McClellan: They’ve Already Had Phase Two
McClellan: They’ve Already Had Phase Two
McClellan at during today’s gaggle on the Senate Intelligence Committees investigation of pre-war intelligence:
Q. Why did they finally agree to a bipartisan group, then, to look into this whole business?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, that’s not –
Q. Roberts has been sitting on the intelligence policy –
MR. McCLELLAN: Helen — Helen, they’ve already — they’ve had phase one and phase two…
That’s not true. Here is the Boston Globe on July 27:
Roberts… said in February that the committee’s investigation of the administration’s use of intelligence is “on the back burner,” and said in April that other issues have more urgent claims on the committee’s attention.
Phase two has not been completed and there is no report. That’s why, after the Senate was closed yesterday, Sen. Frist agreed to a bipartisan panel to assess the progress of the investigation.
We’ve posted the entire gaggle. You’ll want to check it out — it’s a doozy.
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Roberts and Scotty ought to get their story straight… neocons’ famed discipline in keeping the message consistent is starting to slip…
November 2nd, 2005 at 1:58 pmScooter Mac lies in a press conference? In other news, the Earth is round, the sky is blue, Kansas and biology have become antonyms, as have words Republican and ethical…
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:05 pmMcClellan needs to go. He is clearly the worst press secretary in history. I like to call him Baghdad Scott.
buffalopundit.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:05 pmSenate Intelligence chairman quietly ‘fixed’ intelligence, and diverted blame from White House over Iraq
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:11 pmhttp://rawstory.com/news/2005/HowSenate_Intelligence_chairman_fixed_intelligence_and_diverted_blame_fromWhite_House__0811.html
47,459 words, including 765 “You Knows” and not one damn answer. Why do they bother with that ass?
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:12 pmWho are the Senators on this latest Committee? The one that has two weeks to summarize the status? Has that been reported? 3 Dems and 3 Repugs? Who are they?
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:16 pmWow, from the transcript, that was a wild ride of a briefing.
Good! until he actually answers a Question they should ALL give the WH a hard time.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:22 pmScotty lies????,,,,no…………….
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:25 pmHmmmmm…lotsa comments from someone who won’t comment on an ongoing investigation… Then again, I suppose if you never answer a question, then technically you can’t be considered to have “commented”…
Watching Scotty’s daily performances have become almost as amusing as watching the Daily Show…hard to tell which one’s the farce and which one’s reality anymore.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:39 pmI assume that was Helen Thomas Scottie was disrespecting. He’s such a prick. He’s not fit to be in the same room as Helen Thomas.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:45 pm“Don’t make me come down there and kick your sorry old fat ass you witch” -Scott
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:49 pmMrs. McLellan must be sooooooooooo proud.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:51 pmNo Neck Scottie’s next job: Human backboard
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:52 pmReally, they must be promising Scotty gazillions of dollars to do this crap.
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:53 pmHonestly, think these guys would like a do over?
November 2nd, 2005 at 2:55 pmIt must really suck to have your dreams flushed down the toilet along with an IED and severed body parts.
“IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT WE LIED, YOU BITCH! THERE’S NO GODDAMN VACCINE, OK? SO YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE! YA GOT THAT, HONEY? STONE…COLD…DEAD. WORM FOOD.
“Whew! Thank you Helen. Now, I’ll take a question from someone else. Peter?”
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:04 pmRunningDogLackey,
HARDCORE!
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:23 pmScotty Mac needs to be bitchslapped like we were his mommy and daddy. Is he a virgin? He looks and acts like one. I guess after work he goes home to mama’s basement and cries like poor Sen. Frist.
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:35 pmTrying not to be partisan, but I can’t imagine democrats protecting Clinton if he had lied about sending us to Bosnia, where, if I’m not mistaken, American lives were not lost. This administration is representing the corporatocracy and the money behind it,not any ideology that we would recognize as such. The pandering to the religious right is a shell game designed to keep our eyes off the prize, which is the establishment of a global aristocarcy. Gay marriage and abortion are nothing more than tools to distract us from the fact that they are stuffing their pockets. . . . uh-oh, starting to ramble.
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:40 pmWasnt this shitfaced liar commenting on an investigation that is taking place?
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:40 pm“Phase two has not been completed and there is no report.”
