Posted on 09/26/2006 9:12:27 AM PDT by TexKat
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday said it is naive and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, disputing a national intelligence assessment by his own administration. He said he was declassifying part of the report.
"Some people have guessed what's in the report and concluded that going in to Iraq was a mistake. I strongly disagree," Bush said.
He asserted that portions of the classified report that had been leaked were done so for political purposes, referring to the Nov. 7 midterm elections.
Bush announced that he was ordering parts of the report declassified during a White House news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Portions of the document that have been leaked suggest that the threat of terrorism has grown worse since the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the war in Afghanistan, due in part to the war in Iraq.
Democrats have used the report to bolster their criticism of Bush's Iraq policy. The administration has claimed only part of the report was leaked and does not tell the full story.
Both the chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee have urged the White House to release the material.
Using a portion of the report to attack his Iraq policy and suggest it has fanned more terrorism is "naive," Bush said.
"I think it's a mistake for people to believe that going on the offense against people that want to do harm to the American people makes us less safe," he said.
Bush to release part of intel assessment ping
HEY DUmmies....Rove has you all by the short hair....hahahahaha!!!
a cornered animal always fights a little harder.
I wish, oh how I wish that for once the next line had read, "and that a criminal investigation of the source of the leak has begun."
He asserted that portions of the classified report that had been leaked were done so for political purposes, referring to the Nov. 7 midterm elections.I'm sure that true statement will come as a shock to the MSM.
It is a sad state of affairs when the POTUS is forced by leaks and the opposition party using them for political expediency, to release such information.
The Dems have really abused their authority and access to this information.
“If we are to believe the reports published this weekend by three of America's leading newspapers (based on multiple if anonymous sources and semi-confirmed by top intelligence officials), the latest NIE concludes that the war in Iraq is fanning the flames of global terrorism and creating new enemies for the U.S. in the world of Islam. In other words, fighting there is ultimately counterproductive -- whether we 'win' or not.”
Senators' Cry: Declassify
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee are calling on the White House to declassify a high-level intelligence assessment on global terror.
The review reportedly states that the war in Iraq has contributed to global terrorism. Senator Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, says the American people should be able to see a public version of the report and draw their own conclusions about its contents. Roberts says media reports have so far given a "false impression."
Senator Jay Rockefeller, the committee's top Democrat, says releasing the report would "contribute greatly to the public debate" on counterterrorism policies.
-- Associated Press
NPR.org, September 26, 2006 · The present political balance in America is poised so delicately between the parties that a single news development can tip it one way or the other.
But will the outcome of November's closely watched congressional contests turn on a single document? One that has not been made public?
That's what many Democrats hope.
From Fox News.com
"Bush said he was declassifying part of a classified National Intelligence Estimate completed last April because he wanted people to be able to read the conclusions without filters that "create confusion in the minds of the American people."
"Some people have, you know, guessed what's in the report and have concluded that going into Iraq was a mistake. I strongly disagree. I think it's naive. I think it's a mistake for people to believe that going on the offense against people that want to do harm to the American people makes us less safe," Bush said from the East Room, where he was holding a press conference with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
Bush said he agreed with one conclusion -- that the effort in Iraq had forced Al Qaeda cells to become more diffuse and independent. But he questioned why such an old document had appeared on the front pages of major newspapers just six weeks ahead of the November midterm election."
He asserted that portions of the classified report that had been leaked were done so for political purposes, referring to the Nov. 7 midterm elections.
This whole thing is total bull. Why are we going to be allowed answers to classified material? Now?
I just wish someone would finally tell the truth for a change.
We have Major elections coming up, and we are playing off of Clinton's recent remarks when he was president 6 years ago?
Do we have some more important issues to discuss, than " who's on first" ?
Please.........
Ha! That's great
It's time. Release the report!! Yes, Mr. President.
"He asserted that portions of the classified report that had been leaked were done so for political purposes..."
Since there is no prosecution of these political opportunists, it's not surprising that they keep doing it.
Put them in jail.
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