Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1cf.htm" target="_blank">http://www.drudgereport.com/fl ash1cf.htm</a> Excerpts As Prepared For Delivery Tonight by Vice President Cheney THE VICE PRESIDENT: "As most of you know, I have spent a lot of years in public service, and first came to work in Washington, D.C. back in the late 1960s. I know what it’s like to operate in a highly charged political environment, in which the players on all sides of an issue feel passionately and speak forcefully. In such an environment people sometimes lose their cool, and yet in Washington you can ordinarily rely on some basic measure of truthfulness and good faith in the conduct of political debate. But in the last several weeks we have seen a wild departure from that tradition. And the suggestion that’s been made by some U. S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this Administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city... Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing force against Saddam Hussein. These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence, and were free to draw their own conclusions. They arrived at the same judgment about Iraq’s capabilities and intentions that was made by this Administration and by the previous Administration. There was broad-based, bipartisan agreement that Saddam Hussein was a threat … that he had violated U.N. Security Council Resolutions … and that, in a post-9/11 world, we couldn’t afford to take the word of a dictator who had a history of WMD programs, who had excluded weapons inspectors, who had defied the demands of the international community, who had been designated an official state sponsor of terror, and who had committed mass murder. Those are facts. What we’re hearing now is some politicians contradicting their own statements and making a play for political advantage in the middle of a war. The saddest part is that our people in uniform have been subjected to these cynical and pernicious falsehoods day in and day out. American soldiers and Marines are out there every day in dangerous conditions and desert temperatures – conducting raids, training Iraqi forces, countering attacks, seizing weapons, and capturing killers – and back home a few opportunists are suggesting they were sent into battle for a lie. The President and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone – but we’re not going to sit by and let them rewrite history. We’re going to continue throwing their own words back at them. And far more important, we’re going to continue sending a consistent message to the men and women who are fighting the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other fronts. We can never say enough how much we appreciate them, and how proud they make us. They and their families can be certain: That this cause is right … and the performance of our military has been brave and honorable … and this nation will stand behind our fighting forces with pride and without wavering until the day of victory.
Originally Posted By StillThePassHolder So Cheney going to come on TV and tell all of us to go ---- ourselves? Didn't he already do that in the Senate? Tough guy. Be careful Dick, it's your heart.
Originally Posted By Beaumandy << The President and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone – but we’re not going to sit by and let them rewrite history. >> Priceless..
Originally Posted By oc_dean Here ...... got a pic for you all of Cheney <a href="http://www.schoolbanners.net/components/mascots/largeimages/bulldog-15lg.gif" target="_blank">http://www.schoolbanners.net/c omponents/mascots/largeimages/bulldog-15lg.gif</a>
Originally Posted By cmpaley >>Here ...... got a pic for you all of Cheney<< The resemblance is uncanny!
Originally Posted By TomSawyer To paraphrase: It is an outrage that Senators who were given an edited version of the available intelligence, and who voted to authorize the use of force if diplomacy broke down, would get angry when they discovered that the intelligence they saw was not complete and that we didn't let diplomacy run it's course!
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <It is an outrage that Senators who were given an edited version of the available intelligence, and who voted to authorize the use of force if diplomacy broke down, would get angry when they discovered that the intelligence they saw was not complete and that we didn't let diplomacy run it's course!> Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee saw all of the intelligence, and reached the same conclusion. The consensus of the intelligence community, worldwide, was that Saddam had WMD's. The President's daily briefings, if anything, were more alarmist, not less, and wouldn't have changed the Senator's opinions. Saddam was given one last chance to comply, and he didn't. Diplomacy had run it's course.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee saw all of the intelligence< No they didn't.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>Saddam was given one last chance to comply, and he didn't. << He was told to tell where the caches of WMDs and the location of the WMD programs were. He said there weren't any. Guess what we've found since then?
