Who Is Lying About Iraq?

CommentaryMagazine ^ | 11-07-2005 | Norman Podhoretz

[KJC1]

Among the many distortions, misrepresentations, and outright falsifications that have emerged from the debate over Iraq, one in particular stands out above all others. This is the charge that George W. Bush misled us into an immoral and/or unnecessary war in Iraq by telling a series of lies that have now been definitively exposed.

What makes this charge so special is the amazing success it has enjoyed in getting itself established as a self-evident truth even though it has been refuted and discredited over and over again by evidence and argument alike. In this it resembles nothing so much as those animated cartoon characters who, after being flattened, blown up, or pushed over a cliff, always spring back to life with their bodies perfectly intact. Perhaps, like those cartoon characters, this allegation simply cannot be killed off, no matter what.

Nevertheless, I want to take one more shot at exposing it for the lie that it itself really is. Although doing so will require going over ground that I and many others have covered before, I hope that revisiting this well-trodden terrain may also serve to refresh memories that have grown dim, to clarify thoughts that have grown confused, and to revive outrage that has grown commensurately dulled.

[okie01]

Hard as it is to believe, let alone to reconcile with his general position, Joseph C. Wilson, IV, in a speech he delivered three months after the invasion at the Education for Peace in Iraq Center, offhandedly made the following remark: “I remain of the view that we will find biological and chemical weapons and we may well find something that indicates that Saddam’s regime maintained an interest in nuclear weapons.”

Moreover, in January, 2003, shortly before Bush's SOTU address, Joe Wilson was giving an address at his alma mater -- UC Santa Barbara.

He used the opportunity to argue against the upcoming Iraq war on the basis of:

1. Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.

2. And he will use them -- against our troops.

Understand that he gave this address eleven months after he returned from looking for "what he didn't find in Africa".

In other words, on the subject of Iraq and WMDs, Joe Wilson made a 180 degree turn in the four months between the SOTU and his first recorded leak (to Nicholas Kristof in early May).

Could this sudden change-of-mind have anything to do with going to work for the Kerry campaign in April...???

Will anybody in the media ever ask Joe Wilson to explain his about face on the subject? (rhetorical question)

[WyCoKsRepublican]

I needed a sedative so I went out and bought the Michael Savage Box Set today. I highly recommend it. - The Great Oz has spoken

[toddlintown]

"A lie goes around the world before the truth gets its shoes on

Pants, not shoes--Winston Churchill

[Enchante]

Great article which should be tatooed on the chest of every Demagogue and every MSM reporter who had furthered the jihad of Joe Wilson and similar characters. When will the MSM actually get around to an intelligent and critical analysis of all their own catastrophic failures on these subjects, and when will Joe Wilson and the Demagogues in Congress, etc. finally get the total humiliation they so richly deserve?

[CyberAnt]

Boy .. it sure was well worth the read!

I'm glad to finally have a comprehensive timeline for all the WMD stuff. This is a great article.

Now .. if we can only get people on the left to read it and acknowledge it's accuracy! Okay, okay, I'm not holding my breath.

[Dolphy]

In any event, I'm just saying we should take off the rose-colored glasses: yes, the administration lied a little -- though not fundamentally -- and we still did the right thing.

I really think you are stretching if those are your best examples. You are acting as if the WH was operating with perfect knowledge. They had no such thing beyond the UN resolutions, the firings at our planes in the no fly zone, Saddam's history and the opinion of every allied intelligence organization.

The point isn't that there were disputes regarding aluminum tubes, nuclear ambitions or anything else...the point was that they couldn't exclude these things with the information they had...on top of what they knew to be undisputed truth.

[p23185]

I'm really scared now, not for Bush but for my country. Scared that empty left wing arguments may actually prevail, leading to disaster for our Mideast allies and our own security. And furious that the administration does not seem to be aggressively moving forward, i.e., confronting Iran and Syria with a plan for results. If the only lesson Bush learned from Iraq is that democrats will complain, we are lost.

The Rats will keep up this "lie" even though they have shown that they have lots of stories in the pool to call on along with their will accomplices in the MSM. because if they can make this "lie" stick, they feel they have a clear open and shut case for Impeachment and treason. That will get them to a war crimes trial and just like all of their unbalanced brain waves, the Libs think they can execute Bush and Cheney once the war crime trial is over. The Wilson Lie must continue to move forward - if you repeat it enough it has to be true. Wilson needs to be in prison for treason or sedition.

[supercat]

You left out IMHO the real reason for taking action against Iraq: the U.S. had for so long made or been party to empty threats that it had to either make good on one of them or be seen as a paper tiger.

Pacifists would say we should have been content to be a paper tiger, but such a philosophy is not tenable. Paper tigers get attacked. The question was not whether we would someday have to strike at someone who proded us, but when (and at who). Our choice of time and place was not an unreasonable one, and I see no reason to believe waiting would have given us any better options.

[BackInBlack]

"I really think you are stretching if those are your best examples. You are acting as if the WH was operating with perfect knowledge. They had no such thing beyond the UN resolutions, the firings at our planes in the no fly zone, Saddam's history and the opinion of every allied intelligence organization."

Like I said, the fibs weren't on the core issues. But this idea that there were no lies (using a morally relevant, rather than Clintonian, definition of the word) is just wrong. There were lies on the fringes.

"The point isn't that there were disputes regarding aluminum tubes, nuclear ambitions or anything else...the point was that they couldn't exclude these things with the information they had...on top of what they knew to be undisputed truth."

Exactly. I completely agree. That's why I supported and continue to support the war. The SMALL lies came in how they talked about the aluminum tubes, the uranium/Africa connection, the threat level, etc. That's all I was saying.

[Dave Elias]

So it's more comforting to you that the intelligence community has demonstrated complete incompetence than to entertain the notion that the Administration who are human after-all may have slightly bent the facts?

[Dolphy]

So it's more comforting to you that the intelligence community has demonstrated complete incompetence than to entertain the notion that the Administration who are human after-all may have slightly bent the facts?

The intelligence community has demonstrated complete incompetence, witness 9/11, North Korea, Iran, etc. That is really beside the point of my post and provides no comfort. But even in the most perfect of an intelligence world the particulars can be hard to come by. Did the Administration see the glass half empty, when others saw it half full? Sure, this isn't engineering, there is a political aspect to all wars. But those weren't the facts on which they built their decision...those facts were undisputed (UN resolutions, failing sanctions, no-fly zone incidents, Saddam's history, etc.)

[milemark]

those animated cartoon characters who, after being flattened, blown up, or pushed over a cliff, always spring back to life with their bodies perfectly intact.

In the cartoons, the good guys always win and the bad guys always go splat. They may survive, but they endure an existence of endless splattering.

[beyond the sea]

Brilliant post! Right on.

[beyond the sea]

Neither Bush or Arnold seem to be fighting back. ---------- What do you expect... they're Republicans!

LOL

Bush's new Grand Offensive ---- sending all White House staffers for "ethics training briefings".

Next thing you know he'll take even more responsibility for the aftermath of Katrina. (sarcasm off)

[baseballmom]

for later read

[GiovannaNicoletta]

bookmark

[t2buckeye]

So true!!!! Dems as Wile E Coyete? Perfect metaphor..except the coyote is funny and better looking.

[t2buckeye]

This kind of research is excellent. I think the administration has been slow to bring these things out because the whole investigation has inoculated Wilson from criticism. Let's face it. If the facts about Wilson came out in a concerted way from the administration, the press would say...as Wilson would proclaim...that they are attacking him because of Rove, etc. The story would NOT be Wilson's inaccuracies..it would be Bush's attacks. Therefore, just as with DAn Rather's false memos, we have to continue pushing facts like this to the surface.

[A message]

If the facts about Wilson came out in a concerted way from the administration, the press would say...as Wilson would proclaim...that they are attacking him because of Rove, etc.

You nailed it.

As irritating as the lies are, your above scenario is exactly what would happen and how the Enemedia would spin it.

There is enough info out there for smart Americans to pick up.

For those consumed with lies, nothing will change their minds.

[t2buckeye]

The best way to get the facts out is to have the logical argument and proof debated as is happening now. We'll have to work harder, but you're right...the ones that are spewing the lies are not going to change their minds. But there is hope for those who are still unsure.
I would LOVE to have the likes of Norman Podheretz debate the other side...even Wilson himself.
Never stop fighting...never give up.