Sharpton: Impeach Bush if He Lied!

NewsMax.com ^ | 7/09/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[marajade]

On the contrary... I know a liar when I see one... I grew up with one... I call it a gut instinct... Clinton is a liar... Bush isn't...

[kayak]

I see your point but why are you so hung up on this rhetorical question? There is absolutely NO evidence that Bush lied about anything (unlike his predecessor) and it seems to me that to keep repeating your question is just planting the idea that Bush might have lied.

If you have read the threads I linked, you will see that there is something smelly going on. I find it much more constructive to seek the truth than to keep asking a theoretical question inspired by a false story ..... but that's simply my humble opinion.

[Burkeman1]

Well Bush is certainly no sociopath as was evident from Clinton the first time I ever saw him. But I won't say Bush can't lie. That is just a stupid position to take (and I don't want to insult you) with any politician. Bush ain't a saint or a god. He is a man like the rest of us. Let's not delve into outright worship of Bush like the Dems did of Clinton and defend him at all costs including every principle they said they stood for.

[Burkeman1]

What false story? Who is this Terrance guy? I don't get it?

[Burkeman1]

I have read your link. Some con man lied to Capitol Hill Blue (for years I guess) about his connections and how he was disgusted with lies about the Iraq nuke program? And?

[kayak]

That story from CHB was apparently picked up by many other media sources and quoted (or even plagiarized) as being "proof" that Bush lied.

There's also another thread on FR that is related to this subject but mentions Joseph Wilson, the one originally mentioned in this article about Sharpton.

Blair Bombshell: Intelligence Confirms Iraq Sought Niger Nuke Fuel

I'm not the great sleuth and/or analyst that many on FR are but it seems to me that at the very worst (and I don't think that will prove to be the case) Bush was given false information and made statements based on them. That is not lying .... and is certainly not an impeachable offense.

If you tell me that you're a 23 year old female and I repeat it to someone else based on what you said, then you are the one guilty of deceiving me. I may have passed on false information but I haven't lied because I believed the info to be true.

One point that too few people seem to realize is that there was ample justification for the war in Iraq based on UN Resolution 1441 ...... anything else would have been icing on the cake.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441

[PhilDragoo]

And if Al Sharpton lied about Tawana Brawley and her slanders?

Oh, that's right, Al lost the judgment but can't pay because he's broke.

[Burkeman1]

The Niger/uranium story is dead. Even the administration admits it was mislead. I have never heard of this guy, Terrance Wilkinson and I don't know of any other story this guy's lies effected or influenced. Capitol Hill Blue? I respect that outlet and have been a reader in the past. I salute them for coming clean. But the fact remains- The Niger intel to Bush was false.

But I don't care about that when it comes to this post. All Freepers should agree that ANY PRESIDENT who KNOWINGLY LIES about a reason or reasons for going to war should be impeached? I don't think this should be controversial on this site?

[kayak]

If I am understanding any of this convoluted story, the administration did NOT admit that it was misled ....... that's the part fabricated by Wilkinson and/or CHB. Thus any hypotheses based on that assumption automatically become false, it seems to me.

Apparently there was a forged document related to the Niger intel .... but it seems that the administration knew that it was forged and it was NOT the basis of the President's remark in the SOTU address ..... nor of the decision to go to war. There was other intel that no one has claimed was false, forged, or fraudulent that were used as the basis for both the speech and the decision to go to war.

All of this seems to be more attempts by someone to discredit Bush ... and we all know that there are plenty of people ready, willing, and eager to do that, Al Sharpton being only one of the minor characters in that capacity.

[Burkeman1]

Yes they did, as recent as yesterday:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030710/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq_6

[kayak]

The best I can figure out, the administration knew, long ago, that one piece of intel was bad (forged or whatever) but that one bit of info was not the sole factor in the decision. To the best of their knowledge, there was other, quite credible, intel that backed up their assertions.

Maybe I'm completely wrong .... but so far I haven't seen any evidence to convince me that the President or those high in his administration lied about anything.

Personally, I smell a feeding frenzy by the media ..... willing to twist and turn everything to suit their own agenda .... and adding 2 + 2 and coming up with apples and oranges.

If Sharpton is so eager to impeach a president for lying, exactly where was he hiding when x42 was in office? .... and how can he even consider running for the presidency himself when he has been proven to be a liar? In my mind these are pertinent questions that help put Sharpton's remarks in perspective.

[arasina]

Tawana, you jus' crawl back in your trash bag and hush.

ROFLMBO!!!

[Burkeman1]

Sharpton is a liar, an anti semite, and a race hustler. That doesn't mean his statements on "Hannity and Colmes" were untrue. Of course we know that if Gore we running the show and was in the same situation Bush is in now Sharpton would be bullchipping and supporting Gore with dubious arguments and contorted logic.

I don't think it is a feeding frenzy. There are legitimate questions to be asked and answered. Did Bush knowingly lie about the Niger thing? I don't think so. But don't dismiss the question as if it were unpatriotic to ask it as the Clinton folks did when Republicans were more than justified to question his motivations when he bombed Sudan and Afghanistan on the same day Monica testified, and then when he bombed Iraq in operation "Desert Fox" the night before the impeachment vote in the house, and then the Kosovo campaign about the same time as Juanita told her story and the Cox report came out.

[arasina]

It may help to go to the original thread instead of the two follow-ups. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away... No, actually...Doug Thompson of Capitol Hill Blue wrote an article that included the following quotes and an original headline that said outright that BUSH LIED.

"The report had already been discredited," said Terrance J. Wilkinson, a CIA advisor present at two White House briefings. "This point was clearly made when the President was in the room during at least two of the briefings."

Bush's response was anger, Wilkinson said. It may help to go to the original thread instead of the two follow-ups. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away... No, actually...Doug Thompson of Capitol Hill Blue wrote an article that included the following quotes and an original headline that said outright that BUSH LIED.

"The report had already been discredited," said Terrance J. Wilkinson, a CIA advisor present at two White House briefings. "This point was clearly made when the President was in the room during at least two of the briefings."

Bush's response was anger, Wilkinson said.

"He said that if the current operatives working for the CIA couldn't prove the story was true, then the agency had better find some who could," Wilkinson said. "He said he knew the story was true and so would the world after American troops secured the country."

Newwwwwwspapuh! Read all about it! BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK

[Burkeman1]

And? Who ever heard of this story? I haven't. I like Capitol Hill Blue- they made a mistake. It was hardly a widespread story or one picked up by other "mainstream" news outlets as far as I know.

[kayak]

A local radio station here has a slogan that they "ask the questions and then question the answers." I think that's a good policy and FR has certainly taught me the wisdom of it.

But it seems to me that the questions have been asked and the answers have been given ..... and questioned and questioned and questioned and questioned and ...... well, you get the idea.

At some point we either decide whether to believe the likes of Sharpton or believe the President. Based on what I know at this point, I choose to believe the President on this issue.

I still maintain that there is a tremendous difference between acting on info you believe to be correct that later turns out to be false and in lying. The accusation is that the President lied ..... and I don't buy it. It simply doesn't wash.

[kayak]

Ah, but the story was printed in "Japan Today" and, even though they have now pulled it, other publications around the world are apparently picking it up. The bell has already been rung ..... and there are too many in the media, both domestic and international, who just love to print anything at all to discredit the President, our military, or even our nation.

And we all know where retractions get printed ....... definitely not above the fold on the front page! If anyone even bothers with a retraction.

[Burkeman1]

At some point we either decide whether to believe the likes of Sharpton or believe the President. Based on what I know at this point, I choose to believe the President on this issue.

I still maintain that there is a tremendous difference between acting on info you believe to be correct that later turns out to be false and in lying. The accusation is that the President lied ..... and I don't buy it. It simply doesn't wash.

Oh for Pete's sake! I don't believe Sharpton. I just said I agreed with his theoretical argument- that if the President knowingly lied about the reasons for war then he should be impeached! I hope you too agree with that as should all Freepers.

And I agree- there is a tremondous difference between acting in good faith on intel that later turns out to be wrong and lying about it outright. I happen to think the President was lied too by some in his administration.

[arasina]

You're such a grump, Burkeman.

[Burkeman1]

You gotta love me:) LOL.