Originally Posted By TomSawyer And the weapons inspections were going on right up until the day before the invasion, including unannounced inspections on places where intelligence indicated there could be WMD stockpiles or facilities.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <No they didn't.> What didn't they see? And how do you know this? <He was told to tell where the caches of WMDs and the location of the WMD programs were.> He was told more than that, and he didn't comply.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <And the weapons inspections were going on right up until the day before the invasion, including unannounced inspections on places where intelligence indicated there could be WMD stockpiles or facilities.> And finding things that should have been destroyed, and not finding things that should have been there, like reports verifying destruction of certain materials. From Blix's report of February, 2003: "So far, UNMOVIC has not found any such weapons, only a small number of empty chemical munitions which should have been declared and destroyed." "To take an example, a document which Iraq provided suggested to us that some 1,000 tons of chemical agent were unaccounted for. I must not jump to the conclusion that they exist; however, that possibility is also not excluded. If they exist, they should be presented for destruction. If they do not exist, credible evidence to that effect should be presented." "The experts have confirmed that the reconstituted casting chambers could still be used to produce motors for missiles capable of ranges significantly greater than 150 kilometers. Accordingly, these chambers remain proscribed." There were a lot more failures of compliance listed in his earlier report: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/27/sprj.irq.transcript.blix/" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/ 27/sprj.irq.transcript.blix/</a>
Originally Posted By ecdc So now we see the administration's new tactic: shame those who disagree with them for bringing our soldiers down. I wonder if these jokers are ever ok with it when someone doesn't like what they do? And while it is true that it is "rewriting history" to say that no one else believed Saddam had WMDs, it's also rewriting history to imply that everyone thought we should go to war. Plenty of people inside and outside of the country urged restraint and other options. But these guys have had it in for Iraq since day one, and they were determined to blow the place up. Now, they've gotten their own way, and their usual tradition of attack, attack, attack, is the only thing they know. No wonder the American people are abandoning them.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>Orwell would be proud of Cheney, though.<< "If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened—that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death." "And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan But these guys have had it in for Iraq since day one, and they were determined to blow the place up.<< Yes, with the exception of 1998, when Bill Clinton bombed Iraq. I posted a link from a conservative site at the time complaining about the abuse of power, and, so help me, the cost per missle used! LOL!!! I think Captain Rex Kramer said it best in Airplane! "They're all cheats and liars. Alright, let's get out of here!"
Originally Posted By itsme Nah, I would say Lamar from Blazing Saddles- "Men, You are about to embark on a great crusade to stamp out run away decency in the West. Now you will only be risking your lives, while I will be risking an almost certain Academy award nomination for best supporting actor.
Originally Posted By gadzuux <a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/17/MNGV2FPT755.DTL" target="_blank">http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/arti cle.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/17/MNGV2FPT755.DTL</a> Murtha calls for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq (11-17) 10:52 PST WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In another sign of rising discontent in Congress over the war in Iraq, perhaps the House's most influential Democrat on military issues called today for the immediate withdrawal of all American forces from that nation. "The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a former Marine intelligence officer in Vietnam and the senior Democrat on the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees military spending. "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised,'' said Murtha, who in October 2002 voted for the resolution authorizing President Bush to take military action to oust Saddam Hussein. "It's a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of the members of Congress.'' Murtha's comments, announced in a Capitol speech carried live on cable new stations, came as Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have counter-attacked against their critics, saying charges that pre-war intelligence was falsified or hyped to justify war are outrageous and that pulling out of Iraq before the job is done would be disastrous. Murtha, who retired as a reserve lieutenant colonel in 1994 after he had already served 20 years in the House, said the war had sapped the Army's strength, threatened its ability to meet other threats and ballooned the federal budget deficit. The latest report made for disheartening reading, Murtha said, and convinced him that the U.S. presence in Iraq is fueling the insurgency, not helping to pacify the country. Oil production is still below pre-war levels. Much of the appropriated reconstruction money can't be spent because of the poor security situation. Unemployment is estimated at 60 percent, he said. Most importantly for Murtha, the number of insurgent attacks is running at 700 a week, up from about 150 a year ago, and casualties continue, with more than 2,000 Americans killed and almost 16,000 wounded. "We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region,'' said Murtha, who every week visits wounded service personnel at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington or at the Bethesda naval hospital in suburban Maryland. To anti-war Democrats in the House, Murtha's new position was a major boost. "I think it's just perfect. It makes us closer to bringing our troops home. Hurrah!,'' said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, who early this year introduced a House resolution calling for withdrawal. She said Murtha's stand may influence more Republicans to join the handful who already back withdrawal proposals in the House. Murtha's call for withdrawal actually makes him more outspoken than the House's Out of Iraq Coalition. That group is circulating a petition among members calling for a floor debate and vote on a resolution that calls on Bush to give Congress a plan for withdrawal, and to start those withdrawals by next October, just a month before the mid-term congressional elections. The coalition includes five Republicans, along with about five dozen Democrats. Woolsey said Bush and Cheney are striking back at critics because "they're absolutely panicked and are trying everything they know to discredit those who tell the truth.''
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Woolsey said Bush and Cheney are striking back at critics because "they're absolutely panicked and are trying everything they know to discredit those who tell the truth.''<< Yep, and the Bush Administration wanting to share the "credit" for going to war with Democrats is the most crystal clear indication of all that they're in deep trouble. Because everyone knows that they would NOT be sharing the "credit" with Democrats if all was going hunky dory. They own this thing, like it or not. They can spin and flail away all they'd like, but they wanted this war, and were so smug as to assume we'd be welcomed with roses.
