Then there was something like being “greated as liberator”.

Was it Rumsfeld that said ” it could take a month, three weeks, I doubt 6 months “?

Cheney said something in penguin talk like, “waaack”.

TED KOPPEL: I mean, when you talk about 1.7, you’re not suggesting that the rebuilding of Iraq is gonna be done for $1.7 billion?

NATSIOS: Well, in terms of the American taxpayers contribution, I do, this is it for the US.
…
KOPPEL: You’re saying the, the top cost for the US taxpayer will be $1.7 billion. No more than that?

NATSIOS: For the reconstruction. And then there’s 700 million in the supplemental budget for humanitarian relief, which we don’t competitively bid ’cause it’s charities that get that money.

KOPPEL: I understand. But as far as reconstruction goes, the American taxpayer will not be hit for more than $1.7 billion no matter how long the process takes?

NATSIOS: That is our plan and that is our intention. And these figures, outlandish figures I’ve seen, I have to say, there’s a little bit of hoopla involved in this. [ABC, Nightline, 4/23/03]

FEITH: You weren’t told that by the administration. Absolutely not.

When Lehrer played a clip from Meet the Press in which Vice President Cheney claimed the U.S. would be “greeted as liberators” in Iraq, Feith dismissed it as “one of the more optimistic comments” but said that others, “especially” Rumsfeld, “were a lot more reserved than that.” He also insisted that “the initial reaction of many of the Iraqis was to greet us as liberators.”

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

Rumsfeld more reserved than Cheney? Um…not really. Feith seems to be suffering from a rather convenient attack of selective amnesia with regard to this little gem of a quote:

“It is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days or six weeks. I doubt six months.” (Donald Rumsfeld — February 7, 2003)

Does that sound like someone who was “reserved” about the possibility of success in Iraq? Hardly.

Kudos to Lehrer for finally doing what every self-respecting journalist in this country should have been doing for the past six-odd years — confronting the Bush administration on camera with recorded evidence which demonstrates what blatant and shameless liars they are. That’s real journalism.

mr.frazzlebottom Says:
Feith’s statement literally read says that the administration never told anyone “it would be a cakewalk”. I.e. that the administration never used the word “cakewalk.” As far as I know this is technically correct.

You are far more generous than most. I have heard their half-lies enough. Their actions speak much louder and you can’t deny the obvious.

pinhut Says:
By all means hammer right-wingers for the Iraq mess, but there’s no need to insult logic in the process.

Your kind of logic got us into this mess. Try again, you have 2 balls left.

Feb. 13, 2002Ken Adelman
“I believe demolishing Hussein’s military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.” – Washington Post

Cheney, 03/2006. “Q: Do you still believe the insurgency is in its final throes? Cheney: Yes.”

Mar. 27, 2003Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary
We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.”

Mar. 25, 2003Richard Perle, Chairman of the Defense Policy Board
I can’t tell you exactly how many days or how many weeks. But by historical standards, this will be a short war.

Jan. 10, 2003Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
“Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that’s something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question.”

Nov. 15, 2002Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
“The idea that it’s going to be a long, long, long battle of some kind I think is belied by the fact of what happened in 1990,” he said on an Infinity Radio call-in program. “Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that.”

Bush, 5/2005. “Good news to the men and women who fought … their mission is complete.”

Lehrer was too specific in his characterisation of “what we were told,” which left his question wide open for refutation by an ideologue like Feith who could never admit to having to do with anything remotely like a mistake in public.

Lehrer should have asked about the administration’s over-estimation of taking control of Iraq, and under-estimating the insurgency. I.e. using more generic terms for what happened.

I am not defending Feith mind you, just explaining how ideologues, demogogues and neocons take advantage of language; usually using and thinking of themselves as speaking in general terms while almost always working from a position of using their “opponents” words in exacting, literal terms.

That would be dishonest.

And George Bush is an honorable man.

Douglas Feith is an honorable man.

They are all honorable men.

Ralph, I’m impressed you were able to say that with a straight face. It was great method acting once again.

I would applaud you…but I’m too busy LMAO Thanks…

Now, none of the above statements say Bush is a liar, do they, Mr. Feith?

This is a far more relevant quote:

Feb. 7, 2003 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, to U.S. troops in Aviano, Italy: “It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”

Absolutely YES… does the comment from Bush Iraq will be a cake walk ring any bells? How far are these neocons going to go in attempts in rewriting history? In the clip, Scumshamity is lapping these comment up.