Democrats Tally 'Misleading' Iraq Statements (by Bush and Gang)

[papau]

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0316-08.htm

President Bush, VP Cheney, and Top Advisors Made over 200 Misleading Public Statements on Iraq Threat

WASHINGTON - March 16 - Today Rep. Waxman released a new report, "Iraq on the Record: The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq." The report and accompanying searchable database provide a comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five officials most reponsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. The report and database identify 237 specific misleading statements made by these officials in 125 separate public appearances.

(from the report:"Prior to the war in Iraq, the president and his advisors repeatedly claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that jeopardized the security of the United States. The failure to discover these weapons after the war has led to questions about whether the president and his advisors were candid in describing Iraq's threat." and "Most of the misleading statements about Iraq - 161 statements - were made prior to the start of the war in Iraq. But 76 misleading statements were made by the five administration officials after the start of the war to justify the decision to go to war." )

The Iraq on the Record database and report are located at http://www.house.gov/reform/min/features/iraq_on_the_record/

For help and more information on linking to Iraq on the Record, contact Nancy Scola at [phone] and [e-mail].


http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-politics-iraq-statements.html

March 16, 2004
Democrats Tally 'Misleading' Iraq Statements
By REUTERS

Filed at 10:37 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush and four top advisors made a combined 237 misleading public statements on the threat posed by Iraq, Democrats charged in a congressional report released on Tuesday.

The report compiled by Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee examined assertions made by Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.<snip>

<snip>Most of the statements were misleading because they expressed certainty where none existed or failed to acknowledge the doubts of intelligence officials, according to the report. Ten statements were false, it said.<snip>

According to the report, the misleading statements began at least a year before the start of the war in Iraq, when Cheney stated on March 17, 2002: "We know they have biological and chemical weapons."<snip>

[livetohike]

1. Great!

Everyone in the Bush admin is making the rounds on the news shows trying to cover their tracks. They are just getting in deeper and deeper. Also, now you have O'Reilly, Hannity et al trying to cover up with statements such as:

"He (Bush) never said that."

[Cooley Hurd]

2. Good morning, papau!

There's an existing LBN thread on this story. Please continue discussion here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=426990

Thanks! :hi: