Think Progress

White House Rejects Right-Wing NIE Witch-Hunt: The Intelligence ‘Should Be Supported’

Since the Iran NIE was released, conservatives have desperately tried to discredit it. Former Vice President Cheney aide David Wurmser questioned “how much it can really be banked on.” John Bolton called for congressional investigations into the “politicized” intelligence community.

Some conservatives in Congress are following these calls, proposing a “second look” into the NIE in the form of a commission “based on similar review panels convened in the mid-1970s to reconsider the intelligence agencies’ analysis of the Soviet Union.” “We just see politics injected into this,” claimed Sen. John Ensign’s (R-NV) office.

Today, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino rejected the partisan witch-hunt into the intelligence community. “They assessed all of the intelligence,” she declared. “I think that they should be supported”:

PERINO: The bottom line for the president on the NIE was that the 16 intelligence communities — community — came together. They assessed all of the intelligence. … And I just don’t know if there’s need to have a second look at it. [...]

QUESTION: So is it safe, then, to draw from that that the president is fully confident in the information contained in the NIE?

PERINO: The NIE — the president accepted the results of the NIE.

Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/12/perinonie333.320.240.flv]

Similarly, Cheney recently said, “I don’t have any reason to question the — what the community has produced, with respect to the NIE on Iran.”

In doubting the NIE, these hawks in Congress are ignoring the fact that the intelligence was heavily vetted and well-sourced. The process was overseen by DNI Mike McConnell, who was hand-picked by Bush for the job.

Transcript:

QUESTION:Does the White House support such a commission just to give a second look at that intelligence?

PERINO: I think, first, I think you should go back and look at the NIE, because the NIE also supports the president’s contention that Iran is still dangerous and that it continues to enrich uranium, moving toward fissile material that could be used to (inaudible) ballistic weapons that they continue to put together.

Plus, they have been not forthcoming with the IAEA, as they said they would be, and they had a covert nuclear weapons program.

And so there’s a lot more questions that were raised by the NIE, and I don’t think that anything in the NIE should give us comfort that Iran is not a danger. It remains a danger, and that’s why the allies agree with us.

As to a nonpartisan commission to look at the intelligence, you know, I’ll check into that. The bottom line for the president on the NIE was that the 16 intelligence communities — community — came together. They assessed all of the intelligence.

PERINO: They spent a good deal of time checking it. And one of the things that they did was they told the president in August, We are due to put this NIE out in response to a congressional inquiry. We’re not going to make the deadline because there’s new information and we have to check it out.

So they were very thorough, and the president appreciates all the hard work that they did on it. And I just don’t know if there’s need to have a second look at it.

QUESTION: I was going to say you yourself just said the NIE raised more questions than it answer. So perhaps that indeed does suggest a second look…

(CROSSTALK)

PERINO: It raises questions about Iran.

And the ball is in Iran’s court in order to come forward and be very truthful about its program or not. They’re going to — the choice is there’s to make.

Meanwhile, our allies, the P-5-plus-1 continues to work forward on a third resolution for the U.N. Security Council.

QUESTION: So is it safe, then, to draw from that that the president is fully confident in the information contained in the NIE?

PERINO: The NIE — the president accepted the results of the NIE. And I think that in any time — in regard to intelligence, you learn new information. That’s what it’s about. It’s not a precise science.

And Iran is an opaque society. They’re not transparent. You cannot get a lot of information out of there. So any time that we can get more information, that’s better.

What the president asked for in 2005 is for the intelligence community to go back, take another look, try harder, get us some more information. And the new NIE was a result of that.

QUESTION: So a second look isn’t…

PERINO: Obviously, the intelligence community continues — the intelligence community did not stop looking at the Iranian issue when they published the NIE. That work is ongoing. And I think that the president — well, I know that the president appreciates their work. And I think that they should be supported because they’re doing very difficult work on behalf of the American people to try to keep us safe. And they’re trying to get the most accurate, detailed information that they can from a very opaque society.



99 Responses to “White House Rejects Right-Wing NIE Witch-Hunt: The Intelligence ‘Should Be Supported’”

  1. tombaker says:

    wow – even dubbie and dickie disagree with our sage, omniscient trolls?


  2. bilbobaggins says:

    Wow, their NIE “Witch Hunt” rant didn’t play well in Peoria so now Bush is going to be “big” and say that he “accepts” the findings. The Republiscums are on a roll right now losing their issues 0-10. That would be zero wins and ten losses. The wheels really are coming off their train.


  3. RUCerious says:

    NeoCon White, disturbed Congressmen:

    Hey, look! Shiny stuff!


  4. bilbobaggins says:

    wow – even dubbie and dickie disagree with our sage, omniscient trolls?
    Comment by tombaker

    I expect there has been an urgent “recall” of all the trolls to be reprogrammed with this new point of view. It’s going to be really funny to see them do an about face. I wonder what they will come up with.


  5. overlap says:

    Note to trolls :

    You now disagree with Bush AND us.

    Please get new instuctions from Rove / Savage / Drudge etc.


  6. Bush Cover Ups says:

    Then we also have the all mighty all power full President, that is not elected by a popular vote but by a equally unrepresented electoral college, and his right to veto anything by whim. The result of that inspiration is the current megalomaniac, compulsive-obsessive, sociopath with his divine religious mandate and being the messenger of his god that has not turned this country on its head, but created a world mess, that it may never recover from the wars, conflicts, hate, fear and alienation.


  7. Bush Cover Ups says:

    George Bush has created a world mess, that it may never recover from the wars, conflicts, hate, fear and alienation.


  8. gummitch says:

    I expect there has been an urgent “recall” of all the trolls to be reprogrammed with this new point of view. It’s going to be really funny to see them do an about face. I wonder what they will come up with.

    Comment by bilbobaggins — December 13, 2007 @ 6:07 pm

    Maybe. I suspect boneheads like Frank will now explain that the “libs” have infiltrated even the White House. Invasion of the Bodysnatchers!


  9. JPV says:

    C’mon all you (paid) trolls… where are you?

    BRING IT ON!!!


  10. Leftside Annie says:

    Trapped – like the rats they are! Gotcha, ya bastids.


  11. Jackie says:

    No surprise with the idiot and the Supreme Leaders remarks as they now know their buddies the Saudis have invited the President of Iran for the Pilgrimage. Now with that news and the Iraq government inviting Iran to Iraq let’s say the party if over the the White House Crime Family. Yes there will be some Americans who will follow the lies but the Middle East has joined together as a team. They can all thank the Bush Administration for that because if it hadn’t be for the lies, illegal invasion, fake documents, the support of the American people, stealing taxpayers money for bribes/pay offs and of course the propaganda with the help of the Media none of this would have been possible. I guess Israel has to solve their own problems with the Palestinians now. Now the Christian Republicans can see who’s side God was on and that the US was following Satan.


  12. Keltoi at Night says:

    I expect there has been an urgent “recall” of all the trolls to be reprogrammed with this new point of view. It’s going to be really funny to see them do an about face. I wonder what they will come up with.

    Comment by bilbobaggins — December 13, 2007 @ 6:07 pm

    It will be just as amusing to see if anyone at TP gives the Admin even a passing kind word for supporting the NIE findings. Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?


  13. joe cantwell says:

    ooops, not good for the trolls!

    eh?


  14. army193 says:

    With had 6+ years with this Administration…….They will play the good cop bad cop………..Lets dig a little by Bush-Chenney claims they found the NIE acceptable(This should stop any inquire when we knew about Iran) they will send out the Republicans to do there dirty work claiming NIE is worthless and then cover for Bush to move towards IRAN.


  15. RUCerious says:

    Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?

    He had no choice but to go along with the overwhelming consensus, seeing as how it was going to get out, even if the leakers faced criminal charges…


  16. Guido OBGYN Lover says:

    There’s something mising here. Why the CIA would tell the truth.


  17. Nevar says:

    “Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?”

    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    Why even bring Doofus into the equation?
    It’s not like he has any relevance to anything of consequence anyways…


  18. ralph the wonder llama says:

    Trapped – like the rats they are! Gotcha, ya bastids.

    Comment by Leftside Annie — December 13, 2007 @ 6:15 pm

    Oh, Annie, your naiveté is one of your charms.

    Trapped? Trapped? You don’t know our trolls. Perhaps they would be trapped if they adhered to any sense of integrity or self-worth, but that’s one of the advantages of having no scruples. Anything goes. They can come on here and say “I never said that” even as we post pull quotes and links, and they’ll just ignore all evidence. They’ll go blithely on their way.

    Meanwhile, those of us in the reality-based community are left with only our laughter at their expense.


  19. gummitch says:

    It will be just as amusing to see if anyone at TP gives the Admin even a passing kind word for supporting the NIE findings. Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?

    Comment by Keltoi at Night — December 13, 2007 @ 6:17 pm

    Here you go!

    Thank you, Mr President and Mr Vice President for not acting like jerks. For once.

    How did I do?


  20. bilbobaggins says:

    It will be just as amusing to see if anyone at TP gives the Admin even a passing kind word for supporting the NIE findings. Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?
    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    Bush saw the handwriting on the wall and he did what he thought was best to save what is left of his shredded reputation. He knew that his “witch hunt” screed was not playing well in Peoria and was actually turning on him, so he reversed course to try to save further embarrassment for his junta. He gets no kudos from me. He did not do the right thing, he simply gave in to the inevitable. Now, if he had said this from the start, I would give him kudos.


  21. joe cantwell says:

    Comment by Keltoi at Night — December 13, 2007 @ 6:17 pm

    if you really care, you should give him a “kind word” yourself. it could help the situation. don’t you think?

    start with a thesis. then supply supporting arguments that are persuasive and irrefutable. finally sum it all up with a resounding and convincing conclusion.

    i wish you luck and i await to see the results of your efforts.


  22. Keltoi at Night says:

    Why even bring Doofus into the equation?
    It’s not like he has any relevance to anything of consequence anyways…

    Comment by Nevar — December 13, 2007 @ 6:20 pm

    The Title of the Thread is:

    ‘White House Rejects Right-Wing NIE Witch-Hunt: The Intelligence ‘Should Be Supported’

    So I guess Satyam thinks Doofus is relevant.


  23. slappy magoo says:

    For Bush et al, it’s all semantics. Sure, the NIE’s results, based on the evidence it was able to obtain, is valid. It’s the EVIDENCE ITSELF that’s not valid. Why, if the NIE researchers had access to the RIGHT evidence (it’s where Karl Rove keeps THE math), the results would have been totally different. As far as the White House is concerned, it’s like believing your daughter when she says no boys are in her room, & you believe her because you looked under her bed…but you never looked in her closet!

    It is in the face of this “irrefutable” logic that the WH will decide to start bombing Iran – the NIE is the right report…based on wrong evidence. Bush always has access to more info, more facts, more truth, than we’ll ever know & if we DID have access to that same data, our primitive noggins wouldn’t be able to process it. It takes a beautiful mind like Bush’s to look at the NIE report and still know there’s more evidence that will evemtually prove you right. It just takes another surge or three to find it.


  24. Bush Cover Ups says:

    UN suspects torture at Guantanamo

    A UN investigator strongly suspects the CIA of using torture on terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay – suggesting many were not being prosecuted to keep the abuse from emerging at trial.

    http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B9EE5AE9-C2CA-464A-9A0E-DD721D6CDC72.htm


  25. Keltoi at Night says:

    Here you go!

    Thank you, Mr President and Mr Vice President for not acting like jerks. For once.

    How did I do?

    Comment by gummitch — December 13, 2007 @ 6:21 pm

    It is working for me!


  26. hellinabucket says:

    But what will this do to Fred Thompsons campaign? Looks like this administration sees the futality in their current angle and are looking at the survival of the republican party down the line.


  27. hellinabucket says:

    Thank you Mr. Bush for not allowing the voices in your head to lead you again.


  28. Keltoi at Night says:

    start with a thesis. then supply supporting arguments that are persuasive and irrefutable. finally sum it all up with a resounding and convincing conclusion.

    i wish you luck and i await to see the results of your efforts.

    Comment by joe cantwell — December 13, 2007 @ 6:23 pm

    I think Satyam’s set up does all these things nicely. I am waiting to see if anyone can find it in their hearts to take yes for an answer from Bush. So far Bilbo is a no and Gummitch is a wry yes. How bout you, Joe?


  29. Leftside Annie says:

    Ralph – I actually wasn’t thinking of our current bumper crop of idiot trolls. Believe me, I have seen the rightwing authoritarian follower “mind” in action, and they have the amazing capacity to ignore ANYTHING that does not jive with their pre-programming.

    I was actually thinking more of the Bushies themselves – for once, they seem to be actually acknowledging that they have been pushed into a corner and they’re forced to admit that the truth is the truth – for once.

    And…I have charms…? Oooooh, you silver-tongued devil!! :o) I’ll give you an hour to quit talking like that!


  30. gummitch says:

    But what will this do to Fred Thompsons campaign? Looks like this administration sees the futality in their current angle and are looking at the survival of the republican party down the line.

    Comment by hellinabucket — December 13, 2007 @ 6:24 pm

    “I never said that!”

    “I was joshin’!”

    Take your pick. Fred’s “campaign” is utterly irrelevant, anyway.


  31. Nevar says:

    ‘White House Rejects Right-Wing NIE Witch-Hunt: The Intelligence ‘Should Be Supported’

    So I guess Satyam thinks Doofus is relevant.

    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    I’m obviously looking at a larger picture than you, KaN.
    Maybe if you got some heavier curtains you’d sleep better during the day, and could see beyond your bathrobe and slippers….


  32. tombaker says:

    It’s clearly an empty gesture, “lip service”, if you will, nonetheless, it does make a lot of Righty honkers look kinda dumb, after a week of crybaby antics that barely stopped short of a declaration that our Intelligence Agencies were all under the control of Hugo Chavez.

    Hysterical ninnies.


  33. patooty says:

    One has to wonder why the sudden “make nice” olive branch extended by Bush. Unfortunately, we all know that there must be an ulterior motive involved here. Isn’t it sadly pathetic that the people can no longer believe one thing that comes from the mouth of our president or his staff?


  34. patooty says:

    Since the reichwingnuts are throwing bush under the bus left and right, I guess he’s getting back at them with this sudden turnabout?


  35. StratRat says:

    It will be just as amusing to see if anyone at TP gives the Admin even a passing kind word for supporting the NIE findings. Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?

    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    Based on Bush’s tendency to hide and obliterate the truth, I will say “Good job, Mr. Bush” on this one. But let’s not give too much credit.

    I have read your posts. You are a smart enough person to know that the number of intelligence officers willing to go public – or to jail so we could see the true version of the NIE, forced the administration to “do the right thing”. I would hope you would want the president to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do – rather than be forced into behavior totally foreign to him and shooter.

    But fair is fair, and I am glad there seems to be some honesty within the WH.

    I still think Dana Perino should attend her gaggles topless. that could be cool.


  36. patooty says:

    Like Hillary hedges her bets and voting to give bush power over Iran, so will now go the campaign of Fred Thompson. You take the gamble and then get sold down the river.


  37. joe cantwell says:

    So far Bilbo is a no and Gummitch is a wry yes. How bout you, Joe?

    Comment by Keltoi at Night — December 13, 2007 @ 6:27 pm

    when bush and cheney resign in disgrace and stand trial for treason?

    yesss!


  38. ralph the wonder llama says:

    Okay, Keltoi. gummitch tried his hand, now I’ll give it a shot:

    Well done, Mr. President. Most of America applauds your willingness to accept on faith the extensively-researched and well-sourced assessment provided for you by sixteen of the world’s finest intelligence agencies. it is to your credit that you refuse to undermine the work of your own administration by disagreeing with it in public.

    How’d I do?


  39. joe cantwell says:

    I still think Dana Perino should attend her gaggles topless. that could be cool.

    Comment by StratRat — December 13, 2007 @ 6:31 pm

    now that would be a woody killer.


  40. ralph the wonder llama says:

    Now, now, Annie… not while everyone’s lookin’…


  41. patooty says:

    Since the CIA forced bush to make this report public, I guess he’s realized that his gig is up. This guy hasn’t made one altruistic move in 7 years so I hardly believe that he doesn’t have a covert agenda in doing this.


  42. Keltoi at Night says:

    Off to the freakin Dentist…


  43. patooty says:

    As for a topless Dana, the public can barely tolerate her daily inocuous blabber with all of her clothes on. I can’t imagine how grotesque she’d look without them.


  44. StratRat says:

    now that would be a woody killer.

    Comment by joe cantwell

    LMAO….Excellent. She is rather ‘perky’, no?


  45. patooty says:

    As for Bush accepting the findings of 16 intel agencies WITHIN HIS ADMINISTRATION, I’d say that he’d damn well better or he’ll be charged with incompetence himself in overseeing their operations.

    I don’t really see how this makes him one iota better at all. If his damn agencies are inept, then he’s guilty again for not appointing competent people. As I see it, he’s damned if he does/damned if he doesn’t on this one. He has zippo public support and he’s a lameduck to boot. I think he’s waving the surrender flag myself. I think he knows that someday the same american public may be deciding his personal fate and punishment for his war crimes and crimes against the constitution. That’s what I think.


  46. patooty says:

    Trust me: Bush has a personal angle in all of this which is far from honest or altruistic. It’s coming in the next week or two. We’ll see how righteous he is then.


  47. Bush Cover Ups says:

    House bans CIA interrogation methods

    The US House has approved a bill that bans the CIA from using waterboarding, mock executions and other harsh interrogation methods.

    The intelligence bill passed the House by a vote of 222 to 199. The bill still needs Senate approval before it can reach the White House, where President Bush has threatened a veto.

    Bush claims the United States does not torture, but the administration will not disclose what interrogation methods it has approved for the CIA.

    The measure requires intelligence agents to comply with the Army Field Manual, which bans torture in compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war.

    The bill also blocks spending 70 percent of the intelligence budget until the House and Senate intelligence committees are briefed on the Israeli regime’s Sept. 6 air strike on an alleged nuclear site in Syria.

    The 2008 intelligence budget is classified, but it is more than the USD 43b approved for 2007.

    http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=34881&sectionid=3510203


  48. Nevar says:

    Off to the freakin Dentist…

    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    We’ll be rooting for you…
    Fill us in when you get back, I’m sure it will be a gas.


  49. Xisithrus says:

    Notice that Bolton doesn’t call for investigation into a the KNOWN politicized DOJ.


  50. patooty says:

    Just figured out some reason for this Mr. Niceguy ploy. Wexler and Kucinich are calling for impeachment hearings against BOTH George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and they want them to begin soon.

    Full article on http://www.bradblog.com – front page.


  51. katy says:

    QUESTION: So is it safe, then, to draw from that that the president is fully confident in the information contained in the NIE?

    PERINO: The NIE — the president accepted the results of the NIE.

    uh. oh. what’s up here? sumpins funny… … and not ha-ha-funny…
    remember, it IS bushco bizarro world…

    it stinks, as usual…
    just sayin’…


  52. patooty says:

    Wexler bombshell. The concept is that in order to improve our national security we need to improve our reputation internationally which means that, regardless of whether the votes are there for it, impeachment proceedings must take place. He notes that these hearings are not “discretionary” but a “responsibility” of their oath of office. Well done, Wexler./


  53. patooty says:

    Now let’s see if any of the frontrunners will touch this one. I guarantee that if Hillary, Barak, or Edwards jumps on this, their ratings will zoom through the roof. With Iowa just around the corner, I’d love to see Edwards pick up this bombshell. It would guarantee his win in Iowa and New Hampshire.


  54. patooty says:

    katy: You know it’s bogus sentiment on bush’s part. Once a con man, always a con man. This may have to do with what’s brewing – impeachment is in the air and on the lips of every american at this point.


  55. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    It will be just as amusing to see if anyone at TP gives the Admin even a passing kind word for supporting the NIE findings. Did Bush do something right? Or did he just fail to do something wrong?

    Comment by Keltoi at Night

    I guess you’ve conveniently forgotten that even after Bush knew what was in the report, he kept saying that Iran was building nukes (or wanted to build nukes, or wanted to have the knowledge to build nukes). That’s why he gets no credit from me. He lied about it for months and only caved in because so many people called him on his lies.


  56. katy says:

    …impeachment is in the air and on the lips of every american at this point.
    Comment by patooty @ 6:47 pm

    i hate counting the chickens before the eggs have hatched…
    not holding my breath…
    but – w00t!


  57. StratRat says:

    Well I certainly agree she is vastly more qualified to be a barroom stripper than she is a White House Press Secretary.

    :|

    Thats a proven, undeniable, fact.

    Comment by BARTLEBEE

    You are a good blogger Bart. Always a pleasure to read what you have to say.


  58. ralph the wonder llama says:

    #57 — Dammit, Wayne! This kind of cogent insight is one of the things of missed in your absence. Thanks.


  59. Jane E. Schneider says:

    Comment by Nevar — December 13, 2007 @ 6:41 pm

    Groan! :)

    Keltoi, I never thought I’d say this, but: good luck at the dentist.


  60. joe cantwell says:

    Comment by StratRat — December 13, 2007 @ 6:34 pm

    being honest and telling the truth is sexy. you can see where that puts “perky” dana and why frank m and chuck are a pair of conservative virgins (they claim it’s abstinence but c’mon!)


  61. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    Keltoi, I never thought I’d say this, but: good luck at the dentist.

    Comment by Jane E. Schneider — December 13, 2007 @ 6:51 pm

    He better hope the dentist isn’t Laurence Olivier. (”Is it safe?”)


  62. Leftside Annie says:

    Oooooh, Jeffrey Dahmer, what a good boy you are! You didn’t murder and eat anyone TODAY!!!

    Ooooh, George Bush, what a good boy you are! You’re telling the truth – TODAY!!!

    Yeah. Wow. I’m sure impressed.

    Not.


  63. Jane E. Schneider says:

    #57 — Dammit, Wayne! This kind of cogent insight is one of the things of missed in your absence. Thanks.

    Comment by ralph the wonder llama — December 13, 2007 @ 6:51 pm

    He’s good, isn’t he? :) Let it be stated here that I try to refrain from ‘Recommend’ing Wayne’s posts. BTW, he says, “Ralph, I’ve been here all the day!”


  64. patooty says:

    As stated eloquently above, let’s not pin any laurels on Bush for realizing that his gig is up and doing something which is what most people do a hundred times a day – tell the truth. After all, he knew about this report since last Fall and lied through his teeth about it. Thankfully, these lies like the last lies didn’t have us bombing Iran. It could very well have been the case as they ratcheted up the threats against Iran during which time HE KNEW that he was lying. This doesn’t make him now an honest man – just a “cornered and desperate man”.


  65. patooty says:

    This is an act of desperation by a very desperate individual who has been caught lying – again. He knows that the people of this country have no time for him at this point and he may be the most detested human figure in this country as well as globally.

    As a contrast, today Gore was given thunderous applause when he outed this administration for being one of the top offenders and actually trying to thwart the progress of this global warming summit. Those 130 countries were expressing their hatred of George W. Bush.

    Bush is desperate now and his hands will be further tied by impeachment proceedings. There are block parties being coordinated and the people will dance in the streets as they rally full force around impeachment of this sorry, sick president.


  66. patooty says:

    When you consider the reason for impeachment of Nixon and the ridiculous reason for impeachment proceedings against Clinton and then begin to enumerate the dozens of horrendous impeachable offenses of Bush and Cheney, it boggles the mind. It boggles the mind that we’ve been so spineless as a country to stand up for the rule of law and stop this maniac and abuser of executive power.

    Wexler’s call will probably hit the streets tomorrow so impeachment will be the buzz of the weekend talk shows. Everyone needs to jump on this bandwagon if they care about our democracy and the damage which this man has done to it. This has everything to do with true patriotism – the rejection of a criminal who has abused his power to destroy our constitution. Bush’s gig is over. Soon the fat lady (sorry, Laura) will sing.


  67. Buckie Boy says:

    Bush never does anything honest and there has to be a reason he gave in that people aren’t looking at. When he points you North, look South.

    Could it be that there is a nuke program of some sort and he will soon be saying, “See, I was right, the CIA is now not credible, don’t trust our intelligence agencies.”

    There just has to be a dishonest, sneaky reason for this.

    Bush/Cheney/Keltoi at Night
    Hague Trials ‘09

    Buck Fush


  68. tombaker says:

    hey don’t get my hopes up like that – i’ve been telling myself the same thing since Deceber, 1999.

    (actually, thanks for the booster-shot of optimism – i need it)


  69. shaun says:

    and not one mention of this on fixed noise website – pity they spent all that money on hannity’s virtual reality bombing mission not so long ago


  70. Roket says:

    Are we sure we haven’t just witnessed some sort of coup here? This has all the makings of a power struggle going on behind the scenes.


  71. ralph the wonder llama says:

    Whats amazing to me, is given her own self confessed utter and incomprehensible ignorance that she somehow concurrently manages to exude smugness.

    It an ignorant hubris of a level never before seen in this country.

    Comment by BARTLEBEE — December 13, 2007 @ 7:34 pm

    oh, come on, Bartlebee. Did you really expect someone that out of touch would be capable of humility?


  72. bilbobaggins says:

    A UN investigator strongly suspects the CIA of using torture on terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay – suggesting many were not being prosecuted to keep the abuse from emerging at trial.

    Ding…ding…ding…give this man a prize. I have often wondered why, if all those guys at Guantanamo are guilty, as the Republiscums would have us believe, none of them have been brought to trial. Once the Judge told the Bushies that they couldn’t have secret trials, their cover was blown and now they can’t have public trials because their torture methods will be exposed. So their solution is to keep these poor people in prison forever, or until a Democrat takes office and releases them. Then they can say “the Democrats released a bunch of terrorists into the world”.

    Sick…sick…sick….these people are sick.


  73. Left Coast Mike says:

    But, but…George hasn’t had his one on one with God yet…he will reverse course once God tells him the NIE was wrong, then all will be well in the quagmire…and the trolls will be right again.


  74. bilbobaggins says:

    Wow, 81 posts and not one Troll. This one must have them totally baffled or maybe feeling defeated.


  75. Xisithrus says:

    They should ask why many of the same people in office today advised Ford, who signed a directive, to sell the Shah a complete cycle nuclear program back in 1976 have flip-flopped.


  76. Merlin says:

    #4 Comment by bilbobaggins — December 13, 2007 @ 6:07 pm
    I expect there has been an urgent “recall” of all the trolls to be reprogrammed with this new point of view. It’s going to be really funny to see them do an about face. I wonder what they will come up with.

    Wow, 81 posts and not one Troll. This one must have them totally baffled or maybe feeling defeated.
    Comment by bilbobaggins — December 13, 2007 @ 7:55 pm

    You were dead on Bilbo!


  77. DigDug says:


    Wow, 81 posts and not one Troll. This one must have them totally baffled or maybe feeling defeated.

    Comment by bilbobaggins

    Could it be that they really actually do know when they’ve been beat?

    Could it be possible?


  78. ralph the wonder llama says:

    Could it be that they really actually do know when they’ve been beat?

    Could it be possible?

    Comment by DigDug — December 13, 2007 @ 8:03 pm

    Hmm… based on what i’ve seen from our trolls… i’d say that’s a big NO.

    Must be some other explanation. Maybe it’s the Troll office holiday party. And they left Billy Hill in charge of trolling, and he went got hisself skunk-drunk on Robitussin again.


