The ‘watering down’ campaign begins.
The ‘watering down’ campaign begins.
The Bush administration is already in full spin mode regarding the “strikingly harsh” GAO report on Iraq. An individual leaked the GAO report to the Washington Post because the source feared that the administration would try to “water down” its conclusions. As predicted, the Pentagon has begun the watering-down campaign:
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that after reviewing a draft of the Government Accountability Office report — which has not yet been made public — policy officials “made some factual corrections” and “offered some suggestions on a few of the actual grades” assigned by the GAO. … “We have provided the GAO with information which we believe will lead them to conclude that a few of the benchmark grades should be upgraded from ‘not met’ to ‘met,’” Morrell said.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
With heavy water.

August 30th, 2007 at 12:04 pmThis is real news TP
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/politics/30bundler.html?ex=1189051200&en=00ee337c9e083c5f&ei=5099&partner=TOPIXNEWS
Clinton Donor Under a Cloud in Fraud Case
August 30th, 2007 at 12:05 pmI wonder if I could have gotten away with this in school, “Hey, I know you gave me a B on that test, but that grade doesn’t really work for me… If you’d asked a different question, my answer would have been correct. See what I mean?”
August 30th, 2007 at 12:06 pmSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, stung by criticism for accepting campaign contributions from a convicted felon with questionable fundraising practices, will donate the $23,000 he gave her to charity.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:07 pmPentagon to GAO: “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
August 30th, 2007 at 12:09 pmbob has full CDS. can’t seem to get it off his mind.
OT: no real surprise that they would “tweak” and “water down” the report if it wasn’t favorable. The Bush administration isn’t into reality.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pmBush waters down reality and foists propaganda!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pmThe soft bigotry of low expectations.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pmThis is real news TP
Comment by Bob — August 30, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
Watering down the September Iraq Report isn’t real news?!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pmSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, stung by criticism for accepting campaign contributions from a convicted felon with questionable fundraising practices, will donate the $23,000 he gave her to charity.
Comment by Bob — August 30, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
What does this have to do with the subject being discussed?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:11 pmClinton Donor Under a Cloud in Fraud Case
Comment by Bob
Stay on topic, Clown.

August 30th, 2007 at 12:12 pm“The soft bigotry of low expectations.
Comment by pinson — August 30, 2007″
or “the lying-to-the-troops bigotry of the bush administration’s insistence on ignoring the fact that the iraq government couldn’t meet a benchmark even if it were in the adjacent stall of the men’s room at the airport”
August 30th, 2007 at 12:13 pmIs the actual GAO report available anywhere?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:18 pmHey Public Restroom Bobber:
Remember the first scandal of the Bush Administration back in April, 2001? Why did George Bush refuse to return the $487,500 in campaign contributions he received from Koch Energy? Koch was indicted on 91 felony counts and had to pay a fine of $20 million for releasing over 90 metric tons of carcinogens into the environment and covering up the crime. Why did Bush refuse to return the campaign contributions of a convicted felon that totaled nearly a half million?
http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/mojo_400/energy.html
August 30th, 2007 at 12:18 pmIt’s interesting that the administration doesn’t even seem to care that the original (harsh) draft of the report was leaked.
I’d say they were getting overconfident, but they’ve gotten steadily better at manipulating reality over the years…perhaps their confidence is warranted.
Perhaps their confidence is because of the incident slated for sometime before September 21st, that will cause the stock market to decline by a third to a half. Any guesses on what sort of event could cause that sort of drop?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:20 pmIts so amusing to see that the progress in Iraq is being graded on a bell curve.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:21 pmComment by Starve-A-Bush_Feed-A-Beaver — August 30, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
Nice catch. That ought to shut him up (although you never can tell with trolls…).
August 30th, 2007 at 12:21 pmMust………find………….water……………cannon……….
August 30th, 2007 at 12:21 pm“Its so amusing to see that the progress in Iraq is being graded on a bell curve.
Comment by dim wit — August 30, 2007″
unless of course you’re an american soldier currently in iraq. then, not so amusing.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:24 pm“It’s interesting that the administration doesn’t even seem to care that the original (harsh) draft of the report was leaked.
