq, that they're sitting around ... that the Iraqi judicial system is coming up with (a last-minute electoral) surprise?

"The most important thing to note right now, even before, is that Iraq has an independent judiciary," Snow said.

"We're talking about an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself, and you see -- we've seen progress when it comes on the military side, not only the Iraqi security forces ... but also an independent judiciary. These are things that are absolutely vital to building a democracy that will not only sustain itself, but have the faith and support of the populous."

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061105/pl_afp/iraqtrialsaddamus

[ck4829]

"White House Launches Campaign To Politicize Saddam Verdict Ahead of Midterm Elections"

The verdict in the trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was recently postponed until November 5, two days before the U.S. midterm elections. Media Matters has questioned whether “the date for the verdict’s release set to provide maximum political benefit for the administration and congressional Republicans.”

Asked today whether the verdict would be a factor in the U.S. elections, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said, “You are absolutely right, it will be a factor.” Snow said the verdict “may fit into a larger narrative about an Iraqi government that has been doing what the president has said all along.” He portrayed the decision as yet another turning point for Iraq. “This is a benchmark episode, where the Iraqi people are taking control of their own destiny,” he said.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/02/snow-saddam-verdict/

[IDemo]

1. Baghdad Bob is shaking his head in disbelief n/t

[Hissyspit]

2. Yeah, it's clearly ridiculous.

:sarcasm:

[wicket]

35. Yeah whatever, Tony-come-lately

:eyes:

[niceypoo]

3. As if they would admit it if it were true?

Fortunately nobody believes a word they say anymore...

[williesgirl]

4. Tony "speak with forked tongue" Snowjob lies again - recommended

He can't even keep his own stories straight much less the rest of the criminals.

[lpbk2713]

5. As if anyone in the Boosh White House is known for telling the truth.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Megahurtz]

66. And As If Tony Snow could EVER Tell the Truth.

Just look at the guy and listen to him speak. :puke:

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

6. Ha!

This from the same people who believe the terrorists are working toward a democratic win? I don't like the repubs.

[Bitwit1234]

7. SOOOOOOOOOO

Why was it postponed why not issue it when it was made. I guess the republicans again, think the America public is stupid and will believe their bull.

[ticapnews]

8. No, the verdict isn't being timed to help Repubicans in the elections

but the constant barrage of attacks in Iraq IS being timed to help Democrats in the election. Because, you know, a bunch of insurgents are sitting in their shacks over there, praying to Allah that Nancy Pelosi becomes the next Speaker of the House. :eyes:

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. A mocking White House--How considerate to the people who own it.

:mad:

[VegasWolf]

10. Yeah Snow, what would the fucking OCCUPYING ARMY have to say

time tables?

:nuke:

[Rose Siding]

11. So the ability of Iraq's security forces is supposed to be the proof that its

judiciary is independent?

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- In an assessment for a military journal, a U.S. Army officer who advised Iraqi troops concludes the goal of having Iraq control its security "will exceed" the new army's capability "for some time to come."

In an article for Military Review, Lt. Col. Carl D. Grunow wrote that "without steadfast American support, these officers and soldiers will likely give up and consider the entire effort a lost cause."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/02/training.iraqis/index.html

Does Snow Job even hear what he says?

[patrick t. cakes]

12. tony snow has zero

class. "smoking dope?"
id expect better from the white house
spokesman.

stuffed suit indeed.

[truthisfreedom]

13. i fail to see how an explosion of violence in Iraq will help the thugs win

any votes at all. and there's NO WAY the verdict, whatever it is, will be greeted quietly in Iraq.

[dailykoff]

15. Don't worry, the joyful crowd scenes are already in the can.

Complete with ticker tape, balloons, and "We Love USA" signs. Mark my words.

[onehandle]

14. "Anti-Democracy White House runs out of tricks..."

"Prepares to hire a shitload more lawyers."

And should invest in a lot of soap on a rope.

[leesa]

16. Right. Americans don't even have a clue what Saddam is being tried for.

I'm sure they think he is being tried for having WMDs for murdering hundreds of thousands of "his own people and dumping them in mass graves". They don't even know that it's for none of the crimes WE actually accused him of when we launched our little war.

If he had been tried for the Shiite slaughter or the gassing of his own people, our involvement in those deeds would have become part of the record.

[mcscajun]

17. Right...The sentencing of Saddam has nothing to do with our elections

but the actions of "Militants" or "insurgents" are deviously engineered to influence those same elections.

Right. :sarcasm:

[indepat]

53. What kind of fools would it take to be taken in by this feeble snow job?

:eyes:

[mcscajun]

54. The "backwash" -- the 30% fools.

Only they could take in both those arguments and see no problem there.

:crazy:

[rocktivity]

18. Rocknation mocks White House suggestion that Foley scandal

was timed with 2006 election.