This is because Democrats refuse to permit Democratic statements abou the run-up to the war to be compared to the existing intelligence, alongside GOP statements. If the Dems had stopped playing games with this subject, the “investigation” (which could be completed by any competent staffer with a PC, a security clearance, and access to the ‘net) would have been over long ago. And all it ever will prove is that the whole world thought Saddam had WMD, including the Brits, the Russians, the Germans, and the French.
This has never been about Bush administration lies. It has always been about one bluff too many by Saddam. The good news is that he is gone, the Taliban are gone, and 50 million formerly oppressed Afghans and Iraqis (about half of them women) are now free. Too bad the Dems are against liberating oppressed people.
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:45 pmSo there you have it: Scotty (and Blue State Red) came prepared with the talking point:
“Senator Reid may want to look at how the previous administration and Democratic leaders, such as himself, used the intelligence to come to the same conclusion that Saddam Hussein and his regime were a threat.”
If their best defense is: “..but..but the Dems thought so too”, I’m feeling good.
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:57 pm“Too bad the Dems are against liberating oppressed people.”
Hilarious!
The Republicans staged the senate lockdown with the Dems.
November 2nd, 2005 at 3:59 pmBSR – 6000+ innocent Iraqis died in the first MONTH from action by U.S forces – Did those who died CHOOSE to die so that others can be liberated? I’m yet to hear a moral response to this question from the “values” crowd.
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:02 pmWhere can I read the press briefing each day?
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:07 pmMany Thanks…
God, that broad on West Wing makes it look so easy.
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:08 pm#22 BSR… So it was always about liberating opressed people now. Thats funny b/c it used to be about Iraq being an imminent threat. Have you ever read ANIMAL FARM?
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:17 pm#26
Yeah, that’s right. We could use CJ. She’s better looking, smarter, doesn’t shy down from a challenge
and she’s good on dates.
That’s what a press secretary does. And she’s a fictional character. Oh well, we can dream can’t we?
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:19 pmRead this article from 2004. David Corn writes explicitly how the CIA’s NIE was misused by the Bushies:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040301/corn
Specifically, he compares the NIE vs Public Statements by the Bushies in the areas of Biological stockpiles, UAVs, nuclear programs & Al-Qaeda links.
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:21 pmHaving suffered through three generations (not counting mine) of the “You Know” syndrome I have an aversion to the phrase that borders on nausea and complete shut down of the auditory system. The reporters at McClellan’s “gaggle” should take him literally and seriously. Any time he evades an answer to a question by a “You Know” the reporter should not question how McCellan was privy to their knowledge but just report the question and the answer as he or she knows it.
Q. Did the President tell Rove and Libby to leak the name?
McC. Well, you know. I can’t speak to an ongoing investigation.
Reported: When this reporter asked Mr. McCellan if the President directed, as we have believed for some time, Rove and Libby to leak the name, Mr. McCellan indicated that our knowledge of the matter was correct.
There wouldn’t be more than one or two of these before “You Know” became a four letter word.
DUHbya’s response: Like, Hey Man, You Know, So, I didn’t do nuthin’, O.K.?
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:22 pmI thought Helen Thomas was dead. My mistake — she just plays a dead person on TV. Or does she play the part of the crazy aunt who blurts out non-sequiturs and can’t seem to get her lipstick right?
Listen folks — the more the left gets hysterical the worse it looks for them. The general public doesn’t want to see the president viciously attacked on a daily basis and the more this behavior happens the more of a backlash it will create. So please keep it going TPers.
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:30 pmInteresting that the WH has changed the field in mid-game, yet again (to use a sports metaphor): it is no longer “We can’t comment on an ongoing investigation”, now it is “We can’t comment on a legal proceeding”. Ummm… as the reporter asked, when EXACTLY WILL you comment?
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:32 pmSorry, this is completely off thread. I just read this one in my SF Weekly at lunch. I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything cause it woulda come out the wrong orifices.
Go see Ted Rall’s comic for this week!!!
November 2nd, 2005 at 4:34 pm“Listen folks — the more the left gets hysterical the worse it looks for them. ”
Bahahaha, that’s really funny. Oh wait, you were serious? You really should get better meds, this one’s making you look like a foolish crackpot. Oh wait, you are a republican, you ARE a foolish crackpot.
The hysterical and irrational republicans whined like little girls yesterday about a closed senate session. You prissy little freaks really make a lot of fuss about nothing. Grow some cajones and start acting like adults!
