(Bush) Credibility implosion: Errors, lies and mistrust (City of Evil alert)

Ithaca Journal ^ | Wednesday, February 4, 2004 | EDITORIAL

[Behind Liberal Lines]

When George W. Bush's presidency runs the gauntlet of commentators and historians in years to come, the concept of "opportunity lost" will surely emerge again and again.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush impressed even his critics with his initial handling of that national tragedy. He reassured the public, put al-Quaida on notice, and went after them with a vengeance in Afghanistan and around the globe.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

One more example of why Ithaca is the City of Evil.

Obviously, editorials are supposed to be an opinion, but shouldn't an opinion be based on facts?

Here, Ithaca's "paper of record" has decreed (through their headline and approving use of quotations from Democrat partisans like Hinchey) that "BUSH LIED" and even brought up the spectre of Nixon/Watergate, all on the basis of evidence flimsier than anything the White House had prior to invading Iraq.

If you also feel that this disinformation piece needs to be challenged, you can respond to the Ithaca Journal by emailing the editorial page here.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

City of Evil bump

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

As I recall, the Johnson administration was identified as having a credability gap.

I still think that the WMDs will show up before November.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

The more I read this editorial, the more amazed I am by its recklessness.

It says that, if no WMDs are found, American soldiers "died for nothing."

Tell that to the free Iraqi people.

[azhenfud]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1070558/posts?page=10#10

If Saddam wanted his Al Queida and fanatic Islamic enemies to think he still had WMD capability to secure his dictatorship, there is no way on Earth our best intelligence or the Bush Administration would know otherwise. Saddam's bluffing his fanatic Islamic foes to remain in power costed him any chance to declare Iraq as WMD free and subsequently his control over Iraq.

[hotpotato]

I still think that the WMDs will show up before November.

Why before November? Surely you aren't suggesting the Bush administration is going to participate in some kind of premeditated deception in order to gain votes, are you?

[LjubivojeRadosavljevic]

I just love this part of the piece; "If our nation had... left the Iraqi issue to the United Nations, the world probably would be a lot calmer..."

Let see, I forgot, how many UN resolutions did the Saddam's regime violate...was 14, 15, or maybe 17??

Oh, by the way, they also failed to mention how France systematically undermined the enforcement of the resolutions.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Yes, this entire article is nothing but a laundry list of every liberal cliche about the war. It's as if the leftist journalists had been holding themselves back for the last year and finally exploded.

[jigsaw]

Leftist drivel like this editorial show once again that Leftists are incapable of embarrassment.

[MissAmericanPie]

I wonder how many people in that city are really deranged enough to buy these clumsy arguments? Saddam himself had no idea if he had WMD, much less our intelligence community. There is so much deceit and lying in that culture that the second liar doesn't stand a chance.

Given that all of the arab worlds culture is built on humiliation and honor, going in and rolling over the largest and best equipped military machine in the Middle East, causing it's leaders to grab their pink lace panties and flee before us was an huge psycological victory against terrorist's and the nations that support them. Any military man will tell you that a psycological victory against the enemy is half the battle.

Owning Iraq makes us the biggest frog in the pond sitting on the central lily pad ready to snap up any little flies that crop up with trouble in mind. We can easily reach any troublesome nation in the Middle East from that positition.

Do I think there is a better way to deal with the hit and run attacks on our troops? Sure enough, but I don't get paid to lay out those plans. Although I am glad to see I am on the same page with the military brass that decided to encircle some of these towns with barbed wire making prisons out of them.

If the lying demonrats had been in power on 9-11 we would still be at war in the middle east only the U.N., France, and Germany, would be backing up the demonrats and the war would not be being fought as effectively as it is now. We would be seriously losing military lives while dancing around ways not to queer France and Germany's deal for Iraq oil. There is no telling how much of the farm would have been given away to earn their approval.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

wonder how many people in that city are really deranged enough to buy these clumsy arguments?

Given that the largest employers in the city are Ithaca College and Cornell University and given studies that show approximately 95% of the faculty of each school is liberal, I would guess approximately 95% or more.

Remember, also, that Ithaca IS the City of Evil.

[daler]

Someone needs to tell these liberals that, by the new standards in place in America, Bush doesn't have a credibility problem at all.

To say Bush lied you must first define the meaning of the word "lie."

Secondly, don't say his policies were wrong from the get-go. "Mistakes were made." That's all.

Thirdly, the WMD thing is "old news." We need to move on and let the President get back to work for the people.

Oh..and lastly...they need to remember who set the new standard.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

No, I think that someone would like to see the socialist standing around with a silly grin on their face and their Johnson in their hand.

[RightWingAtheist]

[TheFarRightIsNotWrong]

Here is some supporters of the "Lying President", they just did not know they were supporting him when they said it...

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." - Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." - Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[We] urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U. S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." - Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." - Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." - Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." - Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." - Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years .. We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime .... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

[MissAmericanPie]

This is exactly what I mean. If demonrats were in charge on 9-11 we would still be in a WOT, or a keystone cops skit, it would be hard to tell which.

Thankfully the military side of the conflict is winding down in time for the 2004 elections, given how much of his base Bush has run off it's fortunate that we are on the declining side of the military part of the WOT.

[LjubivojeRadosavljevic]

Try this.