It's nice of the Times to notice
By Steve Benen Thursday Jul 12, 2007 7:05amIt took a couple of weeks, but the New York Times caught up with Glenn Greenwald with a solid article today:
In rebuffing calls to bring troops home from Iraq, President Bush on Thursday employed a stark and ominous defense. “The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq,” he said, “were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th, and that’s why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home.”
It is an argument Mr. Bush has been making with frequency in the past few months, as the challenges to the continuation of the war have grown. On Thursday alone, he referred at least 30 times to Al Qaeda or its presence in Iraq.
But his references to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and his assertions that it is the same group that attacked the United States in 2001, have greatly oversimplified the nature of the insurgency in Iraq and its relationship with the Qaeda leadership.
There is no question that the group is one of the most dangerous in Iraq. But Mr. Bush’s critics argue that he has overstated the Qaeda connection in an attempt to exploit the same kinds of post-Sept. 11 emotions that helped him win support for the invasion in the first place.
Of course, the critics are right.
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""""But his references to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and his assertions that it is the same group that attacked the United States in 2001, have greatly oversimplified the nature of the insurgency in Iraq and its relationship with the Qaeda leadership.""""
Why cant they just call it what it is..a lie.
"Why cant they just call it what it is..a lie."
It's not in their owner's interest....
And he'll keep saying it the rest of his life. He either believes what he's saying or he thinks the American people are the most stupid people in the world. This is how, in his head, he justifies the deaths of our troops, they are fighting against the attackers of 9-11.
If he were the head of some other country and had done to that country what he has done to ours, we would wonder about the sanity of the people of that country for continuing to allow a madman to rule them.
Wasn't that easy, NYT? You're still not calling a lie a lie nor naming attempts at manipulative propaganda for what they are. But, this article is better than almost the entirety of what you've been doing lo these last several years. It's easier to tell the truth and attribute it than it is to propagandize or play the stenographer to the liars. You ought to try it more often, guys. The truth really does set you free.
Oh, and all the stuff falling on Iraqi civilians from US bombers and gunships are pinatas?
I just heard Mitch McConnell make pretty much the same statement on CNN. This claim has become a regular talking point for the repubs.
Their public editor actually had a good, critical column about this a couple of weeks ago.
"The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq,” he said, “were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th". I thought they died in their attacks, does he mean they pulled themselves out of the airplane wreckages and went over to Iraq to fight us?
He's the DECEIVER.
Yes, he is bombing Iraq, and yes, he did bomb the world trade center on 911. For once he is owning up to the truth.
Michael Moore said it best. ..Bush didn't know better but the media did. I used to read the N.Y. Times every day.They are a fascist rag. If they are finally telling the truth...it's because the international coorporations who control this country are done with him. Oops just won't cut it. Bradblog has a piece up today saying that in Berkley Ca. the '04 vote on medical marijuana is invalid and will have to be done over. Cigarettes legal ..pot not?
Cheney's Leer & the Glint on the Cross
Among all of Dick Cheney's distasteful contorted facial expressions, the one that was most chilling and evil was the leer he transmitted to a GOP faithful audience when he disclosed that AQ in Iraq now numbers fifteen thousand.
His leer fully transmitted that he had used propaganda and lies, that AQ was connected to Iraq, to get our guns and oil companies into Iraq.
It also transmitted the, to him, deliciously evil twist that the lie has now morphed into the truth.
That AQ is now several thousand strong in Iraq is a grotesque result of the pathetically naive Neocon misadventure. It's also a plank in their arguments that we need to stay.
"The dolts, (meaning the American public and the MSM), don't have a clue as to what evil we will employ to accomplish our goals," is what the leer beams to the mightiest of the Bush base.
...as the light flickered on the flag in his lapel...
--at cognitorex--
Bob Cesca:
President Bush Loses His War On Terrorism
Posted July 12, 2007 | 12:02 PM (EST)
I had a dream a few nights ago where I kept screaming "there's no such thing as Al Qaeda" . . . there is no doubt that there are people, alot more after Iraq, who hate our guts . . . but this Al Kida guy is a made for TV boogey man. We've killed several of the top leaders several times.
Everyone in the MSM parrotted the report that Al Kida (Albert Kida?) had regained strength to pre-911 levels without ever giving us any metrics of what that strength was. Do they have submarines . . . . convenience stores?
I happen to believe they work for Dick (I mean Cheney, not their salary) and probably can get their hands on anything they want including those shiney new miny nukes.
We need to abort the perps "sooner rather than later" as they say at my place of work.
CIA Said Instability Seemed ‘Irreversible’ - Bob Woodward 7/12/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....id=topnews
“Hayden catalogued what he saw as the main sources of violence in this order: the insurgency, sectarian strife, criminality, general anarchy and, lastly, al-Qaeda. Though Hayden had listed al-Qaeda as the fifth most pressing threat in Iraq, Bush regularly lists al-Qaeda first.”
