The Putin News: A mountain out of a mole hill

[Jack Rabbit]

The early spin of the news that Russian President Putin warned Mr. Bush of Iraqi plans of terror strikes against the US is that perhaps this is a justification for war.

However, that is probably not the case. Since Putin himself gave Bush the information and Putin is also disclosing the fact that he did, we can be reasonably certain that there is something to this. However, there are no details about what stages any planning was at or exactly what it entailed.

Obviously, Putin wasn't alarmed. He gave Bush the information and then opposed the US invasion. He said again today that his position on the US invasion of Iraq is unchanged. Had Saddam's terrorist plans merited something more than vigilance, Putin's attitude toward a potential US invasion of Iraq would not doubt have been quite different.

It also seems that Bush and his lieutenants thought little of Putin's information. At the time, they were using everything thing they could to drum up support for the invasion; their arguments that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties to al Qaida were shaky then and completely discredited now. Why did Bush and his neocon friends not use this fact -- perhaps even, unlike the others, a real fact -- to drum up support for their war?

The most likely answer is that whatever information Putin passed to Bush, it fell short of being the kind of immediate threat that would justify a war.

The White House spin doctors and their neoconservative allies in the press will no doubt try to say otherwise, but there appears no reason for those of us who opposed the invasion and continue to oppose the occupation to rethink our position.

[LittleApple81]

1. Remember that Poppy went and talked personally to Puttin some

months ago? They have been working on this for a while. But when Bush did not use this as a justification for war THIS MEANS Bush is a traitor: he did not forewarn the US of A REAL AND DIRECT THREAT ISSUED BY PUTIN whose little eyes are a window to a wonderful soul.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Dubya is calling in favors, mebbe? Begging Putin to save his sorry

butt from being hung out to dry in the media? (As if.)

[tom_paine]

3. Yes. Comrade Putin lies as much as his Mentors, the Busheviks

They taught him how to set up a "Manged Democracy", which is a Totalitarian State.

[spanone]

4. Remember, bush* looked into Putins eyes and saw his soul.

Bush* wouldn't know soul if it bit him on the ass. Putin is returning a favor.

[greenman3610]

5. suspicious timing

if they knew about this since 2001, and they're just
telling us now?

[LittleApple81]

6. THEN BUSH LIED TO THE COUNTRY: He did not include this DEFINITIVE

proof in his reasons for the Iraqi war. Why didn't he forewarn the US of A REAL AND DIRECT THREAT OF ATTACK ON OUR SOIL, especially if it was ISSUED BY PUTIN whom should be an impeccable source????

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. Putin reported to Bush that Iraq

was planning terrorist attacks against the U.S. BUT!!!! and this was a HUGE BUT......Putin said he had no evidence to back up the statement. HUH? THAT was the report I heard on CNN. :wtf: If he has no friggin' evidence then how does he know Iraq was planning attacks? Do they think we're THAT stupid?

The timing of this has KKKRove written all over it. It's pure BULLSHIT!

[x_y_no]

8. Things that puzzle me ...

about Vladimir "I've looked into his eyes and know this is a man I can trust" Pooty-poot Putin's recent revelation that the Russians passed information regarding Iraqi plans to carry out terrorist attacks in the US ...

1) Why are we only hearing about this now? And why first from Putin? If this intelligence were significant enough to have any bearing on the decision to go to war, one would think it would have been mantioned at some point before now. Doesn't the fact that it wasn't suggest that there is some lack of substance or credibility in these reports?

2) We are told that these plans were being made at some time during the period between 9/11 and the Iraq invasion, but are given no other context. I'm thinking here specifically about the fact that Iraq was making noises about retaliation and/or consequences if we invaded. So, were these plans that were being made independent of whether we invaded them, or were they being made as a possible response to our invasion? I'm not claiming that it's the latter, but if it was, then that puts a different light on the question of whether this information supported the invasion or not.

3) Why would Putin mention this and then go out of his way to emphsize that it doesn't change his position in opposition to the war?


I really don't know what to make of this - nothing quite fits. My feeling is that there's something about the nature or the quality or the context of this information which removes it from "smoking gun that made the invasion neccesary" status.

[Ivote]

9. Revenge of the KGB

Kill two birds with one stone.
Wasn't it US and Iraq that beat the Russians out of Afganistan? Correct me if I am wrong.
Boy I feel like I'm Living in a Clancy Novel.

[Jivenwail]

10. So now he's got "pooty poot" shilling for him?

Geez, WTF will they think of next to try and save their sorry asses?

And just when I think I've been disgusted by these guys enough, along comes something like this. I think I'll mosey over to AAR and see what Franken has to say on this bit of info.