Pentagon Confirms: Bush Hyped False Iraq Deadline
Pentagon Confirms: Bush Hyped False Iraq Deadline
The Associated Press has a major story out confirming that President Bush has been hyping a false Iraq spending deadline.
For weeks, the Bush administration has been trying to force Congress to abandon its support for an Iraq withdrawal timeline by claiming that a “clean” Iraq spending bill must be signed by mid-April or U.S. troops will suffer. In one speech, President Bush warned Congress that “the clock is ticking for our troops in the field“:
BUSH: Congress continues to pursue these [withdrawal] bills, and as they do, the clock is ticking for our troops in the field. Funding for our forces in Iraq will begin to run out in mid-April. Members of Congress need to stop making political statements, and start providing vital funds for our troops.
Days later, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report showing that the Army actually has enough money in its existing budget to operate through June. But Bush and his Iraq allies wouldn’t accept it. Here’s Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Fox on 4/1/07:
FOX: So, Senator McConnell, is this talk about an April deadline for getting the funding bill to the president, is that something of a scare tactic?
MCCONNELL: Well, the problem is CRS is wrong.
But now, the AP reports, the CRS numbers have been confirmed by the Pentagon:
The Pentagon says it has enough money to pay for the Iraq war through June, despite warnings from the White House that troops are being harmed by Congress’ failure to quickly deliver more funds.
The Army is taking a series of “prudent measures” aimed at making sure delays in the bill financing the war do not harm troop readiness, according to instructions sent to Army commanders and budget officials April 14.
President Bush can’t even fear-monger right these days.
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52 Responses to “Pentagon Confirms: Bush Hyped False Iraq Deadline”
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Clinton lied too *beep*
Executive Privelege *beep*
Helping Terrorists *beep*
* end transmission *
April 19th, 2007 at 2:50 pmDamn you, Associated Press!
All you’re doing is emboldening Congress!
:P
April 19th, 2007 at 2:50 pmWow, TP used the word “lied”
April 19th, 2007 at 2:52 pmwow, Bush lied? I’m shocked, I tell ya ( NOT )
April 19th, 2007 at 2:52 pmHeh, and it was just changed to “hyped” WTF TP?
April 19th, 2007 at 2:52 pmsay it with me now people….
ITMFA
April 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pmHey, TP:
I couldn’t help noticing you just changed the headline of this story from:
to:
Um….why???
Is calling Chimpy the lying sleazebag he is crossing the line now?
April 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pmThis should not surprise the majority of Americans. It’s almost like the fear-mongering that he and his administration are constantly shoving down our throat. He is nothing but a liar and has always lied to get what he wants. Thank goodness Laura is taking steps to get out of the marriage after his term is over and has realized, once again, that he lies constantly.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:54 pmKKKarl must have called TP with a threat……..
April 19th, 2007 at 2:55 pmthe clock is ticking for Bush.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:58 pmAnother great talking point ruined by facts
April 19th, 2007 at 2:58 pmMCCONNELL: “Well, the problem is CRS is wrong.” …even though it’s the truth. Typical.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:59 pmGood heavens, I can’t believe Bush would say something that isn’t true.
Why oh why must he test my eternal faith in the Republican party??
April 19th, 2007 at 3:01 pmBelligerent
April 19th, 2007 at 3:07 pmUncompromising
Stupid
Halfwit
“Congress’ failure to quickly deliver more funds” - There is no such failure. Congress delivered, and Bush won’t sign. Bush is denying the funds to the troops, not Congress.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:09 pmOnce again the Daily Show was (correctly) all over it last night.
This is why everyone should at least consider that they are wrong about everything else about Iraq. They have no credibility because they’re either lying or incompetent (or both).
April 19th, 2007 at 3:10 pm#1 - Comment by RNC RoboTroll 2000
Do you guys sit there and wait until TP posts a story to try and put a Clinton spin on everything? How does Monica, whitewater…even compare to dismantling our constitution so the federal government can keep us safe? What a joke! They leave the borders wide open and go after good Americans. Makes me sick!
April 19th, 2007 at 3:10 pmRemember: It’s all part of the
April 19th, 2007 at 3:13 pmBig Ultimate LifeLong Struggle Helping Impede Terrorism
Belligerent
Uncompromising
Stupid
Halfwit
That’s better
April 19th, 2007 at 3:18 pmWhat the blatant lie also achieves, is make the media forget that Bush is the one risking troops lives by inserting Iraq funds into emergency appropriations every spring, instead of budgeting the request in advance so that funds could have been released at the top of every fiscal year.
Bush is ready to risk our soldiers’ lives so that he can keep the war going without having to answer questions from Congress. That’s the bottom line.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:24 pmSome of you may have noticed posts being submitted by “RNC RoboTroll 2000″. Please be assured that we at the RNC wish to participate fully in the vital discussion of today’s political issues here at Think Progress. We consider this a vital front in our “War on Truth” and we’re committed to catapulting the propaganda until we win this important fight.
Unfortunately, some of our paid staff who were responsible for pushing our message in this forum have proven a disappointment. Most have been fired due to “performance issues”. We believe one of them may still be posting under an assumed identity, as the opposite gender. Suffice to say, they weren’t doing our side any favors.
The RNC is currently interviewing several outstanding applicants to fill these vital positions. Unfortunately, many of them will not graduate for another few weeks. Until then, we will be servicing your dissembling needs with the RNC RoboTroll 2000. We ask for your patience.
Thank you.
The RNC
PS Clinton did it, too, you libs are traitors, and wireless wiretapping is only a threat if you’ve got something to hide.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:26 pmI think #1 is parodying a typical troll’s talking points.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm#
#1 - Comment by RNC RoboTroll 2000
Do you guys sit there and wait until TP posts a story to try and put a Clinton spin on everything? How does Monica, whitewater…even compare to dismantling our constitution so the federal government can keep us safe? What a joke! They leave the borders wide open and go after good Americans. Makes me sick!
Comment by JTitor — April 19, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
I do believe RNC RoboTroll 2000 is being satirical.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm“The Pentagon says it has enough money to pay for the Iraq war through June”
its unlikely the bushliar-criminal was lying. I know shocking. What the Pentagon doesn’t know yet, but what is obviously implicit in bush’s speechafying is that he needs much of the remaining Iraq war making money to get started on his Iran war making project, i.e., to launch the invasion.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:36 pm.
How hard is it to tell when someone is doing satire, or a parody?
C’mon folks is it really that hard?
The robo troll 2000 is so obviously a parody.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:39 pmHow hard is it to tell when someone is doing satire, or a parody?
Comment by ForTruth — April 19, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
You gotta admit, the residents trolls here make it pretty difficult to parody them.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:41 pmIf someone is in the position to know privledged information and speaks definitively about it with blatant inaccuracy, that is not “hyping” false information; it is lying! Your first header was correct.
He was in the position to know the truth when most others were not, and he did not equivocate. When the facts come out against him, he has lied.
He does it with every syllable he utters. It is time we call it for what it is?
Hey trolls - how do you like being lied to?
April 19th, 2007 at 3:43 pmOK, President Shit-For-Brains lied again. What else is new? Wow, what a shocker. Just impeach this delusional megalomaniac once and for all.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:50 pmNo, but they sure can lie — and then lie about whether they lied.
Bunch of fucking liars.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:53 pmAnd where are all the trolls today anyway?
April 19th, 2007 at 4:08 pmWaiting for the fax from Rove, apparently.
THEY ARE TRAITORS!
TP - don’t be gutless. you were right the first time - It’s ‘Lied’ not ‘Misled’. change it back!
April 19th, 2007 at 4:24 pm- john q eniac
So Bush lied. It’s nothing new. Will Congress ever be ready to impeach this incompetent boob?
April 19th, 2007 at 4:47 pmIt is not Bush’s lying that should be paid attention to at this point. That is a given. I take all the public assaults on reality (including the distortions, lying and arrogance etc.) by Bush and Cheney and their enablers as a desperate attempt to keep us from finding out what they are really up to. It is mostly about distraction. That is the best explanation I can see that explains all the “stupid” lying and general dissembling. In short, it is not stupidity at all.
It is the neo-con philosophy we need to look at. That is what is NOT looked at, or talked about, by us. That philosophy lies behind all they say and do. We get so tied up in their distractions we miss the magical slight of hand. It is the vision of Pax Americana supported by a Machiavellian agenda to achieve that goal, they want to hide. Look at the PNAC report and trace neo-con history back to the 70s. Nixon, even then, in an interview (sorry, can’t find it) stated exactly what we are seeing today existed for him then! That Bush is above the law (in wartime) and can do as he wishes without fear of the law. And that explains the phony “war in Iraq” and the phony sham called by them, “The war on terror.” And it also shows why he must keep this “war” going, “stupid statements” and all.
It is time to expose, and talk about, this ‘quasi dictatorship in the making’ for what it is. A Strausian based philosophy using Machiavellian means to achieve total neocon control. This includes control of the Federal Judicial System, (think judicial appointments on all levels including the SCOTUS), absorbing the DOJ into the executive branch (as the current attorney scandle shows) creating a rule of law that is a tool of their own (The Patriot Act), control of the people through fear mongering (mushroom cloud threats and orange alerts) and survelience, and destroying the two party system by any means necessary (the attorney scandle once again, this time attacking Democratic office holders with phony voter fraud.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:08 pmLies on top of lies on top of lies…
April 19th, 2007 at 5:25 pmFrom the start the entire Iraq disaster has been based on lies. Twisted intelligence, false stories, trumped up fears. Would anyone really expect anything different from this horrible, disgraceful executive branch of the US govt? I don’t.
There is absolutely NOTHING that Bush has not hyped, cherry-picked, disassembled, exaggerate, mislead, fabricated, or just plain lied about. If Bush said that day is light, and night is dark, people would have to look out their windows to check. Bush has a credibility gap larger than the Grand Canyon.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:37 pmAnd STILL there are folks who actually give statements from this guy credibility!! Amazing!
April 19th, 2007 at 6:58 pmYou know, it only took one lie to brand Clinton as a liar. How many lies does Bush have to tell before our opinion makers call him a liar? This guy started lying in our faces the moment he took office. Remember his first challenge anybody? “I will never apologize to the Chinese government,” is what he said to us a few days before writing a letter to the Chinese government with not one but three apologies in it.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:20 pmComment by Peter — April 19, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
Hey trolls - how do you like being lied to?
He doesn’t lie to trolls. He tells the truth. Just ask them.
I understand there is a lot of kool aid not being consumed these days.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:37 pmComment by Zimzone — April 19, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
with changes
Brave
Unbeatable
Smart
Holy
Trolls view
Apologies to Zimzone
April 19th, 2007 at 7:43 pm# 31. Comment by Merlin - Good luck!
I have been saying the same thing for sometime and after reading Shadia Drury’s book: Noble lies and perpetual war, have come to the same conclusions regarding NeoCons. I’m sorry to say you won’t get any responses in TP, or many other blogs for that matter. You start talking about Straussian/Machiavellian doctrine and eye glaze over as if it is some kind of conspiracy theory. Again, good luck!
April 19th, 2007 at 9:05 pmHere’s a challenge for Sen. Harry “the Defeatist” Reid. Please go back and list all the Republicans lawmakers who openly criticized The Allied war effort during the first six months in which we NEVER won a battle, were badly out-equipped and had a large part of our Navy decimated.
A friend and were talking today and he asked why the US was so hated worldwide. I told him with “leaders” like Harry who seem to genuinely want US to lose - just to make Bush look worse….no wonder ….
April 19th, 2007 at 9:51 pmI will be waiting for “Senator Surrender’s” reply…..and waiting ….and waiting…..
Hey mighty hermaphrodite/vennus whatever…
who are we liberals surrendering to? the sunni insurgents or the shia death squads? which ones are like hitler? please, run with the WWII methaphor.. uhm I mean metaphor…
and can you please tell me which political groups in Iraq are our allies? you know, the ones who ARENT going to turn iraq into a shia islamic theocracy?