SO MAINSTREAM MEDIA STOP REPORTING THAT AL QAEDA IS THE '#1' THREAT IN IRAQ
AND REPUBLICAN GOP DO BOYS…STOP LYING ABOUT THE INSURGENCY (THE BUTCHERS, BAKERS, CANDLE STICK MAKERS who want their jobs back from Halliburton, Bectel, etc) FOLLOWING US BACK HERE TO FIGHT US IN AISLE 7, FROZEN FOODS
Craig Johnson @ 10:
Since they have outsourced intelligence, I wonder where they get these numbers. I
raq has 20+ million people after we killed a million and displaced 3 million and 2-4 million fled.
so we have confirmed 15k AQ?
how many are #2 or #3 AQ?
how many civilians have to die per AQ we kill?
There has not been one mutherphukkking truthful syllable out of that lying arrogant dick's mouth in recorded political history.
This Administration is Robert Anton Wilson's "SNAFU Principle" in operation.
"There is a little bit more to it than that. It what I call the "snafu principal." Communication only occurs between equals--real communication, that is--because when you are dealing with people above you in a hierarchy, you learn not to tell them anything they don’t want to hear. If you tell them anything they don’t want to hear, the response is, "One more word Bumstead and I’ll fire you!" Or in the military, "One more word and you’re court-martialed." It’s throughout the whole system.
So the higher up in the hierarchy you go, the more lies are being told to flatter those above them. So those at the top have no idea what is going on at all. Those at the bottom have to adjust to the rules made by those at the top who don’t know what’s going on. Those at the top can write rules about this, that and the other, while those at the bottom have got to adjust reality to fit the rules as much as they can."
Shades of the 'reality based community', eh?
Wilson is no longer with us, but he had this crew pegged long before 9/11.
Cry Wolf??
Unfortunately for the Bush Cabal, nothing they say any longer means anything. Their credibility with the people is shot due to incessant lying.
People now "know" what these thugs are doing - they recognize the "game" and won't buy into it any longer. That's why McCain's campaign has tanked. Next will be the GOP "annointed one" - Rudy Giuliani.
They can spin things about AQ till the cows come how but after the "big lie" about going after AQ in Iraq when they weren't there to occupy this country, nothing Dubya says now about AQ mean a thing to anyone.
Everyone I know doesn't even watch these presidential charades on television any longer - nor do they listen to all of the incessant 'spin' which follows each appearance.
Just take a look at how his meds are affecting him during the opening of the new press room and it's enough to make you gag. He's laughing his arss off while our kids are being killed! What a misanthrope!
The Bush Cabal has more blood of innocents on their hands than any other group in the history of this country.
nemo @ 15:
And now the people have this crew pegged "about" 911!
I see a number of people, including kevin and molly, know what's going on.
As for the NYTimes, it always has been a fascist rag. Dig back into its history, especially WWII and the decade preceding it, and see what I mean.
When you finally realize that all you've ever learned about American and world history has been one huge, gigantic, kick-in-the-groin lie, you'll discover that the sky indeed only appears to be blue.
And, no, Virginia - there IS no Santa Claus, either.
It's also time to hold the corrupt, sycophantic media accountable for helping to perpetuate Bush's propaganda.
Whatever happened to "legitimate truthful reporting of facts"?? Now all we get is the WH sanitized version of facts which amounts to "total fiction". Pathetic how our news people have been "aiding and abetting" these criminals.
Perhaps a civil liberties group needs to begin a full investigation of how the mainstream media has been complicit in all of these lies and bring suit against them for "misleading the public" (Bush's personal propaganda tools???).
Boycott the mainstream media and let them know that we will have no more of their lies. We will hold them totally accountable for every lie, every embellished fact, and everything which is not totally vetted to be true.
Let's face it: The mainstream media has been a willing "co-conspirator" to the high crimes and misdemeanors which will get Bush and Cheney impeached. It's high time that the people go after them as well.
Phylter @ 5:
Yes..... pinatas full of ordinance.
kevin @ 8:
Kevin - I see you've done your research. www.911truth.org is a good starting point for anyone willing to at least see the volume of scientific evidence, eyewitness testimony, and theories about what actually occurred on 911....war games occurring that day....false flag operations??
the key aspect of the article is the phrase "his critics assert"
It is used time and time again to present the facts as if it were the whining of ingrates and not actual refutation of boosh's outright lies.
It's not a solid article, it's spineless. Look at the title: "Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert". They can't actually come out and say it themselves, they have to attribute it to someone else in the headline, and then they weasel into admitting it themselves in the third paragraph.
It's a continuing pattern of trying to appear unbiased, but they're just caving in and not calling it what it is. I can only conjecture as to why, it's probably because they're afraid of losing their access to their sources.
