Maybe the Downing Street Memo (coupled with Bush’s sinking poll numbers) will be the cocktail that puts a little fire in the bellies of the Washington press corps. A few stiff belts of the truth seem to have encouraged Polman to stop pulling his punches anyway. More likely, the corporate drones at the top of the editorial pyramid will heed the voice of their master (Mammon) and simply close the bar — long before the timid nobodies at CNN or the henpecked husbands of CBS/NBC/ABC ever get their hands on a drop of the good stuff.
Back to Main
June 12, 2005
Hard Evidence
Comments
“…(coupled with Bush’s sinking poll numbers) will be the cocktail that puts a little fire in the bellies of the Washington press corps…”
It might put a little fire in somebody’s belly?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5068956,00.html
Nerve Agent Spills at Indiana Facility
Sunday June 12, 2005 11:46 AM
NEWPORT, Ind. (AP) – About 30 gallons of a liquid containing a deadly Cold War-era nerve agent spilled at an Indiana chemical weapons depot, but it was safely contained in a sealed area and no one was injured, the Army said Saturday…
Posted by: Anthrax | Jun 12 2005 20:13 utc | 1
Posted this on Today in Iraq, if your interested.
This man is a Republican Representative. He is Vice Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Vice Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and he is the author of “Countdown to Terror: The Top-Secret Information that Could Prevent the Next Terrorist Attack on America…and How the CIA has Ignored It”
Today on Meet the Press this “expert” politician had this to say:
REP. WELDON: I’ve been raising this issue for the past two years. Iran is a major player. Ayatollah Khomeini, not the Iranian people, because they’re not the problem. Ayatollah Khomeini’s the problem. And he has a separate council of nine that’s been fomenting unrest in Iraq during this entire time, and that’s what’s increasing. That’s what’s increasing dramatically as we attempt to stabilize the country.
MR. RUSSERT: Do you think we’re in the last throes of the insurgency?
REP. WELDON: No, I don’t. I think Iran is going to continue to escalate their building support so eventually, whatever government there takes hold is going to have to deal with Iran and eventually become a partner of Iran.
Mr Weldon, expert that you are, Ayatollah Khomeini died in June 1989.
Mr Weldon, expert that you are, please advise us of the Iranian assisted insurgency?
Posted by: Friendly Fire | Jun 12 2005 21:35 utc | 3
FF: I’m on my second beer of the evening, so the Ayatollah Khomeini bit passed under what’s left of my radar. The host didn’t pick it up? WTF is up with that country? They’d have crucified the guy here. Where is your media?
I mean, they sent a second-string interviewer against Bush here and he nearly wet his pants. He complained to the fucking embassy. Complained to the embassy.
Spot on, Billmon. When we know where they are going we can head them off at the pass.
One humble suggestion. The examples you quote – UAV, Curveball, aluminum tubes – will mean nothing to the target market. But if you go back over the soil ploughed by Bush you turn his strength against him. Remind them of the mushroom cloud and the “another 9/11, this time with weapons of mass destruction”.
Posted by: John | Jun 12 2005 22:18 utc | 5
john–
You mean the ones that were under the oval office furniture?
FYI, the leader of Iran is Ali Khamenei. Sounds very similar.
Posted by: Susan S | Jun 12 2005 23:30 utc | 8
Good this document is finally out there
Shows what utter lying scumbags Bush and blair are.
Walter Pincus had a great piece in Pravda on the Potomac on DSM:
LINK
My favorite pieces of red meat:
Testimony by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz, one of the chief architects of Iraq policy, before a House subcommittee on Feb. 28, 2003, just weeks before the invasion, illustrated the optimistic view the administration had of postwar Iraq. He said containment of Hussein the previous 12 years had cost “slightly over $30 billion,” adding, “I can’t imagine anyone here wanting to spend another $30 billion to be there for another 12 years.” As of May, the Congressional Research Service estimated that Congress has approved $208 billion for the war in Iraq since 2003.
And this:
Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman, appearing June 5 on “Meet the Press,” disagreed with Dearlove’s remark. “I think that there was clearly planning that occurred.”
A-1 Below the fold.
Posted by: Groucho | Jun 13 2005 0:52 utc | 9
From the cia fact book online almanac;
Chief of state: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
confirm it here:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ir.html#Govt
So I actually think he got it right on Meek the Press.
Posted by: Timka | Jun 13 2005 2:01 utc | 10
Changing Rhetoric on WMD and Democracy.
It is interesting to look at how the Bush Administration has backpedalled in their WMD rhetoric after no WMDs were found following the Iraq war. This timeline of quotes is taken largely from this page.
See also this or this selection or this great article summarizing Fox News’ lies and contradictions regarding the Iraq war and the WMD hunt …
Posted by: Outraged | Jun 13 2005 2:13 utc | 11
“I can assure you that those villains will recognize, will discover in appropriate time in the future, how stupid they are and how they are pretending things which have never taken place”
-“Baghdad Bob,” 2,003
Posted by: steve expat | Jun 13 2005 7:13 utc | 12
Laura Rozen takes appart the Weldon “Meet The Press” desaster
July 23, 2002: secret meeting. (Rycroft memo.)
July 2002: Scott Ritter, “RECENT PRESS reports indicate that planning for war against Iraq has advanced significantly. .. According to President Bush and his advisers, Iraq is known to possess weapons of mass destruction.” He is referring to articles both in the NYT and the WaPo., declarations by Rummy, etc. William Rivers Pitt also made a speech that month laying it all out.
31 July 2002– The former head of Iraqi military intelligence says Iraq is preparing for war with the United States.
Several countries publicly announce they will not join the US.
(see also the links posted by outraged.)
———————
By July 2003 the false hype about WMD had been amply exposed in the MSM. (The “dodgy dossier, etc.)
E.g. On July 6, 2003, NYT published “What I didn’t find in Africa” by Joseph Wilson.
E.g. On July 17, 2003, David Kelly sent an e mail to Judith Miller telling her of “many dark actors playing games.” He died that day.
———
The Downing Street Memo confirms what was evident long ago .. It was quite clear that some communication had taken place, and that most Gvmts. had gotten wind of it, or were directly informed.
An open secret has been revealed.
Not a good smoking gun.
In fact, a better smoking gun was the WMD evidence turning out to be false, which showed that BushBlair had lied. Lied. Once proved that they lied, showing that they planned to lie .. seems a little trivial. I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
Posted by: Noisette | Jun 13 2005 15:17 utc | 14