April 20th, 2007 at 2:21 amwhich ones are like uhm,… the british..or the russians, ? which poltical party are we supposed to be helping? im afraid my dumb liberal brain can’t even begin to compare violence going on inside the borders of a single country with a history of centries of internal strife to a struggle against an invading empire… who did the people in iraq who are like hitler invade again? im confused… was it those bad men who invaded iran? so Iran is like Poland right?
This story came out on March 30th, not exactly a very resonant news story.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:21 amOh, this is old news! You are attacking an honest man who is just trying to make you all safe! And we can do it by killing lots of foreigners, and preventing abortion, and disbanding the UN, and nuking Iran, and helping Israel kill Palestinians with weapons funded by your tax dollars, and … er.. never mind. Nothing to see here. Move along. Let me spend what I wish. Surge, yeah!!! God bless America.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:05 amHow dare you attack Mr. President like this.
Very un-American of you all.
He is looking out for our best interest.
SO WHAT if he told us that Iraq had stockpiles of WMD and it wasn’t true….
SO WHAT if he told us that Iraq and Al-queda were holding hands and it wasn’t true….
SO WHAT if he told us about yellow cake uranium bought from Africa even after his intelligence told him otherwise….
SO WHAT if countless soldiers and civilians are dead based on the incorrect statements he lied to everyone about as listed above…
We need to fight the terrorists before they come over here and fight us in our towns!
The only way to do this is if we crown George Bush King of America.
All hail King George…
No but seriously, f*ck the administration.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:16 amnot a lot of critical thinking going on around here…
by your comments hyped equals lied…
I guess that’s what the press wants you to believe, and by the temperature of this crowd it’s what you want to believe.
There is an impact on the entire government the way Congress is handled this budget. Every government agency is scratching and scraping to maintain operations. Especially the Department of Defense engaged in two separate war fronts. DOD, just like everybody else, is diverting spending to critical operations. Qaeda troops cannot feel an impact in Iraq and Afghanistan? Sure, sometime in the next several months, this but the real impact is already hitting other noncritical programs. Things like morale welfare and recreation notes the families back home are new weapons systems that keep that keep future kids alive.
But it appears this crowd just wants to hammer that lying point home rather than really evaluate factual information. I’m sure in 10 years when they look back and see that support programs were cut. This same bunch of knuckleheads will complain that Bush just let the soldiers down by not getting those things funded or letting them die out due to lack of funds.
Have fun bowing to the truth makers…
April 20th, 2007 at 8:44 amA significant percentage of the commenters on this site are retarded. Seriously. Retarded.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:35 pmAs an old DOD contractor I can tell you what some of those “prudent measures” are. They will order cutbacks in training, purchasing training supplies and replacements. A quick example is that instead of actually flying, Aviators in training will perform more classroom drills and/or have their graduation dates delayed. Will things such as this have a direct effect on the folks in Iraq? Not right away, but delays in obtaining new resources will have down-stream effects.
We now return to the regularly scheduled chanting of “bush the monkey-boy lied”.
April 20th, 2007 at 1:51 pm#46
Well, then I guess Bush had better sign that funding bill he’ll get soon. Wouldn’t want the Pentagon to have to make any cuts in these important areas.
April 20th, 2007 at 2:51 pmIf you support the Republican Party you are either stupid or evil.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:33 pmmirrors and distractions. Like even if we “won” this war, terrorists could still attack us the same. What a waste of money. Noble cause but poorly executed — and it is always the devil in the details. A car can’t go uphill without gas. Oops, I forgot, we thought we were going to get lots of gas out of this war. Guess not now.
April 21st, 2007 at 2:03 amSay, if we win this war, then maybe the next thing is to try securing the Mexican border to keep terrorists out. Er, not that it’s all open and useless or anything. Or that not only drugs get smuggled across the border, but anyone could bring nukes in if they paid the cartel enough money. But this shouldn’t bother El Presidente. No sir! Oil first!
April 21st, 2007 at 7:35 am