We got posters on this thread saying 12 or a dozen which is different than 'over'.... I hate to see the facts perpuated wrong.....
I think I heard over. We will see from the transcript.
I believe I heard the President say Congress has been briefed OVER a dozen times.
Did the President say OVER?
The president has said twice in the last few days that Congress was briefed over a dozen times.
President: If I had told you a year ago that over 10M Iraqis would vote, I think you'd have thought I was wrong. This part of the world is desperate for freedom and liberty. This will serve as a hopeful example to reformers from Tehran to Damascus. That's the strategy to lay the foundation for peace.
Question: You've shown a remarkable spirit of candor int he last few weeks. In that spirit, you didn't seem to have an answer last time. What is the biggest mistake you've made.
President: The last time it was asked, I was tempted to say it was a mistake to go into Iraq. But it wasn't a mistake. It was the right decision to make.
There will be analysis about the decisions made on the ground. Some people say more troops. I made decisions on what Tommy Franks wanted.
A mistake was trying to train a civilian defense force and Irqi army at the same time but not giving them the tools to battle thugs and killers.
The point I'm trying to make to the American people, we are constantly changing our tactics to change to meet the changing tactics of an enemy.
Question -- If trying get faster response time, why not change the law.
Pres: This is targeting and limited to known AQ relationships. Calls aren't intercepted in the country. They are calling from outside the country to inside the country or inside the country to outside the country. Not from LA to Houston, for example.
The AG has briefed people this morning on why it's legal. I understand people concerned about civil liberties. I want to make sure the American people understand we have an obligation to protect you adn your civil liberties.
An open debate about law would say to the enemy "here's what we're going to do".