And don't even get me started on the Iraq study report. "Some progress"??? Have you read it? There's no progress. All the "progress" is vague and meaningless fluff. The lack of progress is profound.
Don't trust any positive opinions or analysis on this stuff, even "polite" articles like this NYT article that appears to be hard-hitting but is really soft-pedaling the horrible truth.
Al Qaeda is whatever the Bush Administration wants it to be.
Its like when Bush said, "We should guard against conspiracy theories". I read that Al Qeada roughly translates to "the toilet bowel" in arabic. These are the "good shepherds" playing god and laughing at all of us miserable pessants for believing their far fetched lies. They didn't attempt to cover it up, they said, "we know you know but there's nothing you can do about it."
Dave @ 26:
This is absolutely true. The latest attack in the UK, and the train bombing in Madrid a few years ago had absolutely zip to do with Al Qaeda, except for the fact that the attackers happen to be Muslims. This is all that was necessary for the MSM and WH to link those attacks to Al Qaeda.
[...] House Link to Article iraq It’s nice of the Times to notice » Posted at Crooks and Liars on [...]
Remember "Baghdad Bob"? (Wonder where he's hiding?) Sounds alot like GW. He would rather lie when the truth would fit better.
Mesopotamia is IRAQ. At least that's what all the maps point to.
“The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq,” he said, “were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th"...
[Bush: did I just say that out loud?]
Wow. By Michael Gordon, no less. Did the Times' public editor slap him silly?
rain @ 29:
He's in Pakistan right now, and is a PR consultant for the Heritage Foundation.
As KO said last night, our "gov't" hasn't disrupted a single CREDIBLE terrorist attack plan here in Das Homeland. Sure, they throw a lot of bullshit propaganda at us -- the idiot "terror cell" in Miami, the plot to attack Ft Dix by a pizza delivery guy, the plot to blow up JFK airport.
Why oh why does the MSM simply parrot the Deceiver's propaganda?
Six years and counting of nothing but unabated lies!!!!!!!
Dave @ 26:
If another Timothy McVeigh-type appeared on the scene and blew something up in the states, would this administration label him as Al Qaeda? The way Chimp throws that word around anybody with access to explosives and a hate for our government qualifies, and that number must be in the millions worldwide, seeing how the tunnel vision Chimp likes to whack at hornets nests with his Christian/democracy stick.
The insanity of this situation - they would rather look like failures (in re: AQ's alleged growing strength to pre-9/11 levels, which is totally preposterous and a whole 'nother lie within a lie) to Congress and the people than give up their mission to go to Iran.
They don't give a chit about how it makes them "look" because it's mostly (all?) fiction, anyway.
They want to go to Iran. So, this is part of the propaganda. The best we can do is not listen, not believe it, and insist that our Congress throw the bums out.
If our representatives don't do their jobs, throw them out, too. We have the power. We need to use it.
the press will do anything for access to the junta by using their Rove approved index card buzzwords
retz says "we have the power."
Retz, are you a part of the Globalist Elite? If not, then I'm sorry, you have NO power.
Gort @ 34:
What do you mean another Timothy McVeigh? There are rightwinged nutjobs out there trying to link the OK City bombing to Al Qaeda as soon as it became a buzzword.
wait a minute, Bush said something that wasn't true? man, i have to sit down for a second and think. .. . . .
I wonder if Al Qaeda in Iraq really calls themselves that...
Maybe they are the Kansas City Royals?
In any case, I think that the name was invented in order to transfer public hatred from Afghanistan to Iraqistan.
BREAKING - White House Press Release: South’s attempt at secession from Union linked to Al Qaeda!
Bush saves a baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uo-9bFJcRM
And I'm sure Al Kidya thanks boosh for their new home base in Iraq.
funkyfresh @ 31:
BaScOmBe @ 24:
BaScOmBe @ 24:
the key aspect of the article is the phrase "his critics assert"
It is used time and time again to present the facts as if it were the whining of ingrates and not actual refutation of boosh's outright lies.
Gort @ 34:
now, now! you already know that neither the gov't nor their stenographers will ever call a white male a terrrrisst. That term is reserved for the browns, especially the brown muslims or moslems, whichever passes through the spellchecker.
[...] Clark Link to Article george w bush It’s nice of the Times to notice » Posted at Crooks and Liars [...]
Baghdad is just like LA.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=95b_1182639030
Wouldn't it be interesting to know if reporter Mike Gordon wrote this article on his own, who put pressure on him to write it, how much pressure, who resisted, and how much of the article did Gordon actually write?
Yep, Bush tells the same lie over and over and over, he's told it so many times that I think he believes it.
But the majority of Americans don't and are sick and tired of his bullshit. I'm surprised the Media even puts his "news pressers" on anymore. there is no news from him, just the same rehearsed dialog.