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:16 pm#31
Who or what gave you the ability to know what the general public wants or doesn’t want? I am the general public and I love seeing that useless SOB get bashed every day. But just to be polite I will offer a compromise: You get him to resign and we will put him in Leavenworth and never ever bash him again. Deal?
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:28 pm#31–the “American public” sure enjoyed it when Clinton got bashed all day, every day. Don’t be so hypocritical.
Paul, #25: http://www.whitehouse.gov – right now they’re saying that video from Hadley’s press briefing “will be available shortly.”
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:42 pmYou know, these guys used to always be on message, but now, they are all over the place, which is good for us (the left)- they just can’t get their story straight on anything! For mcclellan to stand their and claim that they already did Phase II, after the events of last night, is just incredible- and he wonders why the press has become so hostile to him? They (and we) are sick of being lied to!
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:45 pmSo their strongest argument in defense is that Clinton thought the same thing! Well, if that’s their defense, they have nothing.
November 2nd, 2005 at 6:07 pmClinton did not start this war. Bush did.
It was THIS administration that took us to war under false pretenses, by conflating 9/11 to Iraq. It was THIS administration that used forgeries to make their case. It was THIS administration who went to war with selected intelilgence even after it was pronounced as weak and uncertain. It was THIS administration that went to war even without the allies necessary. It was THIS administration who didn’t equip our military.
#25 – Paul, I enjoy Holden’s obsession with the gaggle here:
http://www.first-draft.com/
Enjoy…
November 2nd, 2005 at 6:12 pmCynicon implant
Guess you’re afraid of little old ladies like the esteemed Miss Helen Thomas who have the brains and guts to kick snotty fat boys like Scottie Mac around. I guess you and Scottie Mac have a lot in common.
November 2nd, 2005 at 6:18 pmTo Jimbo, #41
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:01 pmHear! Hear! I wholeheartedley agree.
CI would kick her to the ground over a dispute of “Who got to the shirt first” kind of thing.
CI and similar angry mobster posters are scaring me. They don’t see that the venomous hatred they spew just reminds us more and more of the Hitler era.
Psychiatrists medicate people who say things like this.
They also prescibe meds for people who say,” Jesus told me to invade Iraq.”… but I digress…
“6000+ innocent Iraqis died in the first MONTH from action by U.S forces – Did those who died CHOOSE to die so that others can be liberated?”
First, the use of the number 6000+ is meaningless (a) because various assessments of the civilian death toll differ wildly from one another, and (b) because the term “innocent Iraqis” is impossible to define. Men, women and children have been killed as insurgents in Iraq, and they are NOT innocent. What I would note, however, is that not even the most negative of nightly news coverage on Iraq has identified the killing of of “innocent Iraqis” by coalition forces as an ongoing problem in Iraq. Rather, the killing of “innocent Iraqis” seems, for the most part, to be occurring at the hands of their own Muslim brothers and sisters.
Second, the question of who “choose[s] to die” in any war has no bearing on this argument. Most people do not “choose to die” in war, including those who volunteer for service in war. But once war has begun, death is inevitable. The fact that some who die may be “innocent Iraqis” neither adds to or subtracts from the analysis of whether the war is justified.
This war was justified under international law, by virtue of (1) Saddam’s numerous violations of Security Council resolutions, (2) his thorough violation of the 1991 ceasefire agreement (thereby creating a de facto state of war without our firing a shot), and (3) his almost daily attacks on our aircraft in the “No-Fly” zones – not to mention his conspiracy to assassinate a U.S. President. Stiil the deaths of “innocent Iraqis” are relevant to whether we are doing everything within our power to avoid civilian deaths and attacks on civilian targets.
The answer to this question is resoundingly in the affirmative. No military force in history has gone to such lengths to avoid harming innocent civilians. Coalition forces have sometimes put themselves in harm’s way to avoid harm to civilians. That is virtually unprecedented in the history of warfare.
Still some innocent civilians have been killed. This is always the case in war. It was true in the war that won our independence from England. It was true in the war that led to the freedom of American slaves (I had a gret, great, great uncle whose twin brother was killed at the Battle of The Wilderness – should the Civil War not have been fought so that men like him might have lived?). It also was true in the war that defeated Italy, Japan and Nazi Germany. It was even true in the “cold war” that defeated the Soviet Union. There has never been a great evil that was eradicated without war, or the threat of war.