I’d say they were getting overconfident, but they’ve gotten steadily better at manipulating reality over the years…perhaps their confidence is warranted.
Comment by TripMaster Monkey — August 30, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
Well, actually there lies and distortions seem to be working….
“The Washington Times reports “more Americans see war as winnable,†citing a UPI/Zogby poll that shows 54 percent of Americans believe the war is not lost. “
The problem with democracy is that sooo many people are not really paying attention. Or they’re just too stupid, or too partisan….
August 30th, 2007 at 12:26 pmSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, stung by criticism for accepting campaign contributions from a convicted felon with questionable fundraising practices, will donate the $23,000 he gave her to charity.
Comment by Bob — August 30, 2007
I know it’s hard for you to comprehend a politician doing the right thing, but try to stay on track here. What say you about the topic at hand?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:26 pmSen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, stung by criticism for accepting campaign contributions from a convicted felon with questionable fundraising practices, will donate the $23,000 he gave her to charity.
Comment by Bob — August 30, 2007
Unlike the criminal Bush, who kept all the money donated by convicted felons.
Nice try, Boob.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:27 pmPresident Clinton did not deny that he solicited contributions at the White House — a practice that is against the law. (18 U.S.C., Section 607) When asked at a press conference whether he had personally made fund-raising calls from the White House, Clinton said, “I simply can’t say that I’ve never done it.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:28 pm—————————————————-
Hey starvin’ bush
White House for Sale contact Bill Clinton 1 800 Bubba
August 30th, 2007 at 12:30 pmThe truth means nothing, eh Bob?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:31 pmComment by Bob — August 30, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
And now we’re back to “Clinton Did It! (â„¢)”.
How depressingly predictable.
Don’t you know any other songs, Bob?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:31 pmWhite House for Sale contact Bill Clinton 1 800 Bubba
Comment by Bob — August 30, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
This troll has been told several times to stop changing the topic. Time to start ingoring him.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:32 pmYeah, so?
The WH corrected a draft, isn’t that what everyone (including… well, EVERYONE!!!) does?
It sure is.
Comment by FreshElCaminoRollingKiloG — August 30, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
They’re lying about the current state and progress of a war that is chewing up hundreds of thousands of lives. You should be out-raged.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:34 pm“They’re lying about the current state and progress of a war
How do you know?
They haven’t even finished writing the drafts!!!
Comment by FreshElCaminoRollingKiloG — August 30, 2007 @ 12:36 pm”
Wow… um, did you read the article this thread is attached to. That’s pretty much what it’s saying.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pmWhy does the Pentagon hate the facts?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pmIt should be apparent to all posters that Bob is the new handle for the same o’ lame o’ urine stained Mr Pee.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pmFreshElCaminoRollingKiloG sez:
It most certainly is not. The draft in question is an evaluation of the administration’s performance…the administration presuming to ‘correct’ the assessment is equivalent to a student ‘correcting’ a grade a teacher gave him.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pmCould all you Trolls do something useful; like showing Norm Coleman a decrepit bridge to stand under as he’s throwing stones?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pm“They haven’t even finished writing the drafts!!!”
they can re-write it as many times as they want and the iraqi government still won’t meet those benchmarks.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:43 pm“We wouldn’t want a sloppy report that may not be true, would we?
Comment by FreshElCaminoRollingKiloG — August 30, 2007″
your concern is 4 years too late.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:49 pm“Actually, it says that the draft (which has not been made public) is still in the works. Therefore, no one can be accused of lying, because the details are still being worked out.
When the report is publish, and if something in the report is found to be false, and if it can be proven that the writer knowingly included false information, then and only then can we say that there was a lie.
Comment by FreshElCaminoRollingKiloG — August 30, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
The article says that the goverment official involved released the early draft to guard against it being watered down.
That’s not the same as “working out the details”.
And they may not in the end out-right lie, but they can certainly omit the truth, which is still deception.