  79. 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda says:

    OT – Urgent! I need to ask a favor of my TP friends and Dennis Kucinich supporters.

    A writer at the Des Moines Register named David Yepsen wrote this about Dennis Kucinich’s exclusion from today’s Democratic debate:

    “On the plus side, minor candidates Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel were not invited to participate because they are not running credible campaigns in Iowa.”

    I called him to let him know my opinion. He said he was working up against a deadline and didn’t have time to answer questions. He then hung up.

    If you’d like to call him RIGHT NOW and let him know your opinion that’d be really perfect. Lets let him know that if he’s going to slam and belittle our candidate he better be ready to face the critics. Unless he’s not a “credible” reporter.

    1-515-284-8545

    Remember, call NOW while he’s working to meet his deadline. He didn’t seem to care that Dennis’ deadline for the debate was TODAY, and he made sure Dennis wouldn’t be invited!


  80. Merlin says:

    I still say that the air stinks of BushCo desperation. On of the signs of that is flip flopping. Say one thing, then turn around and say another. Anything to try and right the sinking ship. And they know it is sinking.
    Gore was heartily applauded today for smacking BushCo upside the head about obstructing the meeting on climate change. There have been NO friendly voices cheering BushCo. Even the neocon spokespeople have been separating themselves from them.
    The only people lending support are the enablers like Murdoch through his Noise media and fools like Limpballs.

    The smell of desperation is strong in the air!


  81. Merlin says:

    #86 Comment by DigDug — December 13, 2007 @ 8:03 pm

    Could it be that they really actually do know when they’ve been beat?
    Could it be possible?

    Ah! The perennial optomist! No, I like Bilbo’s thought best. They were called back the the “West Hollywood Gym for Men” and are getting their new talking points in the locker room, even as we “speak.”


  82. DigDug says:


    Ah! The perennial optomist! No, I like Bilbo’s thought best. They were called back the the “West Hollywood Gym for Men” and are getting their new talking points in the locker room, even as we “speak.”

    Comment by Merlin

    You’re probably right. Still…

    Here’s my thoughts: they aren’t ever going to admit that they’ve been beat, but I have seen several situations here where they really are totally beat and what happens is that they just dis-appear.

    Like what just happenned with O. Bigfoot in the waterboarding thread. He got so torn up that those of us that were just watching got blood sprayed on us. Then he just dis-appeared… just went quite. That’s what they do when they’re beat.

    For me, it’s a beautiful sight… :)


  83. grover nerdkissed says:

    call me cynical, but theres some kind of fake-out goin on here.


  84. Keltoi at Night says:

    Keltoi, I never thought I’d say this, but: good luck at the dentist.

    Comment by Jane E. Schneider — December 13, 2007 @ 6:51 pm

    I survived. It is safe.

    Thanks, Jane, I hope it hurt me more than it hurt you.


  85. marlow says:

    Why should little Dana stop you reptard bilge-rats from taking yet another excursion into your magical right-wing tinfoil fairyland, where the earth is flat, the moon is made of green cheese, degenerate perverts safeguard our morals, and covert agents are not covert as long as it suits a political end? Flail away, reptards, flail away!


  86. Jane E. Schneider says:

    Comment by 2MillionLightYearsToAndromeda — December 13, 2007 @ 8:10 pm

    I posted a couple of comments on Yepson’s blog at the DMR. I also noticed that Yepson’s summary of the Republican debate began with praise for how well Fred Thompson did. Sorry, but I couldn’t read past that point. But I think we can guess that Mr. Yepson is not exactly non-partisan.


  87. Innocent Bystander says:

    This is quite a strange turn of events. Bush and Cheney have allowed the entire group of Republican candidates to go waaaay out on a limb about the need to bomb Iran. Everyone of them has carried the water and supported the Bush/Cheney pre-emptive war doctrine. Knowing that the real NIE report was going to contradict the administration rhetoric…why would they let these candidates get so far out on the issue? Cheney, particularly. He’s had no problems distorting the intel in the past to suit his blood and profiteering lust….why fold like a cheap suit? It’s almost like these candidates are getting set up to fail. Could there be another candidate who’s being kept out of the primaries to avoid the tarnishment, awaiting coronation at a brokered convention? All of these candidates have fatal flaws;none will get a clear Republican majority. This administration could care less about the primaries, what matters to them is maintaing the WH in 2008. They need to control the continuity of the Executive Branch if they are to stay out of jail.


  88. Innocent Bystander says:

    Now let’s see if any of the frontrunners will touch this one. I guarantee that if Hillary, Barak, or Edwards jumps on this, their ratings will zoom through the roof. With Iowa just around the corner, I’d love to see Edwards pick up this bombshell. It would guarantee his win in Iowa and New Hampshire.

