Iraq war not about banned weapons: Rumsfeld

[UpInArms]

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/07/09/Rumsfeld_Iraq030709

WASHINGTON - The United States didn't declare war on Iraq because of evidence of banned weapons, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday.

Rumsfeld said the U.S. declared war because it saw existing evidence of Iraqi arms programs in "a dramatic new light," through the prism of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Rumsfeld made the comments in an appearance before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

...more...

[HereSince1628]

1. Yeah, thru a rose colored glasses for neocons /mt

.

[Loonman]

2. Come on

That's EXACTLY what they were saying it was for. I saw, I heard.

[truth2power]

13. Gaslighting!

See my post, here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=14111&mesg_id=14111&page=

Gaslighting: driving someone crazy by convincing them that what they saw or heard didn't actually happen.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. No. War on Iraq was required so that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

would not be exposed to too much "dramatic new light".
I believe it's called... SMOKE!

[MUAD_DIB]

4. Liar.

What neocon sophistry!

This fucker needs to have his ass kicked off this planet.

[Zenaholic]

5. Right!

And the color the prism cast was the color of money.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. No. It cast the Bush admin. as incompetent boobs

who failed to protect America from terrorists. So they took the horse out of the barn approach, and decided a war would make people forget all about 9/11.

[Kellanved]

6. revisionist historian?

Somehow I remember Adminitration members stating the contrary.
Then again: I didn't belive them at the time, so he basically says: "You were right".

[myrna minx]

7. Oh...Side SHOW Bob. n/t

:eyes:

[Barrett808]

9. LOL! n/t

n/t

[The Magistrate]

8. This Does Take The Biscuit

This pissant was himself claiming war was necessary because of Hussein's possession of such weapons, only months ago: he knew just where they were, and just how many of which sort there were, and predicted they would be found in short order once U.S. soldiers had the run of the place.

It was all lies, of course, and he knew he was lying as he lied. He is lying still today: even "viewed through a different prism", these phantom weapons remain his reason for war.

[mac56]

12. I must know, Sir -

Whence does your sig line quote come?

[The Magistrate]

27. From The 'Analects' Of Confucius, Sir

It is slightly streamlined from its appearance in passage three of the thirteenth book to fit this format: it is the gist of the discourse on rectification of names.

[goforit]

11. Yah yah yah!!!......What He means is...."The world is all mine!!!!"

BWA BWA BWA BWA BWA................

:wow: :crazy: :silly: :crazy: :wow:

[kimchi]

14. No, it was about oil.

I can't believe this POS thinks he can get away with so many lies. I hope someone nails his ass to the wall over this, maybe then we can get Baghdad Bob-at least his is amusing because everyone knows he's lying.

[jpak]

15. Rummy's right - it wasn't about WMD

It was about OIL.

[diplomats]

28. And about Chimy's "reelection" in '04

Rove wanted a great "victory" to distract from the miserable economy.

[diplomats]

30. Uh, that's suposed to be Chimpy, not Chimy

eom

[indepat]

36. And I thought is was implementation of the far hard-right PNAC

vision.

[salin]

16. Right... that was the content of the top secret

meetings with Senate Dems that convinced them to change their vote on the war resolution? Sure. And that was the content of the presentations to the United Nations to convince the UN and the UN Security Council of the immenent threat?

Sorry Rummy, if what you now say had been true - you and your boys wouldn't have spent so much time and energy trying to cook intelligence to convince (elected) congressional reps and senators, the public and the UN of your case.

[sandnsea]

18. Ah, but it WAS

The reports that they presented to Congress and the UN were entitled "Denial and Deception". They WERE about moving things and sanitizing trucks and devious behavior. They WERE NOT about the actual existence of any known weapon.

So the question is, why did he say he knew where the weapons were? "They're in the area of Baghdad and Tikrit". Why did Ari say the President's position was that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons?

They lied. And Rumsfeld just said so. I hope hope hope he isn't let off the hook. That will be up to US!!!

[chiburb]

17. More from the CBC...

"Rumsfeld also told the committee that talks were under way to increase NATO involvement in Iraq peacekeeping efforts. "

One question: Can 'old' Europeans be any match for young Iraqis?

[ewagner]

19. two points:

First, not only did Rumsfeld hype the existance of the WMDs, he even said he knew where they were....I think the quote was "...between Baghdad and Tikritt..." So with his new comment (It wasn't about banned weapons...) I suppose all those briefings about WMDs were just cocktail information?

Second: This is very useful for the administration. By saying it wasn't about banned weapons, they can claim that any false, misleading, inaccurate, or exaggerated information they put out really really really doesn't matter because that's not why we went there to begin with.

