Bremer says he did not mean Bush took no action against terrorism

[floda]

Bremer says he did not mean Bush took no action against terrorism
Sunday May 02, 2004
BAGHDAD (AP) L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said Sunday he regrets a statement he made more than six months before the Sept. 11 attacks that the Bush administration was ``paying no attention'' to terrorism.

Bremer said any implied criticism that President Bush was not acting against terrorism was ``unfair.''

Ahead of the November election, Bush is facing criticism he didn't make terrorism his No. 1 priority before the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center and then weakened the war on terror by invading Iraq and shifting the focus from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. The resurfacing of Bremer's comments added to administration frustrations.

more

http://cbsnewyork.com/international/Bremer-Bush-ai/resources_news_html

[pinto]

1. yeah, right. n/t

[achtung_circus]

2. remind me again which side my bread is buttered on n/t

[fearnobush]

3. Ok, Paul, whats so "unfair" about being honest?

Now that you are the King of Iraq, of course your gonna say you didn't mean it in light of new evidence because your job as King prevents you from being honest now, despite the fact that the new evidence clearly points out that Bush did nothing, even LIHOPed terror. Paul, did read the interim 911 commission report?

[maddezmom]

4. oh, okay Paul

Should we believe what you say now or then? I say then, since you receiving a paycheck from the misadmistration now. Guess you must've been a little surprised when your speech showed up all over the net this past week. ;)

[Miss Authoritiva]

5. Who are "they"?

It's impossible to tell from the linked AP article whom Bremer is referring to when he said "they" in the original speech about terrorism. Damn it -- why do editors and reporters do that? Now I'll have to go a-googling to get back to the primary source to find out if "they" referred to the Clinton Administration, the Bush Administration, or both administrations.

Why are our media so sloppy?

Okay. I checked it out and the "they" refers specifically to the Bush Administration:

"The new administration seems to be paying no attention to the problem of terrorism. What they will do is stagger along until there's a major incident....."

[MaineDem]

6. Sorry, too late.

What a jackass!

[cliss]

7. Actually, I was slightly surprised

and a little admiring when I read this article on Yahoo news just before jumping in here. It appears that Mr. Bremer feels that Mr. Bush did not take terrorism seriously. He had said that the Bush administration was paying "no attention" to terrorism.

For being George Bush's cousin, I'd say L. Paul Bremer was mighty gutsy. Usually, they don't even THINK dissenting thoughts, much less clothe them in words.

[maddezmom]

11. are they really cousins?

yikes..didn't know that one.

[cliss]

14. Yes, I've read it several times here at

the DU. Notice of course, the media makes no mention of this. I'll try to find out on whose side of the family he is.

[maddezmom]

17. just a quick google of names with cousins

http://www.populist.com/04.7.burns.html

but no mention of family ties...unless I missed it

[wtmusic]

8. Bremer is backpedaling his ass off

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! :D

[wryter2000]

9. Oh, yeah, right

and "Osama intent on doing terrorism within the United States" doesn't mean he was going to do any terrorism within the United States.

[gulliver]

10. He can take it back. Let's be fair.

Anybody can take back anything they want to. In Bushworld, if you say something bad about Bush, you can just take it back.

It never happened. Now let's all try to deal with America's problems moving forward...

[Blasphemer]

12. Bwahaha...

Like hell they were "unfair". 'Twas the truth then and 'tis the truth now. He only "regrets" looking like such a fool by supporting *'s failed policies when he CLEARLY knows what a disaster BushCo is.

[Maccagirl]

13. Does ANYONE in Bush's orbit

retain any sense of honesty and integrity?

[mike1963]

15. Yeah, he suddenly realized June 30 is only 58 days away. "Oh, shit,

what'll I do then?"

:eyes:

[Lindacooks]

16. Um, is he FLIP-FLOPPING??????????

Where's the media on this? That was a quote of him saying chimpy was doing a bad job on terrorism. Jackass.

[crossroads]

18. Doesn't anybody around Bush have the

cajones to say what they mean and mean what they say??? Jeeeeshh...

[jamesinca]

20. Yes there have been a few

Paul O'Neil, Richard Clarke, Amb. Joseph Wilson etc.... They have all spoke up and look at where they are now, out of the government.

Something occurred to me the other day, Rice was supposed to present a speech on missile defense on 9/11. Is this saying that they were not preparing for any attack from al-quida or did they think that Iraq would attack them with the WMD and were preparing for that? Both Clarke and O'Neil have said that in Jan. '01 they were preparing for Iraq and terrorism was put to the back burner.

[GregW]

19. I... I merely meant, Your Majesty ...

... that you shine out like a shaft of gold when all around is dark.

(Bremer in response to accusations that he compared Bush* to a "Stream of Bat's Piss".)

(Obligatory credit to Monty Python's "Oscar Wilde" sketch)

[radfringe]

21. no no no I didn't say "Bush administration was ``paying no attention'' to

terrorism...".

...I said that Bush administration was paying no attention to the man behind the curtain...
:evilgrin: