Think Progress

Perino Falsely Claims Bush Never Warned That Al Qaeda Could Gain ‘Access To Iraq’s Oil Resources’

During today’s White House press briefing, a reporter noted that earlier in the day, President Bush “warned of the danger that Al Qaeda could gain access to Iraq’s oil resources.” Commenting on Bush’s claim, the reporter said: “I don’t understand how a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization could produce and sell Iraqi oil.”

The reporter then asked Press Secretary Dana Perino: “So the Iraqis would let a foreign terrorist organization take over their oil?” Annoyed, Perino dodged the question, saying that reporter was “missing the point” and that he should go back and read Bush’s speech because “what you’re suggesting is not what the president said.”

Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/03/perinoileb3.320.240.flv]

Perino is the one who should go back and read her boss’s speech. In fact, Bush said exactly what the reporter was “suggesting.” Arguing that the U.S. military should stay in Iraq and “finish the job” during his speech today, Bush said:

If we were to allow our enemies to prevail in Iraq, the violence that is now declining would accelerate — and Iraq would descend into chaos. [...]

Out of such chaos in Iraq, the terrorist movement could emerge emboldened — with new recruits, new resources, and an even greater determination to dominate the region and harm America. An emboldened al Qaeda with access to Iraq’s oil resources could pursue its ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction to attack America and other free nations.

Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/03/bushoilr.320.240.flv]
UpdateThe reporter referenced above is Raw Story's Eric Brewer. Brewer has reported that prior to yesterday, Perino has consistently refused to call on him during White House press briefings.



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73 Responses to “Perino Falsely Claims Bush Never Warned That Al Qaeda Could Gain ‘Access To Iraq’s Oil Resources’”

  1. rastaman Says:

    why does the press even BOTHER with Perino?

    it's just a pack of lies.

    they should be saying stuff like...."we're publishing this story blah blah blah......would you like to comment before it goes to print?"


  2. belac Says:

    Ahh, but did they read the Official transcript? I'm betting that there is no mention of his statement in that...


  3. Colony of Birchmen Says:

    She really is frigid isn't she?


  4. Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:

    An emboldened al Qaeda with access to Iraq’s oil resources could pursue its ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction to attack America and other free nations.

    As I have said before, how in the hell can 8,000 AQI (our government's current estimate) take over Iraq and gain control of their oil? The day we leave Iraq will be the day that Iraq kicks the butts of AQI out of their country, if there are any left at that time. My belief is that there are zero AQ in Iraq. There are Iraqi insurgents who call themselves AQI to seem bigger and badder and the day we leave, they will become Iraqi's again.

    So, perhaps the trolls can tell us how our soldiers know that someone is AQ? Do they wear armbands that say "Hi, I'm AQI"?


  5. Tobie Tall Says:

    AQI is fighting to keep Iraqs Oil in Iraqi hands
    AQI will leave Iraq and go to Afghanistan if the troops move out

    The Iraqis will go shopping with $25 trillion worth of Oil money and build their country back up better than the US

    meanwhile Bush has lost £3 trillion in war costs all because Saddam tried to kill his Daddy

    Bush has been outfoxed right from Day 1


  6. StratRat Says:

    Ms. Purina must have hidden talents none of us knows about. How else could the lying little twerp get and keep a man? She is not honest, she is not smart, she is not patriotic, she is not loyal to her country...Hmmm, I'm guessing she can suck the chrome off a bumper.


  7. Namtillaku Says:

    rastaman Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    why does the press even BOTHER with Perino?

    Because they aren't reporters, they're stenographers. Someone that they fawn over (Perino, isn't she cute?) says something, then they write it down and print it. It's their job, without the likes of Perino, they wouldn't have anything else to do - that is, unless McCain is having another BBQ.


  8. Tobie Tall Says:

    StratRat
    she married a Sassenach

    Strat rat guess who just bought himself a JS10th

    MEEEE


  9. tom Says:

    GDumbya's speeches never make any sense. First of all, just look at the moron who delivers them.

    If that's not bad enough, the lame duck can't find anyone to write his speeches anymore so he has resorted to constructing them with the help of a random phrase generator.


  10. AngryOne Says:

    Over the course of its five-year fiasco in Iraq, the Bush administration in vain has tried to sell this conflict by referencing glorious American wars past. Its revisionist history has included failed parallels to the American Revolution, World War II, Korea, the Cold War and even Vietnam. Today, Vice President Cheney again compared the calamity in Iraq to the U.S. Civil War. And that gift for fiction, of course, makes George W. Bush Abraham Lincoln.

    For the details, see:
    "Cheney Equates Bush with Lincoln, Iraq with the U.S. Civil War."


  11. StratRat Says:

    Strat rat guess who just bought himself a JS10th

    MEEEE

    Hmmm, do you mean a JS100? Joe Satriani?


  12. Nevar Says:

    We know what he said.
    It's in print and on tape now.
    It's still all phucked up.


  13. Tobie Tall Says:

    no a real JS10th Chromeboy


  14. stewarjt Says:

    Beauty is only skin deep.


  15. drago Says:

    Why does anyone continue to even listen to the Ministry of Lies?

    All of them witches.


  16. gummitch Says:

    goon_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Bush did not say that “a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization could produce and sell Iraqi oil.” He said that unless we finished the job, al Qaeda could gain access to Iraq’s oil resources (i.e. massive revenues with which they could purchase weapons).

    They would have a difficult time gaining massive revenues without being able to produce and sell the oil, goon. Maybe that's just too complicated for you to understand. Standing around the derrick just doesn't make much money.


  17. StratRat Says:

    Tobie Tall Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
    no a real JS10th Chromeboy

    Wow...Your future will be so bright, you gotta wear shades :). Cool axe, take good care of it. Is it heavy?


  18. Tired of being lied to Says:

    This administration lies so much they can't even keep their own lies in agreement. Don't they have some kind of daily check list titled "The Lie of the Day" so that eveyone sings the same song?

    Bush lies one way, Perino lies another. Cheney lies another way, and Condi makes up something else. How proud we can all be!


  19. Evil Spaniard Says:

    Choosing a profession.

    Like many young men, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it. So one day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment.

    He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects:

    a Bible,
    a silver dollar,
    a bottle of whisky
    and a Playboy magazine

    'I'll just hide behind the door,' the old preacher said to himself, 'when he comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which object he picks up. If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a businessman, and that would be okay, too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunkard, and, Lord, what a shame that would be.

    And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine he's gonna be a skirt-chasin' bum.'

    The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them.
    Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink while he admired this month's centerfold.

    'Lord have mercy,' the old preacher disgustedly whispered, 'He's gonna be a politician!'


  20. Tobie Tall Says:

    yes very heavy .... #210 you can view it held buy some guy in Indonesia on the JS10th website

    I have 4 JS guitars None being the 100 model
    JS Chromeboy
    JS 1000 ( bluey one)
    JS1200
    and a JS 1000 BP
    Fender strat 60th anniv
    fender strat plus
    Gibson Classic 1960 remake
    ++++++


  21. McWars Says:

    Why is MSNBC using the "BREAKING NEWS" title for shrub's tired rhetoric?

    "NOTHING NEW" is more appropriate. "Conditions on the ground..." is the boilerplate speak we've been staring at for years.


  22. Tobie Tall Says:

    Watching Gordon Ramseys kitchen nightmares USA

    brilliant .....


  23. Badger Says:

    Why would Al Qaeda need gain access to Iraq's oil, when they already have access to Afghanistan's Poppies???


  24. StratRat Says:

    I have 4 JS guitars None being the 100 model
    JS Chromeboy
    JS 1000 ( bluey one)
    JS1200
    and a JS 1000 BP
    Fender strat 60th anniv
    fender strat plus
    Gibson Classic 1960 remake
    ++++++

    Kewl Tools....Kinda Jealous :). My newest is a Fender Roadhouse Strat. Way cool and twangy!


  25. McWars Says:

    Is Dana's new job wearing her out? Maybe it's just me, but she's looking a bit older than usual.


  26. Nevar Says:

    I have 4 JS guitars None being the 100 model
    JS Chromeboy
    JS 1000 ( bluey one)
    JS1200
    and a JS 1000 BP
    Fender strat 60th anniv
    fender strat plus
    Gibson Classic 1960 remake
    ++++++

    Kewl Tools….Kinda Jealous :). My newest is a Fender Roadhouse Strat. Way cool and twangy!

    Get a garage, you two...
    ;)


  27. Klem Kiddilehopper Says:

    You are watching an Administration fall further apart everyday! Maybe Bush will go on vacation and never return!


  28. StratRat Says:

    Get a garage, you two…
    ;)

    I know, I know...Kinda off topic.


  29. Jeannie See Says:

    It's really surprising to me that Mr. Perino would want to have a lieing wife with his last name.