:P
rocknation

[gulliver]

19. What Iraq and the rest of the ME think is probably more ...

... important than what we think. I'll bet the ME thinks Iraq's judicial system is not all that "independent". Having the verdict right before the U.S. election undermines the Iraqi government's credibility. The U.S. should be trying to get the verdict delayed. Not hoping for it to happen right before the election as the Republicans undoubtedly are, and certainly not engineering the date.

What if the Iraqis themselves engineered the date in order to try to keep the U.S. "staying the course." Whenever a Bushie mocks something, look closer at it.

[progressivebydesign]

20. Wow.. and when I suggested this in the GD thread yesterday, I was attacked!

Wow.. fascinating how if it comes from someone on DU they get attacked, if it's a denial by the White House, it has credibility. While you'd think that the average voter wouldn't be swayed by the trial verdict, you'd have to have your head filled with sawdust to believe that the White House and Fox News and CNN are NOT going to turn this trial verdict into a major event to benefit Bush. ANd as some suggest that it will lead to major violence there... Bush will just label that as more proof that we need to be tough on terrorists in Iraq, and spin it to their advantage. He who owns the media owns the world.

I'll just sit there tomorrow and wait for the Bush media machine to start to spin, and the hundred or so people here on DU who attacked me, will remember I called it. No apology necessary ;)

And on a side note.. after 5 years here, it blows me away how much attacking goes on amongst the DU members. It's really sad.

[Fridays Child]

21. This administration decides every single thing the Iraqi government does...

...but it has no control over the timing of the Saddam Hussein verdict.

However...

Beginning in 1995, Democrats started coercing Mark Foley into stalking Congressional pages and soliciting sex from them after they left the program. Then, in an exquisitely timed masterpiece of media manipulation, they brought the story out, right before the 2006 election.

Democrats are ultra talented and those poor hacks over at the White House are just plain lame.

/sarcasm

[daleo]

22. A lot of rhetorical questions, but no denial

In other words, he is admitting that the timing is no coincidence.

[krispos42]

23. Yet Tony Snow accused the Foley incident of being political

He was very suspect of a Democrat plot regarding the timing of the Foley incident.

Goodness graceous, henny-penny, perish the thought!

[rodeodance]

24. Mock away--intelligant people know your bluffs by now.

[strizi64]

25. White House mocks suggestion moon could be part of solar system.... n/t

[tanyev]

26. "Are you smoking dope?"

That's the response from the White House press secretary???? Isn't it great that the "grown-ups" are in charge?

[cyberpj]

29. That was my first thought - WH Press Secretary abandons any sense of dignity. nt

[electron_blue]

37. usually only jokingly said by people who smoke it in the first place

Tony Snow is perfectly named and perfect to represent Dubya's true feelings and opinions.

[Pacifist Patriot]

38. Jaw dropper, that one.

[The Gunslinger]

42. I thought white house press secretaries had a little class

I know it's their job to sling BS, but I don't remember any other admistration that went to the press and were total assholes to them. The press should just boycott even talking to him. Theese guys just lie and break the law, and then are completely arrogant about it . It makes me sick.

[bdamomma]

68. that comment shows he and this sick regime have

no class, like Cheney saying "that's a no-brainer" when have you ever heard officials talk like that. Disgusting no class whatsoever.

[katty]

70. NO, snowjob! the WH is operates 24/7 on their own UnRealityHigh

[LynnTheDem]

27. But them "terraists" in Iraq ARE timing their violence to the US vote

says that same Tony Snow.

Gee TOny, are ya smoking dope?

No, you're just a lying stupid rightwingnut bushbot MFing asshole, that's all.

[LynnTheDem]

28. "We're talking about an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself,

Ok.

And so we're still there and increasing the number of our troops there coz...?

:rofl:

Rightwingnuts; stupidest lyingest MFers ever.

[agincourt]

30. The only people using dope,

are the ones who beleive anything this administration says anymore. Of course it's a promotion to get the freeper trolls out for the midterms. A 4th grader could draw that conclusion from the timing.

[Karla Marx]

31. Yeah, Tony, I am smoking dope...

...it's the only way I can deal with you neocon fuckwits.

[1932]

32. Yeah. That government would never do a favor for the Republicans who created

them.

[mvd]

33. I wouldn't doubt it

They could have easily had this trial over in well under a year. And the judges were APPOINTED.


Oh, and so professional, Snow. :eyes:

[moondust]

34. Pure coincidence, Tony?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Figure the odds.

[samsingh]

36. many mock the white house

[Pacifist Patriot]

39. What's not to mock?

;)

[emanymton]

40. But The Terist In Iraq Only Fight To Influence The Election!? Doh..

[ChairmanAgnostic]

41. "support of the populous"

did he REALLY say that?

[Bucky]

59. He didn't say that, some moron wrote it, another moron edited & didn't catch it.

Populous and populace are homonyms. And apparently reporters who don't fuss about details get to cover the White House.

