tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16816866.post5403732307689655441..comments2024-02-29T02:10:56.878-08:00Comments on J O S H U A P U N D I T: Rumblings in Congress On IranFreedom Fighterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13649470110087808596noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16816866.post-16951371186906077192009-10-10T17:09:50.118-07:002009-10-10T17:09:50.118-07:00According to dictionary.com the word "lie&quo...According to dictionary.com the word "lie" is defined as follows: a false statement made with deliberate intent to decieve; an intentional untruth; a falsehood. Did the Bush Administration "lie" when they published reports of Iraq's WMD. By this definition, no they did not. Did they make an error. Yes they did. Why did they make the errors they made? Freedom Fighter explains it very well in the the second and third to last sentences in the posts. <br /><br />Specifically not enough hummint and the hummint we have is too constrained. Unfortunately Mr. Obama and his team have made a bad situation worse. <br /><br />When Mr. Blair and his team reported that Iran did not have any clandestine nuclear facilities, did they lie? By the above definition they probably did. Bush and his team were vilified by the media for their errors. Why no vilification by the media here? I suppose dead Americans and destroyed American cities fit nicely into the media's agenda. I suppose as long as it is not the city where they live that bites the nuclear dust or their family members who get killed I suppose all is well and good with them. Of course they could be to ideologically blind to recognize the stakes. <br /><br />If we assume that Mr. Bush and his team did not lie, then the correct course of action would have been to increase our hummint and to remove the restraints from our intellegence agents. If we assume Bush and his team lied, then the correct conclusion is to vilify the President, his team, and anyone who supports him and pretty much continue what was being done. <br /><br />The "Bush lied" meme accomplishes several things. 1.)It discredits American officials. This comes in handy for America's enemies. Nobody trusts us and would probably celebrate if we were destroyed. (At least temporarily they would.) 2.)If Bush and his team did not lie, then BIG changes would need to be made to US intellegence, their agencies, and the officials operating them. By perpatrating the Bush lied meme, incompetent officials are able to keep their jobs and it takes the heat off of them. In any event, it is very destructive to American interests. <br /><br />As such, American officals should challenge the "Bush lied" theory at every turn. Unfortunately some have placed short term political gain over the slightly longer to mid range survival of their country. Shame on such people.<br /><br />None of what I typed here is meant to be construed as a defense of President Bush. In fact, as I've said here and elsewhere many times, he was by far the worst President America has ever had. So far, Obama appears to be even worse but he is not finished yet. Time will tell.B.Posternoreply@blogger.com