  30. joe cantwell Says:

    ot, but i thought people should see this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BiVP1JVCGU&eurl=http://www.crooksandliars.com/

    granted it's not "sinsoftheneo-con" but it's pretty important none the less.

    (h/t c&l)


  31. Nevar Says:

    's OK, It's a lot of fun to get a new thing for the collection, I'm just razzin' you guys.
    Wanna here about my fly rod collection?
    I still have the 9 foot split bamboo my grandpa bought me when I was 6. It cost $4.00.
    And then there's the.......


  32. Jeannie See Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
    Bush did not say that “a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization could produce and sell Iraqi oil.” He said that unless we finished the job, al Qaeda could gain access to Iraq’s oil resources (i.e. massive revenues with which they could purchase weapons).

    You.Just.Don't.Get.It.Do.You.?


  33. Oval12345678 aka James K. Sayre Says:

    The spinning of the corporate BS just never ends with the Bush gangster regime. The real threat to Bush, Cheney and McCain is that, when we finally withdraw our soldiers, the Iraqi people will gain control of their oil. Imagine that. Iraqis running Iraq without "benefit" of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and contractors... The Iraqis will start pumping their oil out, selling it on the world market and the world price of crude oil will drop 10%, 20% to 50%... And the obscenely highly profits of America oil-monopoly corporations will fall in half or more. A real disaster for our ruling class and the complicit corporate media...


  34. Bobwurst Says:

    "joe cantwell Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
    ot, but i thought people should see this:"

    It's a shame we don't have any money to help these people. If only they were rich...


  35. Jeannie See Says:

    I wonder if the reporter she was addressing was the guy from Raw Story. She refuses to take his questions and he consistantly calls her on it.


  36. Xisithrus Says:

    Man, they sure know how to conflate things.

    Iraq is soverign, but occupied, its a war, but its nation building, its not about the oil, but the oil is supposed to pay for the nation building, its a freedom operation, they stand up we will stay. The job must be finished, even if the AUMF expires. If we leave there will be chaos, even though their is chaos now. The surge worked, yet no new benchmarks have been made. 325,000 Iraqi troops are trained, but cant secure the oil.


  37. Marie Says:

    Perky little Perino - she memorizes her prepared answers, she is flummoxed by questions that surprise her, she is in so far over her head, she rivals Bush.
    Fleischer had chutzpah when he lied; McClellan had staying power as he endlessly repeated the same replies; Snow lied through his teeth -- though he looked confident (he knew he was a good liar after all those years in right wing broadcasting).
    Darling Dana is simply inept. Out of place. Unknowing. Poorly prepared. I almost feel sorry for her except she applied for work in this White House -- she deserves what she gets.


  38. StratRat Says:

    Nevar Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
    ’s OK, It’s a lot of fun to get a new thing for the collection, I’m just razzin’ you guys.

    No worries. My Dad saved the pull tabs from his beer cans.


  39. Nevar Says:

    Sounds like your dad had fun with each new addition....


  40. LividLib Says:

    "If we were to allow our enemies to prevail in Iraq, the violence that is now declining would accelerate — and Iraq would descend into chaos. […]"

    Pardon me, dumbass, but YOU are the enemy in Iraq, YOU are resposnible for the majority of the violence and YOU and your incompetence are to blame for the country's chaotic state of affairs!

    YOU are the President of Mass Destruction!


  41. Styve Says:

    These TP vids don't come over very smoothly even with DSL, but did she seem very slow, even maybe sedated? Her eye movement seemed very off.

    What lying scum?!?! How the hell can people like that live with themselves??!


  42. j swift Says:

    LOL, the stupid putz is the one who put them in proximity to all that oil. Sadaam sure as hell was not going to share.


  43. Nevar Says:

    "...did she seem very slow, even maybe sedated? Her eye movement seemed very off."
    Styve

    Having to tell falsehoods, evasives, and outright lies, day after day, wears on the conscience, causes stress to the body, and ultimately will drive someone into depression at the very least.
    The signs are all over Perino. She won't last till the end of Dumbphucks term.
    Who's next?
    How about CarrotTop?


  44. gummitch Says:

    Styve Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    These TP vids don’t come over very smoothly even with DSL, but did she seem very slow, even maybe sedated? Her eye movement seemed very off.

    Can you say "valium"? She looks boxed to the eyeballs.