The deception is happening right in front of your eyes ElCamino, and it has been happenning for years now. The only question is wether you are able to step back from your partisanship and allow yourself to see, and accept the truth.
August 30th, 2007 at 12:53 pmFreshElCaminoRollingKiloG sez:
Legit? The organization being reported upon changing the substance of the report to better reflect upon them? You’ve rolled one too many, Fresh.
How do you not see the massive conflict of interest going on here?
Apparently you would, as this is precisely what will happen if the WH manages to get their hooks into this report.
This administration has consistently lied to us since Day One. What makes you think that it can suddenly be trusted now?
August 30th, 2007 at 12:53 pmFor a chart comparing the draft GAO report’s Iraq benchmark progress assessments to those of the White House, see:
August 30th, 2007 at 12:59 pm“GAO Dispels Bush’s Iraq “Making Progress” Myth.”
Umm… no. The adm. double checking facts, and getting their ducks in a row, is what should be done and is perfectly legit.
We wouldn’t want a sloppy report that may not be true, would we?
Comment by FreshElCaminoRollingKiloG — August 30, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
WRONG!
The administration is not supposed to TOUCH this report. It’s one thing for the administration to “get their ducks in a row” on a report that the White House releases. It’s another thing entirely when the White House tries to manipulate a report by the agency whose job it is to MONITOR the White House.
See the difference?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pmFreshElCaminoRollingKiloG sez:
There’s plenty of evidence. It’s not my fault you can’t see it, since you insist on going through life with your eyes clenched shut.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:18 pmtoasterhead sez:
No, toasterhead, he really doesn’t. I’m wondering how he manages to post here without shorting out his keyboard with drool.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:20 pmCheck out assessments of the “progress” made on the benchmarks from teh National Security Network:
http://www.nsnetwork.org/
August 30th, 2007 at 1:21 pmWhat the trolls are failing to realize (or are choosing to ignore, which is more likely), is that the GAO is independent of the White House. From the GAO website:
“GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.”
So draft or no draft, the WH having ANY input into this report is yet another violation of the separation of powers that this administration has become so good at. Then again, BushCo doesn’t really care about being accountable to the American people, so we probably shouldn’t be too surprised that they’re trying to re-write the GAO’s report as well…
August 30th, 2007 at 1:29 pmBush cultist: “We wouldn’t want a sloppy report that may not be true, would we?”
Now, that’s funny…. and kind of tragic. These people have very, very short memory spans.
August 30th, 2007 at 1:32 pmThen again, BushCo doesn’t really care about being accountable to the American people, so we probably shouldn’t be too surprised that they’re trying to re-write the GAO’s report as well…
Comment by The Dogfather — August 30, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Oh, we’re not surprised. Not even a bit. This administration willl re-write and spin anything they can get their hands on. Why do you think they’re so sure that history will exonerate them?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pmI guess reality is a bi**h for the reprobates in the W.H. to deal with.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:12 pm:…the GAO is independent of the White House. ”
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention this. Seems to me the proper approach would be for the GAO to release their report to everyone at the same time. If either Congress or the WH disagrees, they should have the opportunity to debate the report. But changing it before it’s made public? That should never be allowed or tolerated.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm> then and only then can we say that there was a lie.
>You can not say it is a lie, unless you have evidence to the contrary.
Ahh, the finest logic a community college philosophy major can buy ya…
What you’re saying is that you cannot assert that the phrase “unicorns exist” is a lie unless you have evidence to the contrary. You can’t prove a negative doucheman. So for example, we can say, without having any evidence , that the phrase.. “we know where the weapons are” or
“we know saddam is developing nuclear weapons” is a lie. When you make a statement, you have to back up it up with actual evidence. Thats how people in the real world operate..
Go back to your HEYOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooos! you were making more sense when you did things like that..
August 31st, 2007 at 12:16 amKeep this in mind “The internet will destroy the right wing” by chazaroo. The free exchange of ideas and monitoring of government will kill the wingnuts and they know it. They have controlled the media for at least 30 years, the internet is getting the true story out to the people, and you can bet the fascists will try and introduce legislation to put a brick on freedom of speech.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:11 am