And so it is with radical Islam, which targets truly innocent men, women and children is its fanatical jihad to establish a new caliphate stretching from Pakistan to Western Europe, and which has already specifically targeted innocent Americans for murder. They have declared war on us, and we must now defeat them or risk many more 9/11s. In the process there will be more death, both of combatants and non-combatants. But advancing freedom and democracy in the Middle East will at least mean that these deaths will not have been in vain.
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:03 pm“Boycott Dominos Pizza”
I called them today to let them know how much I support their responsible conduct as good corporate citizens, and also how much I like their pizzas.
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:30 pmMaybe Scott got into Bushes med’s. Ya think? I am sick of watching his no neck sorry ass…Blessings
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:39 pmcynicon implant
Here’s a vicious attack for you:
You are a stupid jackhole and we don’t care about what you have to say and your breath probably stinks.
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:40 pmI took the time, once again, to email both the president and vice-president. I asked them to resign. I set forth the reasons, lying, corruption, croneyism, fucking up my country, saving us the trouble of a long, protracted and divisive impeachment proceeding and trial. I suggested that history would not treat them kindly. It felt good. I encourage other to do the same.
November 2nd, 2005 at 7:46 pmScott and the rest of these neocons are hacks and children playing dress up. They’re unskilled and over their heads and it shows. This administration has the worst second term approval decline of ANY administration in history precisely because of their ineptitude.
Anyone who’s foolish and stupid enough to not see this really is just showing their own personal inadequacies. They tell the world much more than they realize, and it’s not flattering.
November 3rd, 2005 at 12:17 amWe’re not hysterical, we’re giddy with excitement and joy! Things are finally starting to move!
November 3rd, 2005 at 12:53 amGo to hell Cympleton, unless you actually have a point to make you’re just wasting electricity pushing pixels.
Thank God for Helen Thomas! She continues to fire the hard questions at this Whitehouse. We need more people like her, giving Scott and hell on a daily basis.
November 3rd, 2005 at 8:50 amA Gaggle of Shit Faced Liars, Right?
“Without question we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator leading an impressive regime. He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. And now he’s miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction.” John Kerry, January 23rd, 2003
If Saddam rejects peace, and we have to use force, our purpose is clear: We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.” — Bill Clinton, February 17th, 1998
“We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and the security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction.” — Madeleine Albright, February 1st, 1998
“He will use those weapons of mass destruction again as he has ten times since 1983.” — Sandy Berger, Clinton national security advisor, February 18th, 1998
“We urge you, after consulting with Congress and consistent with the US Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions, including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” That from a letter to President Clinton signed by Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, October 9th, 1998
“We begin with a common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations, is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.” — Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), September 19th, 2002
“We know that he has stored nuclear supplies, secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.” — Al Gore, September 23rd, 2002
“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter, and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.” — Al Gore, September 23rd, 2002
“We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has and has had for a number of years a developing
capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.” — Senator Bob Graham, Democrat, Florida, December 2002
“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock. His missile delivery capability, his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists including Al-Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.” — Senator Hillary Clinton, October 10th of 2002
“There was unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years. We also should remember that we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction.” — Senator Jay Rockefeller, October 10th, 2002
“I will be voting to give the president of the US the authority to use force if necessary to disarm Saddam because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.” — Senator John Kerry, October 9th, 2002
“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.” — Ted Kennedy, September 27th, 2002.
“The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of ‘98. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons.” — Robert Byrd (D-WV) October 3rd, 2002.
“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.” — Nancy Pelosi, December 16th, 1998″Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.”Madeleine Albright, Clinton’s secretary of state, November 10th, 1999
November 3rd, 2005 at 9:08 am–
Scott McClellan lies, repeatedly.
November 3rd, 2005 at 10:35 amAll of those comments by Senators from 2002 don’t dispute the fact that the bits of intelligence that they were allowed to see was “sexed-up.” If anything, this proves the point that they were lied to. Most of those senators have said that if they were given the full intel story, they would not have authorized the use of force.
The senators’ main mistake was trusting Bush to *fully* pursue a non-military solution and think that we would only use the authorization for force as leverage. They were played for suckers, since Bush yanked the inspectors out before they finished their job. The administration also demonized Scott Ritter when he tried to tell the truth about Saddam’s non-existent programs.