  45. Bluestocking Says:

    Perino is the one who should go back and read her boss’s speech. In fact, Bush said exactly what the reporter was “suggesting.” Arguing that the U.S. military should stay in Iraq and “finish the job” during his speech today, Bush said:

    If we were to allow our enemies to prevail in Iraq, the violence that is now declining would accelerate — and Iraq would descend into chaos. […]

    Out of such chaos in Iraq, the terrorist movement could emerge emboldened — with new recruits, new resources, and an even greater determination to dominate the region and harm America. An emboldened al Qaeda with access to Iraq’s oil resources could pursue its ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction to attack America and other free nations.

    **********************************************************

    So why did none of the White House press corps smack her down by quoting the passage from Bush's speech back at her?!?!?

    Unfortunately, knowing the Bush White House as we do, it seems that the most likely answer to that question is that anyone who had done that would almost certainly never be allowed back in the White House press room ever again -- but if someone had shown the cojones to do that, they would have totally pwned both Perino and Bush because you know that woman doesn't say anything that she hasn't been told to say.


  46. pete Says:

    Three Martini lunch Dana?


  47. pete Says:

    Afghani poppies aside, why would AQ waste resources trying to secure Iraq's oil when they are already funded by Saudi oil?


  48. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    annie See Says:

    It’s really surprising to me that Mr. Perino would want to have a lieing wife with his last name.

    No 1) she probably was a hot young thing at the time, and men will forgive lying if the sex is plentiful, and

    2) she didn't take his last name, so he's probably not that bothered at the moment.


  49. cerberus Says:

    From the wear and tear on Purina DogFace and the new nadirs she's hitting in her press conferences, I'd say that it's about time for DogFace to go on a much-needed vacation to a spa in Switzerland.


  50. pete Says:

    cerberus Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 8:30 pm

    From the wear and tear on Purina DogFace and the new nadirs she’s hitting in her press conferences, I’d say that it’s about time for DogFace to go on a much-needed vacation to a spa in Switzerland.

    I wonder. Are Bushites allowed to visit Switzerland?


  51. Ms_Joanne Says:

    Joe, that was one of the saddest things I have seen of all the sad, sad things we have seen in the last seven years.

    Does anyone think the new depression has not begun?

    Unless your net work it $500k or more, you are not a person, you are not a human, you are nothing.

    F () C K YOU GEORGE W. BUSH


  52. MapleStreet Says:

    Frankly, considering that she didn't know about the Bay of Pigs, not knowing about Shrub's statement on Al Q and oil seems to be a minor gaffe.


  53. 99Luf Balloons Says:

    Switzerland is the next country we should invade to find all of those Swiss bank accounts where the Bushcabal has stashed their robbing of the U.S. Treasury.
    There and the Cayman Islands.
    And Bush and Chezey think they are going to hide in Paraguay and Dubai. HAHAHAHAHA, We are FU(KING America a$$hole$ we will invade anywhere, anytime, for any cause, and that includes FU(KING into Paraguay to get your sorry ass Dumfu(k, because Paraguay has no extradition. Or send in a Cruise or two, or three, to give ya the full "shock and awe."
    "Oh the horror of all the brush not cleared."

    And Chezey, if no one has told you yet Electro, you can supposedly see that stupid fu(king Palm Island from space, so we WILL be able to find your ass to bring to the Hague.


  54. Hemlock for Gadflies Says:

    Memo to Dana Perino: Your service called. They've discovered this new thing on the Internets Tubes called "NEXIS."

    If Zarqawi and bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks. They’d seize oil fields to fund their ambitions.
    -- George W. Bush, North Island Naval Air Station, August 30, 2005

    Imagine a world in which they were able to control governments, a world awash with oil and they would use oil resources to punish industrialized nations. And they would use those resources to fuel their radical agenda, and pursue and purchase weapons of mass murder.
    -- George W. Bush, Military Officers Association of America, September 5, 2006

    If we do not defeat the terrorists or extremists in Iraq, they will gain access to vast oil reserves and use Iraq as a base to overthrow moderate governments across the broader Middle East.
    -- George W. Bush, press conference, October 25, 2006

    Each strain of violent Islamic radicalism will be emboldened in its efforts to gain control of states and establish new safe havens. The extremists would use oil resources to fuel their radical agenda and to punish industrialized nations and pursue weapons of mass destruction.
    -- George W. Bush, Remarks at Latvia University, November 28, 2006

    I worry about a situation where if radicals took control of a country like Iraq, they would have oil resources to use at their disposal to try to achieve their objectives.
    -- George W. Bush, Associated General Contractors of America, May 2, 2007

