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Monday, June 9, 2008
Bush lied? Not so fast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor of The Washington Post, writes that the question of whether President Bush lied about Iraq before the war is not as cut and dried as many would believe, based on a new report by Sen. Jay Rockefeller. Writes Hiatt, “There’s no question that the administration, and particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, spoke with too much certainty at times and failed to anticipate or prepare the American people for the enormous undertaking in Iraq.
“But dive into Rockefeller’s report, in search of where exactly President Bush lied about what his intelligence agencies were telling him about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, and you may be surprised by what you find.
On Iraq’s nuclear weapons program? The president’s statements “were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates.”
On biological weapons, production capability and those infamous mobile laboratories? The president’s statements “were substantiated by intelligence information.”
On chemical weapons, then? “Substantiated by intelligence information.”
On weapons of mass destruction overall (a separate section of the intelligence committee report)? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.” Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles? “Generally substantiated by available intelligence.” Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.”
Hiatt concludes:
‘…the phony “Bush lied” story line distracts from the biggest prewar failure: the fact that so much of the intelligence upon which Bush and Rockefeller and everyone else relied turned out to be tragically, catastrophically wrong.
“And it trivializes a double dilemma that President Bill Clinton faced before Bush and that President Obama or McCain may well face after: when to act on a threat in the inevitable absence of perfect intelligence and how to mobilize popular support for such action, if deemed essential for national security, in a democracy that will always, and rightly, be reluctant.”
Did Bush lie after all?
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Braves fans lousy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kristin Byrd says to watch Braves fans in two scenarios:
It is late in the game
The Braves are losing.
“Fans seem to dissipate,” she writes. “Where are you when Atlanta isn’t doing well? Where are you during a Braves slump? Where are you during pre-season and plain old early season? Where are you during the 8th and 9th innings? Are you even paying attention to the game, or is it just a classy, southern thing to have in the background while having a few beers and a hot dog?”
She contrasts Braves fans to those of the Boston Red Socks who watch “every pitch, every play, every second of the game while still juggling baseball’s great staples: beer, peanuts, hotdogs (and only at Fenway, clam “chowdah”, which is really good). “
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