[Melsky]

20. Well duh rummy (rhymes with dummy)

We knew it wasn't about the weapons. The problem is the bush administration claimed that as the reason to go to war.

[yellowcanine]

21. Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?

Reminds me of the joke about the rube who said that when his wife caught him in bed with a woman.
They lied. We know they lied. They know we know they lied. Now its deny, deny, deny until they can say, that is old news, we have already gone over all that - or - "move along folks, nothing to see here."

[0007]

22. Rumsfield is absolutely without a brain!! LOL!

......the U.S. declared war because it saw existing evidence of Iraqi arms programs in "a dramatic new light," through the prism of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

It is common knowledge that a prism is a medium that misrepresents whatever is seen through it.

[Cheswick2.0]

23. in other words they were lying when they said it was the reason?

which is it?, Rummy you warmongering insane one?

[Jacobin]

24. Ah, yes.....the old "prism" defense!!!!!!!!

A prism fractures light into its different spectrums, so what once appeared white, now appears to be many different colors.

So.....Rummy said: "The gettaway car was white....we must attack the white gettaway car!!"

Now, its, HEY, let's put a prism on that fucker.....now it can be any color I choose!!!!!!!!

This guy is absofuckinglutely certifiable. He has no place in any responsible position, either inside or outside government.

He belongs in prison (without his prism)

[lfairban]

39. Not necessarily . . .

. . . a right angle prism used at the appropriate angle merely flips the image upside down. It is like a high performance mirror, I have one in my old telescope.

[bluedog]

25. bush said "threat posed by Iraq.....letter to congress.....

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Consistent with section 3(b) of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on information available to me, including that in the enclosed document, I determine that:

(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq; and

(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

[teryang]

26. It wasn't but it was....

Unbelievable double talk: the denial of the rationale relies on the rationale (existing evidence) which doesn't exist but was seen in a new light.

In the very denial the lie is reiterated. This time any question of intentional misrepresentation is gone as he lies again, as an explanation for a previous lie.

Herr Rumsfeldt could be finished. Who would his replacement be? Wolfie? Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

[tomp]

29. it's STILL about banned weapons!

so rumsfeld now says this about the context, about the way we look at wmd's post 9/11. so what? (forget that that's a lie for the moment)

if there are no weapons his point on how we view them is TOTALLY MOOT!

i love blix's comment on bush and wmd's the other day (paraphrase): 100% certainty of their existence, 0% certainty of where they are. big disconnect there.

[samsingh]

31. Liars, liars, liars.

this removes all doubt about the evil the repugs represent.

what blatant lies.

[DemoTex]

32. I want some of what Rummy is smoking!

Please!

[Mountainman]

33. These a-holes disrespect every citizen of this country

The fact that the lie and lie and feel nothing about it is above me. They have no respect for the truth or the people they are lying to.

If we were in a court room with a jury, we could produce enough evidence from the archives to prove Rummy is lying and to prove Bush is lying.

Why in hell doesn't someone call them on it?

What do they have on every member of Congress that itimidates them from calling this administration on it's lies?

It is lies after lies after lies with the complicity of every Dem in Washington. It's not about sex it is about lives lost!

[AntiCoup2K4]

34. The "prism" is no cause, merely a sideshow for dramatic effect.

PNAC was planning an invasion of Iraq back in 1997. They even tried to get President Clinton to do it. The "new Pearl Harbor" (their own words) of 9-11-01 was not so much a "prism" as it was an excuse to launch an invasion of the middle east that even these PNAC fascists themselves admitted would have been problematic otherwise.

[JackSwift]

35. It was Oil, not WMD

Duh.

[trapper914]

37. 9/11 Again?

Want to shred the constitution? Want an excuse for the bad economy? Want to go to war? Just look through the "Prism of 9/11." Rove/Rummy know it works...when the going gets tough, the tough play the 9/11 card.

[hussar]

38. Could somebody please inform Mr Dumbsfeld

I heard a rumor that they're stoking up the ovens down in hell :evilgrin:

[robbedvoter]

40. Ugh, preemptive action for a program? What about Blix?

We said we don't have time for them to poke around, they'll blow us up any minute now! How can one justified a preemptive attack for a program?

[batman]

41. PULEEZE!

[Rose Siding]

42. "declare war on Iraq"?

I saw the testimony and don't believe that phrase was ever used.

Sloppy writing but wonderfully sinister pic.

[Not a robought]

43. Rummy must be hypnotized by the pretty colors

Apparently when you hold the prism a certain way, you can see that North Korea doesn't pose any arms threat.

I wonder what he'll think of the dramatic new shade of red on his day of reckoning.