    If we were to quit Iraq before the job is done, the terrorists we are fighting would not declare victory and lay down their arms. They would follow us here home. If we were to allow them to gain control of Iraq, they would have control of a nation with massive oil reserves, which they could use to fund new attacks and extort economic blackmail on those who didn't kowtow to their wishes.
    -- George W. Bush, July 4th Remarks, Martinsburg Air National Guard Base, West Virginia, July 4, 2007

    To begin to bring troops home before our commanders tell us we are ready would be dangerous for our country. It would mean surrendering the future of Iraq to al Qaeda, risking a humanitarian catastrophe, and allowing the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq and gain control of vast oil resources they could use to fund new attacks on America.
    -- George W. Bush, radio address, July 14, 2007


  55. sacopenapa Says:

    They lie so constantly they get their lies confused! As per "Iraqis would let a foreign terrorist organization take over their oil" they had no choice, they were invaded and occupied by a terrorist state who is taking control of their oil.


  56. flavorino Says:

    The biggest fear of Bush and Cheney is that the American people will wake up and grow a spine and stop letting them walk all over us..........that day probably will never come

    The American people do not have the backbone, fortitude, courage and common sense that previous generations had.
    We have devolved. That is the root cause of why this country is on the downward track.


  57. Mr. Evil Says:

    Lying pieces of shit: Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, Rice, McClellan, Fleischer, Perino, Perle, Kristol, McCain, Lieberman, Bolton, Miers, Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, FOX, Kagan, Libby, Podhoretz, etc. If I left any out please add to this list of lying, thieving, un-American criminals destroying this country and any other they get involved with.


  58. Mr. Evil Says:

    Hey Dana, why don't you try something that you may be qualified for. Such as working for an escort service.


  59. katy Says:

    where is duby talking and why isn't he flanked by american flags?
    how unpatriotic can he be?


  60. Jane E. Schneider Says:

    Mr. Evil, you left out Doug Fieth (sp?)


  61. Vanthomas Says:

    Dear god I want her to die violently.


  62. Vanthomas Says:

    When do we declare war on these groids?


  63. freedom lover Says:

    Good Golly is our own version of the liar and whore Dana Peroxide. Same lies, same spin points, same lame escuses for Bush's treason an incompetence.


  64. christopher wiwi Says:

    She is one well trained CHIMP isn`t she,read take a look at this , the reporter then asked Press Secretary Dana Perino: “So the Iraqis would let a foreign terrorist organization take over their oil?” Annoyed, Perino dodged the question, saying that reporter was “missing the point” and that he should go back and read Bush’s speech because “what you’re suggesting is not what the president said.”


  65. Robt Says:

    Dana, would you be a dear and provide a correction in your next press conference.

    Dana, you yourself have called for news papers to make corrections.

    Should we expect any less from you? Sure were used to the President's least. But you?

    By the way, Dee Dee Myers was press Secretary. She wasn't paid the full jobs pay as a man would get. Are you paid the full Press Secretary pay?


  66. buzzbomb Says:

    55- thats quite a list. Bush is really coco puffs on this idea. Maybe AQ has a subsidiary like Halliburton they can use to pump, refine, and ship all that Iraqi oil. Hell, AQ could probably HIRE Halliburton to do it!


  67. Bozo The Neoclown Says:

    Leave poor lil Dana alone, she's just preparing for the job she'll be holding next year...as a host on "Fox and Friends"


  68. galmud Says:

    ROFL "not what the President said"? "missing the point"?

    If the reporter is missing the point then what the hell was the point of Bush making the exact point the reporter was referring to, while apparently making the missing point secretly in his head? Whats the point of making speeches if your points will be missed by everyone but the most skillfull mindreaders?

    And if the President is not really saying what he actually says what is he really saying? And if the President actually says what he isnt saying doesnt that mean the President said everything except what he actually said?


  69. SocioSam Says:

    Dana Perino is Bush's Baghdad Bob.


  70. hellinabucket Says:

    WOW. Please have follow up questions.


  71. Chuck Feney Says:

    # stewarjt Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    Beauty is only skin deep.

    So, as Stephanie Miller calls her, she is a "lying sack of cute?"


  72. adelito Says:

    She is so cute. I wish I could baptize her with some of my special, handmade cream.


  73. batteries Says:

    If the reporter is missing the point then what the hell was the point of Bush making the exact point the reporter was referring to, while apparently making the missing point secretly in his head? Whats the point of making speeches if your points will be missed by everyone but the most skillfull mindreaders?

    And if the President is not really saying what he actually says what is he really saying? And asus l4500 battery,asus a42-l5 battery if the President actually says what he isnt saying doesnt that mean the President said everything except what he actually said?



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