Posted on 07/12/2003 12:52:33 PM PDT by Cathryn Crawford
George Tenet's admission last night that it was his mistake that caused President Bush to use faulty intelligence in his State of The Union address is interesting at the same time as it is convienent. In the statement itself, which is lengthy and filled with reasons as to the intelligence failure, Tenet wholeheartedly takes responsility for his agency.
"Let me be clear about several things right up front. First, CIA approved the President's State of the Union address before it was delivered. Second, I am responsible for the approval process in my Agency. And third, the President had every reason to believe that the text presented to him was sound. These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the President. "
On the face of it, this admission seems like the perfect solution to the growing problems for both the Bush and Blair administration. It's all CIA's fault, they can claim. But is that really viable?
On the face of it, perhaps. But Bush is the President. He has to take final responsibility, doesn't he?
If Bush can truly claim to know absolutely nothing, then don't we have a serious problem - wouldn't that imply that Bush is either incompetent or is simply not paying attention?
For discussion purposes - has Bush been conned by Tenet? And if he has, isn't that rather serious?
And if he wasn't conned by Tenet, what is the alternative?
What good is a President if he cannot take responsibility, for if he cannot take responsibility, how can he take credit?
Notice that I didn't say Bush, in this specific instance. I kept it general - for all you who are watching and salivating over the idea that I'm bashing Bush.
Why did you put up this thread when there are plenty of threads running on here starting with the Thompson bogus source with a lot of good information and discussion?
Why are you posting on this thread if you think it is so unimportant?
Bush may or may not have know it was a forgery. If he didn't know, he was victimized by some 'dupe the stupe' operation done by, as Rice calls them 'the bowels of government'. If we did know, someone must have him by the balls.
This is no longer about Saddam and the war. Unimpeded passing forged documents to the President and getting him to use them is no way to run the country. Bush is in charge or he isn't. Use some ex-lax on those bowels.
Are you saying freepers are so dumb that they can't click on someone's profile page?
What good is a President if he cannot take responsibility, for if he cannot take responsibility, how can he take credit?
Cathryn, I have high hopes for you but if you can't see the vacuousness of that argument I am getting discouraged.
I sure didn't know she was a member of the press.
But of course you did....you found it right there for anyone to see who is interested.
BTW, the tactic of changing subjects from the matter at hand to who the messenger is reminds me of....?
Everyone that writes editorials is a member of the press? That's news to me.
Found this to be interesting and think some others may too -- from your homepage: I am a contributor and columnist for The Washington Dispatch.
Good job Inspector PhiKapMom.
Do you want Freepers to provide you comments for your next article so you can use to bash President Bush and/or CIA Director Tenet! I think before you put up another thread asking for opinions, you might want to disclose on that thread that you are a columinist for the Washington Dispatch! It is one thing to make comments on threads but another to put up a vanity saying the press smells blood when you are a member of the press.
I don't think she needs our help to write her columns. She does a good enough job writing her own damn columns.
I see what you mean, but I was trying to dig a little deeper into the reasoning of that poster.
I don't like Bush, but some of you gals are in serious bunker mode and at times it's honestly distubing. Everything is us against "them", and everyone who doesn't play ball at every turn is "them". Because this chick didn't "disclose" that she writes for the media at the top of the article, you barge in and try to make her one of "them".
You gals don't even upset me anymore because a. you're for the most part nice most of the time and b. you're too loopy to view as a threatening.
Seriously.
The Nation editor, Katrina vanden Heuvel, is the only one who spews out the real plan: Convince the American people President Bush intentionally lied to them. On Hardball vanden Heuvel said; President Bush intentionally deceived the American people into supporting war. And she said; American soldiers are dying because of that deception.
Mainstream Democrats aren't that outrageous, but of course, that's the subliminal message they hope voters will take away from this lengthy dissection of one sentence in President Bush's State of the Union speech. A sentence that meant nothing at the time, and means even less 6 months later.
But thank goodness, Americans aren't stupid. If they remember the State of the Union speech at all, they remember President Bush courageously speaking to the world, to our enemies, and to hostile Democrat Senators who were thwarting him at every turn.
President Bush laundry listed the reasons why we had to take out Saddam Hussein. We might not have known whether Saddam got his uranium from Africa or Russia, but no one doubted Saddam Hussein intended to make nuclear weapons to use against us. No one doubted it then or now. That nuclear materials have been found hidden in a Baghdad rose garden proves the intent. Specific details of how Saddam planned to amass his Weapons of Mass Destruction wouldn't be bothering Democrats if Bill Clinton were president and he had made that speech.
Americans recognize this attack on one sentence, for what it is. An unwarranted, over-zealous, partisan attack on the president. When mainstream Democrat presidential contenders show their true colors, and openly join the vanden Heuvel chorus, President Bush's re-election will be secured.
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