[The Gunslinger]

43. Well i guess we "won' then.. We can go home

"We're talking about an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself, and you see -- we've seen progress when it comes on the military side, not only the Iraqi security forces ... but also an independent judiciary. These are things that are absolutely vital to building a democracy that will not only sustain itself, but have the faith and support of the populous."


sounds like everthings swell there now.

[stepnw1f]

44. riiiiiight..... these people are so transparent

they really are full of it!

[Zodiak]

45. Does anyone here besides me question the legality

...of holding a sham trial in an occupied country with appointed judges and half of the lawyers had been killed during the process?

This thing should have been handled in the Hague, but of course, no one wanted that. They wanted blood because it makes everyone look like a tough guy. I am so sick of the rule of law taking a back seat to the "tough guy" image.

[peter_the_great]

46. The arrogance of these people is amazing!

Everything is political just before an election

[Demeter]

58. If It Had Been Tried In The Hague

more than one Bush would be at risk, too. Therefore, it wasn't.

[Canuckistanian]

47. Just one of those freaky coincidences

Like Osama videos popping up the day before an election. Or a terror plot foiled right after an NSA spy scandal.

Hey, these things happen!

[bamacrat]

48. Oh I know, I can't believe anyone would even think this administration...

would STAGE something to boost poll numbers. No, not fathomable.:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[MGKrebs]

49. Quick review:

-The Iraqi Special Tribunal (the court) was created by the Coalition Provisional Authority, i.e., the USA.
-The judges were appointed by the Iraqi Governing Council, which was also created by the CPA.
-The court has only been given jurisdiction for certain actions which too place from 1968 until 5/1/2003, in other words, during the time Saddam was in a position of power.

Far be it from me to defend the bastard, but that court and therefore that verdict are bullshit.

[coalition_unwilling]

69. Scott Horton, Chairman of the International Law Committee

and a member of the Iraqi Bar Association, claims he actually saw a U.S. government PowerPoint presentation some months ago that laid out in advance the timeline of Saddam's trial, verdict (shortly before the mid-terms) and execution (verdict being a forgone conclusion) in early 2007. Did any of the gutless wonders confronting SnowJob think to mention Horton's assertion in its specificity?

Take a look not at the first or third presiding judge. The key to this Kangaroo Court lies in what happened to the second presiding Judge. After stating in public that Saddam was "not a dictator," the second judge was removed for being too pro-Saddam. So much for an independent Iraqi judiciary.

[KDLarsen]

50. Media Matters brought this up when it was first postponed

Saddam Hussein verdict postponed until two days before U.S. election: Will the media turn a skeptical eye?
Summary: While it cannot definitively be said that the reason the senior Iraqi court in charge of Saddam Hussein's trial postponed its verdict in the case until two days before the November elections so that it would influence the midterms, the postponement suggests several obvious questions, including, most importantly: Given the Bush administration's history of timing national security-related actions to the political calendar, has the date for the verdict's release been set to provide maximum political benefit for the administration and congressional Republicans?

http://mediamatters.org/items/200610260010

[goforit]

51. It's gonna backfire Bush!!!

[specimenfred1984]

52. Snow's on dope, repukes always project

He probably started using when he had ass cancer.

[MODemocrat]

55. Saddam's demise is no big deal, Osama is still running free

The one who caused 911 is still running free, yet we had to lose three thousand of our military
alone, just to capture one criminal? It's not worth the loss of lives of our own people, plus all the thousands of civilians whose lives were lost, just so Jr. can out-do his Father.:thumbsdown:

Oh, yeh!, they'll probably give the go-ahead for Osama to surface about tomorrow morning. Now, that will probably win them some big votes.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Porcupine]

56. Um, Credibility Gap people. A denial is good as a signed document

from the desk of GWB affirming what you just denied. NOBODY except the flat earthers and the easter bunny believes a damn thing you say anymore.

[FernBell]

57. they obviously think we're stupid

[FreeStateDemocrat]

60. "We" prove how stupid, every election cycle, why should they respect the

intelligence of the American public. "You will never go broke (or lose an election) by underestimating the intelligence of the American public." I think "we" are going to show unbelievable stupidity again on Tuesday, if that happens I will give-up all hope for the future of this God forsaken country.

[sendero]

61. Let me just mock the idea..

... that anyone gives a RAT FUCK about Saddam Hussien. He was a nothing in 2000, and he still is.

[fladonkey]

62. I think that there is a connection...

but it is going to backfire. Most Americans could care less about Saddam Hussein's trial. PS - Did anyone really believe there would be any other outcome?

[gauguin57]

63. Hey Tony ... as your boss would say ... "fool me once, and shame on ... uh ... er ...."

"shame on ... you? ... uh ... WE WON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN"

[Dune]

64. timing

And Karl Rove is an honest man!

[moondust]

65. Wonder why Saddam was not tried at the Hague?

Take a guess.

[Marnieworld]

67. Why are they in Crawford?

There's no holiday or designated time off. And isn't it weird that the press release says "Crawford, United States" as if it is its own state? :shrug: