Bush Still Continuing The Rewriting History Thing

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

And the responses are great.  Here’s a sample: Josh Marshall: The fact that the administration’s push for war wasn’t even about WMD in the first place. Scarcely a week goes by when I don’t get an email from a reader who writes, "I always knew that Saddam didn’t have WMDs. How is that you, with all your access and reporting, … Read More

Congress Did Not Have “The Same Intelligence” As The White House

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Duncan nails it: I think that the recent statements of Stephen Hadley are really all we need to put the final nail in the coffin of the Bush adminsitration’s credibility on anything. These people are just quite literally loathsome. Hadley argues that Democrats had the same intelligence because "parts of" the NIE[National Intelligence Estimate] "had been made public." Right, and … Read More

InstaJerk

Ken AshfordIraq, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

The number-one trafficked blogger, Glenn Reynolds, actually takes a stand, but it’s from a dusty playbook: BUSH SLAMS HISTORICAL REVISIONISTS ON THE WAR: About time. The White House needs to go on the offensive here in a big way — and Bush needs to be very plain that this is all about Democratic politicans pandering to the antiwar base… First … Read More

OMFG!

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Well, the Bush campaign-style strategy to respond to criticisms about his Iraqi War intelligence exaggerations, is under way.  Bush just gave a speech. And according to CNN, he said this: Speaking at a Veterans Day event in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, Bush said, "it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began." "Rewriting history" is going to be … Read More

Bush’s Church Apologizes For Bush’s Policies

Ken AshfordBush & Co., IraqLeave a Comment

From Fox News: Ninety-five bishops from President Bush’s church said Thursday they repent their "complicity" in the "unjust and immoral" invasion and occupation of Iraq. "In the face of the United States administration’s rush toward military action based on misleading information, too many of us were silent," said a statement of conscience signed by more than half of the 164 … Read More

The Problem With The Campaign-Style Strategy

Ken AshfordBush & Co., IraqLeave a Comment

From CNN: Earlier this week, senior White House officials told CNN they were working on a "campaign-style" strategy to respond to stepped-up Democratic criticism that Bush officials manipulated intelligence in making the case for war, an accusation the administration repeatedly has denied. The problem with the "campaign-style" strategy is that we’ve seen it before.  It’s the same fraudulent dog-and-pony show … Read More

Paranoia As Foreign Policy

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Debate has grown to a fever pitch about the Iraq War — specifically, the intelligence on WMDs.  Defenders of the war seem to be applying inconsistent arguments. For example, in this RealClearPolitics post countering Kevin Drum’s observations (which I discussed here), writer Tom Bevan notes that as of November 27, 2002, when inspectors resumed inspections in Iraq: …there was still … Read More

Drum Shoots, Scores

Ken AshfordIraq1 Comment

Rightwing bloggers are all abuzz about a Normen Podhoretz commentary, defending the Bush run-up to the war. Kevin Drum tears the whole thing down: MARKETING THE WAR….Ah. I see that Norman Podhoretz has an essay in Commentary purporting to show that George Bush didn’t lie about Iraqi WMD before the war. His basic case is that lots of people — … Read More

Pew Poll Puts Bush At 36%

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, PlamegateLeave a Comment

I like this graph.  Especially the dropoff among independents. Additional info from The Left Coaster: A new Pew Center poll out this afternoon shows that Bush’s approval rating has fallen to a new low of 36%, and he’s losing the support of moderate and liberal Republicans, and is seeing a steep decline in support amongst independents. The poll also shows … Read More

Well, That Backfired!

Ken AshfordIraq, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Blogs For Bush this morning, about the Washington Post article revealing that the U.S. is keeping detainees in super secret "black sites": According to Drudge, Republican leaders are going to launch an investigation into the leak: Sources tell Drudge that early this afternoon House Speaker Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist will announce a bicameral investigation into the leak of … Read More

Chemical Weapons Used On Iraqi Civilians During The Iraq War

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Unfortunately, we used them, not Saddam. This kind of makes it hard for the U.S. to take the moral high ground, yes?  Of course, we lost that high ground when we started engaging in Saddam-like torture. Jedmunds at Pandagon: What’s left to say about this administration? My final straw was snapped long ago. And it’s hard to confront this news … Read More

Another Smoking Gun

Ken AshfordBush & Co., IraqLeave a Comment

The New York Times reveals that the Bush Administration was warned in February 2002 that its source of knowledge for the claim that Iraq was training al Qaeda in chemical and biological weapons was “was intentionally misleading the debriefers.” Yet, even though the Bush Administration was warned that their source was full of shit in February 2002, they continued to … Read More

It’s About The March 18, 2003 Determination Made In Accordance With Public Law 107-243, Stupid!

Ken AshfordBush & Co., IraqLeave a Comment

I’m blogwhoring this in its entirety from Steve Soto at The Left Coaster: When Harry Reid shut down the Senate earlier this week due to Pat Roberts and Bill Frist’s stonewalling of a Phase Two investigation over how the Bush Administration used intelligence in making its case for war, many of us wondered why now? What took you guys so … Read More

But Clinton Said So…

Ken AshfordIraq, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

The silliest talking point coming out of the right these days is actually a rather old one. It’s the point that "everyone thought there were WMD".  To bolster this talking point, winger inevitably offer up statements by President Clinton. I’m not sure this what wingnuts think this appeal to Clinton is supposed to do.  Do they think liberals all worship … Read More

Scowcroft On The Iraq War

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

The online version of The New Yorker carries an interesting article about former NSA chair (under Bush I) Brent Scowcroft, and his recent anti-Dubya criticism.  Here’s a taste: The first Gulf War was a success, Scowcroft said, because the President knew better than to set unachievable goals. “I’m not a pacifist,” he said. “I believe in the use of force. … Read More