    Comment by patooty — December 13, 2007 @ 6:46 pm

    Timing might be everything with regards to impeachment and election year politics. If Congress starts the impeachment ball rolling now, it will force every Democratic candidate to voice strong support for this bill…..or risk any chance for the Office. Whoever moves first to support will clearly earn the “leadership” position going into the initial primaries.

    Democrats can’t worry about the outcome of the trial. Per the Constitution, they have an obligation to try this administration on a broad range of abuses to their office, it’s well past “misdemeanors” and very much into “high crimes”. Given the make up of the current Republican Congress, they may well lose the trial in the Senate. But so what? The American people will have the last say with their vote next November. History could record the Impeachment of Bush/Cheney as a technical loss in the Congress, but, if so, every Republican will have signed their political death warrant and that could effectively obliterate whatever remains of the GOP crime syndicate.


  89. evil_framers_of_the_constitution says:

    It’s all about manipulating the “intelligence” for Bush’s place in history now.


  90. BullWinkle the Moose says:

    The reason the White House does not care what the State Dept. writers said is because the NIE has been totally, totally picked apart.

    In other words, discredited.


  91. rockyroad says:

    Screw Bush Veto Threats – Ban Torture . . . Sam Stein of the Huffington Post has written an excellent article.

    Bush’s dilemma is that he wants to be the guy that you would love to have a beer with while watching a baseball game . . . while maintaining the aura of a good ‘ole Texas rancher who would authoratively snuff out any Arab terrorist who stepped foot on his ranch.

    In reality . . . Bush is a self-perceived emperor that would gleefully snuff out any American who called his bluff . . . WMD in Iraq? . . . how dare you question my judgment? and so on and so forth.

    He, at this late date, is primarily concerned with his legacy. His legacy sux, I’m not going into all of the reasons.

    But wouldn’t it be just so sad/funny/tragic, if his legacy were to be that he abandoned America’s long history as a benevolent leader that held strong to the position that:

    Terrorism is unacceptable – it constitutes an abomination of humanity, despite the fact that you are our enemy;

    America does not engage in any form of terrorism;

    Waterboarding is an egregious form of terrorism for which America has prosecuted and convicted Japanese soldiers of “crimes against humanity”;

    Bush skipped out of his service so he will never know and has never been under the threat of waterboarding;

    Cheney skipped out three times and has never served. Medical conditions (just wonder what kind of medical conditions could get you out of the Guantamo gym on “Backstroking, waterboarding” day?{

    Bush’s legacy will be, among other dastardly outcomes, is that he will be the first president in the history of America that aggressively fought for human torture.

    Go George . . . You go . . .

    “GEORGE THE WATERBOARDING TERRORIST” , , , scortching new earth in his own special way . . .

    . . . “and I’m proud to be an American, cause at least I know I’m free . . . ” La tee dah.



  92. bs says:

    isn’t this the same dumb ass broad that didn’t know what the iran-contra was and related it to the bay of pigs invasion. you couln’t find this shit in a cracker jack box.


  93. bs says:

    that should be grounds of a firing……..nothing less


  94. ChrisO says:

    I see no reason to praise the White House. Bush’s issue isn’t the contents of the NIE, it’s the fact that he continued to make blanket statements about Iran that had already been discredited by the report. The last thing he wants to do is keep this whole mess on the front page. Better for him to accept it and try to move on to other things. This was a total act of self-preservation, and nothing more.

    He didn’t write the report, nor did he publicly support its findings until forced to. What’s to praise?


  95. bvconway says:

    Quick quiz.

    Who has the biggest nuclear weapons program on earth, has used them before, and has nuked Lebanon, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq with depleted uranium weapons now known to cause permanent genetic and other damage, a sevenfold increase in leukemia and cancer deaths, birth mutations and is considering using nuclear weapons in Iran?

    Hint: It’s not Denmark.


  96. DenverDem says:

    Might it be that if we start investigating whether or not this intelligence MIGHT be wrong, we have even greater reason to investigate the intelligence of 2001-2002 that we now KNOW was wrong? The administration doesn’t want us to go poking around in certain areas, and we all know that their thoroughly manipulated use of intelligence is one of them. They have no choice but to back off on this or we have every reason to absolutely hammer them on their past intelligence abuses. Funny how a lie can sometimes come back on ya…


  97. Madeleine says:

    What’s going on?

    This week, Bush admits to his alcohol addiction and now he supports NIE.

    ?????????????

    It’s too overwhelming!


  98. marlow says:

    It’s somewhat reassuring to see that the folks in the WH are at least capable of agreeing the world is round, though it may not lie in their interest. Sad to see the bilge-rats in Congress can’t even manage that.



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