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The Freedom to Lie
Bush today: "We also want to look at our war against proliferation and weapons of mass destruction in a broader context, so I'm putting together an independent, bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand, what we can do better as we fight this war against terror."
Scott McClellan today (press secretary): " We knew he had weapons of mass destruction, we knew he had used chemical weapons on his own people. ... I think it's important -- it's important that we not only look back, but that the commission looks forward to look at ways we can improve our ability to meet the challenges we face in confronting the new threat we face from weapons of mass destruction and the spread of weapons of mass destruction."
They still think you'll believe there actually were WMD in Iraq. If you've never watched a Bush administration press conference, or read a transcript, I highly recommend it so that you can get an idea about how these people handle the press. There's often criticism that the press aren't asking the tough questions, but you'll see that at least today they asked some. And the answers were not forthcoming.
If there were ever any doubts about the purpose of this independent commission, they can now be cast away. Here are some of the main reasons they agreed to form this commission:
1. They look irresponsible if they don't.
2. Once they do, the news focuses elsewhere (i.e. Jackson's breasts, Martha Stewart, etc.)
3. It gives them some avenue for contradicting probable negative findings by other commissions on this subject.
4. It allows them to dispel any questions on this topic throughout the campaign and until after the election: "We need to wait and see what the commission finds."
5. They get to blame it all on the CIA. They were duped!
6. They'll handpick the independent members.
7. They'll write the rules (i.e. no access to the President's papers).
8. They'll make sure nothing substantive emerges whatsoever (see 6. and 7.).
They are so confident (and why shouldn't they be) that the best way to hide their lies is to tell a bigger one, that they'll not only use this commission to absolve themselves of all guilt, but they'll actually use it to justify their next war. Its a friggin pep rally. They should hang the "Mission Accomplished" sign already.
Posted on February 3, 2004 10:30 PM
Comments
The reason they will most likely get away with all of this is a lack of critical thinking on the part of the media and "the people."
For example, let us just say that they did believe Saddam's WMD posed a threat to the United States, why were they willing to wait over two years to deal with it? Just about Nobody picks up on this stuff and so they are allowed to say whatever suits their needs at the moment.
Posted by micah holmquist on February 5, 2004 02:51 PM
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