WP: White House Fires Back at O'Neill on Iraq (new details)

[kskiska]

By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, January 13, 2004; Page A01

(snip)

In a meeting about steel tariffs in February 2002, the book describes Mitchell Daniels, then Bush's budget director, pleading against the tariffs. "If you can't do the right thing when you're at 85 percent approval , then when can you do the right thing?" Daniels reportedly asked.

But Cheney made it clear that the tariffs would be imposed, according to the account, saying "we can review this in 18 months" -- which the administration ultimately did.

The book also quotes from a lengthy memo in February 2002, from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to O'Neill and a subsequent meeting at the Treasury.

Greenspan, writing about the corporate accounting scandals, said: "There's been too much gaming of the system until it is broke. Capitalism is not working! There has been a corrupting of the system of capitalism."

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11272-2004Jan12.html

[KissMyAsscroft]

1. This is getting good..

The beans are being spilled...!!!!

[cthrumatrix]

23. it's not about "compassion" ..never is with shrub...let's see the medicare

notes about how much he cared about senior citizens vs the drug companies and corp. subsidies


this guy is a crook

[Catherine Vincent]

2. They'll be fighting back hard.

They are searching as we speak for something to discredit O'Neil. How pathetic!

[Wickerman]

3. Did you hear that? Nope, of course not - the "uncertainty" is gone

now that Saddam is gone. Never mind that we went directly to Orange or Mauve or Chartuese or whatever hell color alert right after his capture...

edit - speiling error in header

[MoonAndSun]

4. Hell froze over, The WaPo has this on the front page!

It's a pretty decent article, it doesn't show bush* in a very good light, or Rove either. I think this story is going to grow and grow. I have not seen if the NYTimes has done a front page on this story yet.

[jburton]

8. And not on a friggin' Saturday, to boot ! n/t

[Sticky]

5. Thanks for posting....

I was waiting all day for Dana Milbank's 2 cents on this. I wonder if he got an advance copy of the book.

[kskiska]

7. Most likely

I haven't seen some of this stuff before. I'll bet lots of people in DC are feverishly reading this book into the late hours tonight.

[grasswire]

9. That Dana is a HE.

Dana Milbank is a guy. (Yes, there are other Dana reporters who are SHEs.)

[Melinda]

18. Yep, Dana Milbank's male - Dana Priest's the female, and Walter Pincus is

the best of all three WP reporters. :)

[PaDUer]

17. Borders has the book

in stock and on the shelves, 30% off.

[proud patriot]

6. checkmate

Keep squirming Cheney/Rove

[Buzz Clik]

10. Counterpoint from the righties

The righties are scrambling to pull the rug from under O'Neill.

Here's one attempt:


Lid Blown Off O'Neill/Suskind Hoax
http://www.powerlineblog.com/

Laurie Mylroie sent out an email about Paul O'Neill's appearance on 60 Minutes last night; she notes what appears to be a major error in Ron Suskind's book, which casts doubt on the credibility of both Suskind and O'Neill. Here is the key portion of Mylroie's email:

"In his appearance this evening on '60 Minutes,' Ron Suskind, author of The Price of Loyalty, based to a large extent on information from former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, made an astonishing, very serious misstatement.

"Suskind claimed he has documents showing that preparations for the Iraq war were well underway before 9-11. He cited--and even showed--what he said was a Pentagon document, entitled, 'Foreign Suitors for Iraq Oilfield Contracts.' He claimed the document was about planning for post-war Iraq oil (CBS's promotional story also contained that claim): http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/printable592330.shtml


more

[grasswire]

11. so when is Whitman...

...going to spill her beans?

[candy331]

13. What does Greenspan have to lose

by coming forward. He can sleep well at night as a true patriotic hero.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Note Whitman's NYT op-ed today, "The Vital Republican Center,"

and the mention that she is writing a book on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/12/opinion/12WHIT.html

On May 5, 1996, when I was halfway through my first term as governor of New Jersey, there was a picture of me on the cover of this newspaper's Sunday magazine, accompanied by the headline, "It's My Party Too." I liked that message so much, I had it framed and hung it in my office in Trenton and, later, Washington. To moderate Republicans like me, that headline proclaimed our belief that there was still room for us in the party of Lincoln.

Now, almost eight years later, many moderate Republicans feel even less certain of their place in the party. When President Bush, arguably one of the more conservative presidents in recent history, is under attack from the right wing of the party for his proposal regarding immigration and migrant workers, is it any wonder moderates feel out of sync?

It doesn't seem to matter to conservatives that moderates share their views on the vast majority of those bedrock principles that have always been the foundation of Republicanism: smaller government, the power of free markets, a strong national defense. Because we disagree on a few issues, most notably a woman's right to choose, many conservatives act as if they wish we moderates would just disappear.

[Military Brat]

12. Drowning men grasping at straws

What a pitiful sight. And since when does Joshua Bolten take the high road?


"The account of the economic meeting portrays Bush as set on Hussein's removal, four months before he officially reached that decision." Uh, was it four months later when he said, "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out"?

[Barrett808]

14. Karl "Grima" Rove whispering in Bush's ear

Sad, but sort of archetypical.

[et in Arcadia ego...]

15. Capitalism at war with terrorism...

The Iraq war is not over terrorism, it's all about "UNCERTAINTY" (as George '9/11' Bush puts it) in the financial market. It's the ECONOMY STUPID! That's what this is all about. What does Bush say in his own words: "until we get RID of Hussein, we won't get rid of uncertainty." It's not about liberating the freakin' Iraqis. It's not about American citizens being denied freedom blah, blah, blah. It's just about money. Anyone who went to Iraq to fight in this silly money war, is an absolute fool. Sorry for the rant...wait, no I'm not.

[Stephanie]

19. "Capitalism is not working"

- Alan Greenspan!!

[fearnobush]

20. "there's always the option of doing nothing,"

I see many thousands of new bumber stickers this spring. Let slip the truth of George.

[cliss]

21. I would say the intensity of their defensiveness

shows just how worried they are. We've seen scandals come and go. Some have warranted real alarm, like the collapse of Enron. Key Lay caused some concern. The tanking of the dollar warranted hardly a second glance. The Plame incident caused a little bit of posturing in their defense.

The level of defensiveness should show us how afraid they are, at this point. We don't need to guess. They are telling us.

[ronatchig]

22. The Most Hidden Truth

Greenspan, writing about the corporate accounting scandals, said: "There's been too much gaming of the system until it is broke. Capitalism is not working! There has been a corrupting of the system of capitalism"
Here my fellow countrymen is the truth that no free marketeer wants you to know. The great theory is exposed as bankrupt by none other than the Guru of Greed.
It is time to take on the Repugs on this issue above all others. The absolute immorality of the "Free Market" is indefensible. The reason for the war on terror?- to keep eyes off the reality of free market theology.

[Moderator]

24. kskiska

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
news source.


Thank you

DU Moderator