He ignores the fact that since his "Surge" there have been 700 more deaths added to the growing number of Brave Americans who are dying for his idiocy.
America, plain and simple, has bee ruined by this administration. It's time to take back America and try to bring justice for the crimes of the NeoCons/PNAC group who have usurped our government.
I hate George Bush
BaScOmBe @ 45:
Wasn't there an arrest in the past year of Ku Klux Klaners planning something dangerous?
I think a string of bank robberies to finance their other terroristic goals?
I haven't seen anything about that in ages.
Does this mean that little kid who was kicked off a plane for talking too much and too loud was an Al Qaeda terrorist?
ysbaddaden @ 51:
Ha! And I have a dog that won’t stop barking at the postman, a government employee. I suppose I should be on the lookout for armed drones circling over my house.
right wing hater Says: “Hayden catalogued what he saw as the main sources of violence in this order: the insurgency, sectarian strife, criminality, general anarchy and, lastly, al-Qaeda. Though Hayden had listed al-Qaeda as the fifth most pressing threat in Iraq, Bush regularly lists al-Qaeda first.”
SO MAINSTREAM MEDIA STOP REPORTING THAT AL QAEDA IS THE ‘#1′ THREAT IN IRAQ
AND REPUBLICAN GOP DO BOYS…STOP LYING ABOUT THE INSURGENCY (THE BUTCHERS, BAKERS, CANDLE STICK MAKERS who want their jobs back from Halliburton, Bectel, etc) FOLLOWING US BACK HERE TO FIGHT US IN AISLE 7, FROZEN FOODS
Before I get started on my piece on this topic, I wanted to thank you for this post. For the last 4 months, I have been screaming this very claim was deceptive and misleading the American people. The president and his generals, aided by CNN and MSNBC, have been trying to make this claim Al Qaeda in Iraq is the principle force we fight in Iraq.
This claim will lead to a form of genocide, so it must be before the American people.
Joseph
Al Qaeda is simply a catch all term for anyone that has been killed or will be killed by coalition forces. Its up to the Great Decider to decide who is Al Qaeda and who isn't.
He likes to say Al Queda because it sounds scary to people, and The Bush Cabal wants to keep us scared up.
It only happens rarely, but SOMEONE in the main stream media is willing to call this administration on their deceptions. Right wingers are busy warming up their shoulders for extended shrugging as they say "It doesn't matter if it's in the liberal New York Times."
Most of NYTs antiwar articles are sent to the back pages. As/in Obituary columns.
I say let's burn the presses for lying . Hummmm! once government burnt them because they told the truth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moutUEfqUQ4&mode=related&search=
Bush't gives his middle finger to us .
I wouldn't call that a "solid article" by the NY Times.
Mr. Bush's critics argue. Not objective Americans. Not people who care enough to learn the facts. Critics. Partisans. Far left wackos, if you will. Supporters say one thing, critics the other. Who are we, the lowly New York Times, to try to project truth as something greater than opinion or conjecture?
The critics are who? The 76% of Americans that think that Bush is doing a poor job?
Get with the Times, man,
New York, not Washington.
Joe likes up to his nom de guerre, which was also the title of a movie in the early 70's about some hard core rightist.
Even then warmongers were referring to s Silent America that turned out to be non-existant.
My favorite though was Spiro Agnew referring to the nattering nabobs of negativity and (written by Pat Buchanan), and pusillanimous pussyfoots which sounds like an oxymoron.
The reference was to a Silent Majority.
I always thought the Moral Majority tried to essentially copy that reference and imply that they were who it referred to.
“The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq,” he said, “were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th, and that’s why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home.”
This is George Bush's "Big Lie". He says it every time he gets the chance. He knows that it will be repeated 1000 times by the media. He knows the debunkers assume that they don't need to debunk it anymore because it's so ridiculous so they'll stop debunking. He also knows that it works because something like 40% of the American public actually believes what he says that percentage will just increase if he keeps saying it and people stop challenging it. So for the record, al-Qaeda was not in Iraq before we invaded. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi did not become affiliated with al-Qaeda until 2004. He had nothing to do with 9/11.
Once again, The Great Deceiver spews his mindless, foolish rhetoric, filled with lies. Enough, already!
It seems that bush has also decided to put the Plame fiasco behind him and simply move on. Where is the outrage over this comment, it's just as bad, actually worse since he committed treason.
Any number of buzz words will strike fear in the average American heart and mind. Rove knows it's key to keep repeating them over and over and over. Any Americans not really paying attention, which I suspect is MOST, will cringe at: Al Qaeda, jihadist, Muslim, Arab, Iraqi, terorist, insurgent, and might lead the the familiar American refrain, "Nuke 'em." Then they get in their SUV and go to the mall to charge stuff.
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