The comments by Clinton admin people are not relevant, since they didn’t invade Iraq and didn’t draw the false connection between Iraq and Al-Quaeda
November 3rd, 2005 at 10:40 am… Re. #44 : Well , that explains part of your problem – Dominos pizza is the cheapest crap-circle ( disguised as a pizza ) EVER ! They’re STINGY with the toppings , the crust tastes like baked cardboard – NO WONDER neocons love ‘em ! ” For harsh and spoiled ( like neocons ! ), call Dominos , now ! ” … ;)
November 3rd, 2005 at 12:25 pmWith the leninist neocons running the GOP show and having had decades to insinuate themselves into the very fabric of our government, will we ever know the truth about the Bush Administration? Or will we always have been at war with EastAsia?
November 3rd, 2005 at 1:42 pmF___ Kansas, what the hell is the matter with Roberts? When party comes before country, I guess national security doesn’t matter. Why do Republicans hate America?
November 3rd, 2005 at 2:52 pm#41 “Guess you’re afraid of little old ladies like the esteemed Miss Helen Thomas who have the brains and guts to kick snotty fat boys like Scottie Mac around. I guess you and Scottie Mac have a lot in common.
November 3rd, 2005 at 4:37 pmComment by JIMBO — November 2, 2005 @ 6:18 pm”
****If we’d “had little old ladies” the likes of Helen Thomas during WWII, we’d be speaking German or Japanese, if we lived through those barbarians. I guess we did have a gal who spouted the enemy line – “Tokyo Rose Thomas” – Helen’s younger half-sister.
All of those comments by Senators from 2002 don’t dispute the fact that the bits of intelligence that they were allowed to see was “sexed-up.†If anything, this proves the point that they were lied to.”
Comment by Mr. Duchump
*****Who sexed up the intelligence???? WHO???? The previous administration was spouting the same line in 1998!!! I REPEAT (for the congenitally stupid) 1998!!
November 3rd, 2005 at 4:44 pmTalk about ideologues!!!!
Now MightyDingy. Just because you make an unsubstantiated claim, doesn’t make it true – but it does make you a propagandist. Go back to the mothership (freerepublic) and tell them you’re a failure here – because you are.
You’re such a useless fool, surely whatever clients you engage are wasting their money on a lying loser like you. You’re why there are so many laywer jokes.
November 3rd, 2005 at 6:06 pm#58
Hopefully we will find out who/whom “sexed-up” the intelligence about Iraq’s non-existent nuclear program. That’s supposedly what phase 2 of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation of pre-war intel will uncover. It doesn’t look good that Frist has been stonewalling the process for this long.
If you took the time to read the news, you probably would understand that all of that talk about aluminum tubes being used to build centrifuges was debunked by our own Energy Department *before* the invasion of Iraq – or that the CIA found no evidence that Iraq purchased uranium from Iraq (one of the signatories on the forged document was “Johnny Carson” for Christ’s sake)… again, *before* the invasion – or that Scott Ritter, whom carried out the UN inspections for many years after the 1st war and had intimate knowledge of Saddam’s capabilites, stated flatly that Iraq lacked the capability to reconstitute it’s nuclear program, or that Richard Clarke, who testified before the 911 commission that there never was a connection between Iraq and Al-Quaeda… really, if I didn’t have to get back to work, I’m sure I could do a bit more research and dig up more info.
Quit being lazy Aphrodite. Don’t blame your ignorance on other people.
November 3rd, 2005 at 6:34 pm“The previous administration was spouting the same line in 1998!!!”
So what? He didn’t go to war on unsubstantiated evidence. Since when do we commit US troops and risk their lives on some foreign country’s intel? Well, we never used to, but then, we’ve never had a “war pResident” quite like Dimson, have we?
Next you’ll be saying 9/11 was Clinton’s fault…even though Cheney/Bush were in office for 9 months, busily planning their Iraq war and ignoring all the warning that AQ was planning a strike here.
You can’t be this stupid and ignorant about the damage this administration is doing…I can only conclude that there has to be a financial incentive for you promote the Republican Party Line here. I hope the price is worth it…
November 3rd, 2005 at 11:16 pmI think that the press corps is crazy if they still believe anything Scotty says, or they should be fired if the are caught just repeating it.
November 3rd, 2005 at 11:26 pmRoberts said it again on today’s Meet the Press. Of course, he also said the reason it’s taken 20 months to get here is because they had a lot of names and documents to go over. Uh huh…
November 6th, 2005 at 6:41 pm