NYT - Bush and Rice Say C.I.A. Approved Uranium Comment

[Nambe]

resident Bush said today that intelligence agencies had approved the assertion he made in his State of the Union address that Iraq had tried to buy nuclear material from Africa.

``I gave a speech that was cleared by the intelligence services,'' the president said. ``It was a speech that detailed to the American people the dangers posed by the Saddam Hussein regime. And my government took the appropriate response to those dangers.''

The president made his comments during a four-hour visit to Uganda, the fourth country on his five-nation tour of Africa. He spoke shortly after his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said the C.I.A had authorized the specific wording of the statement. ---

Banish bush From Texas Too

[soupkitchen]

1. It was cleared after he told them to clear it.

I thought the point of this story was that the White House went out and got the Intelligence Community to doctor evidence? That they mistakenly used false evidence is not a story with legs. That is why they are trying to position the spin that way. But the real story is that they pressured the Intelligence Community to come up with the evidence they wanted.

[Mountainman]

4. Hopefully the media doen't buy it

It would be great if the people thought that Bush is making up another lie to cover the first lie.

I'm hoping the CIA does not feel it is a part of this administration and blows the whistle. The CIA has to exist after these aholes are gone.

[saigon68]

8. Another fall guy/ straw man

These creeps would blame Noah for the flood

[codeword]

9. You are missing the point

This response of Bush and Rice is much cleverer than that.

The FINAL speech, which attributed the uranium story to British intelligence, WAS approved by the CIA, AFTER the CIA told the White House not to attribute the story to US intelligence, because it was probably false. So Bush didn't actually LIE in his speech on this point. He merely attributed a story he knew to be false to British intelligence.

The current Bush-Rice line is extremely clever, extremely sneaky damage control. I regard this sort of sophistry as worse than lying.

[Nottingham]

2. GIVE US NAMES! What happen to "THE BUCK STOPS HERE!

This is an Old Game! Couldn't they get ORIGINAL! LMAO!!

Scapegoat time!! How MANY PEOPLE CAN YOU KILL before they TESTIFY!

Oh lets see the COVERUP! and Ok they Authorized it but Who knew it was phony and said it ANYWAY! CHENEY is COOKED by WILSON!!

LMAO!! this is fantastic watching them scramble!!

[NYC]

3. "Intelligence services" could be that new dept. they created for

Rumsfeld. He didn't say the CIA approved it. Also, NSA is C. Rice. She would have approved anything.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Ummm yeah....

Let's see.

The CIA knew in March 2002 that the Niger claim was false.

The CIA told the British in Sept. 2002 not to use the Niger claim as evidence.

The CIA told the Bush administration that the Niger claim was fine in January 2003.


Which one of these doesn't belong?

[LearnedHand]

6. If I were BushCo (and I'm glad I'm NOT)...

...I'd be ve-wy, ve-wy careful about blaming the CIA et all. These intelligence services comprise (about 2 layers down from the director level) career-level workers who watch administrations/regimes come and go. They'd just as soon eat the White House for lunch than to let some short-timer accuse them of not doing their job!

[FlashHarry]

7. Dupe

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