White House officials undermine case for war

[UpInArms]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3597945&thesection=news&thesubsection=world

President Bush's rationale for the Iraq war, and his subsequent handling of the conflict, have been separately undermined by two of his own top officials - handing precious new ammunition to the Democrats as the election campaign enters a crucial phase.

The first blow came when Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary and a prime architect of the war, told foreign policy experts that he had never seen "strong, hard evidence" linking Saddam Hussein with al Qaeda. His words, answering questions at a Council of Foreign Relations meeting in New York, implicitly take issue with one of Mr Bush's long-standing arguments to justify the March 2003 invasion.

<snip>

Hours later, the man who was the US pro-consul in Iraq for 15 months until June 2004 complained that the Bush administration failed to send a large enough force to deal with the violence and looting after Saddam had been toppled.

<snip>

But the damage was done, with remarks from a man who has been a staunch supporter of the President, often mentioned as a possible Secretary of State in a second Bush term.

<snip>

If that were not enough, almost every day brings new reminders of how Mr Bush's main rationale for the war - the threat posed by Saddam's supposed arsenal of illicit chemical, biological and nuclear weapons - has crumbled.

<snip>

At first, Scott McClellan, Mr Bush's spokesman, refused to confirm that Mr Bremer had pleaded for more troops. But later another Bush spokesman admitted that the former CPA chief had clashed with the Pentagon on troop levels.

...more...

[arikara]

1. Once again, a story breaks in another country

and will no doubt be censored by the US corporate media. What am I saying, it has been censored all along.

[54anickel]

2. Nice! Will it make it into the US media though? What's with all of these

revelations the last few days? Defeat in the air and with it goes the pardon they were anticipating? :evilgrin:

[Nlighten1]

3. Some of Bremer's requests....

Via Atrios
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004/10/jerry.html
On CNN TV just now:



Officials here again say that during the time frame Paul Bremer served in Iraq he was in constant contact with the Penatgon, with the White House, he visited here several times and spokesman for Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld says the Secretary doesn't recall any point that Paul Bremer brought up with him at least the need for more troops. If it had come up, the Secretary would have paid a great deal of attention to that.



From July 1, 2003:


WASHINGTON - The top American administrator in Iraq, confronting growing anti-U.S. anger and guerrilla-style attacks, is asking for more American troops and dozens of U.S. officials to help speed up the restoration of order and public services.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld was reviewing the request from L. Paul Bremer, U.S. officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Bremer's request underscores how difficult it has been for his small civilian staff and some 158,000 U.S.-led troops to meet the demands of Iraqis for security and other basic needs. It also conflicts with upbeat public statements from President Bush, Rumsfeld and Bremer himself on the progress made on Iraq's political and economic reconstruction.




-Atrios 1:28 PM

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Jerry

(Watching CNN) Apparently Viceroy Jerry released a statement this morning saying that when he stated that they needed more troops in Iraq, he only meant in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad in order to prevent the looting. CNN dug up a statement he made at DePauw University where he said:
http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13925

Earlier, at a student forum this afternoon in Meharry Hall, the ambassador admitted, "The single most important change -- the one thing that would have improved the situation -- would have been having more troops in Iraq at the beginning and throughout... Although I raised this issue a number of times with our government, I should have been even more insistent."



And, now all the Bushies are calling him a liar, saying he never asked for more troops. I'm sure Wolf Blitzer will start talking about "weird aspects in his life" any minute now.


...From July 1, 2003:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/6213247.htm
WASHINGTON - The top American administrator in Iraq, confronting growing anti-U.S. anger and guerrilla-style attacks, is asking for more American troops and dozens of U.S. officials to help speed up the restoration of order and public services.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld was reviewing the request from L. Paul Bremer, U.S. officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Bremer's request underscores how difficult it has been for his small civilian staff and some 158,000 U.S.-led troops to meet the demands of Iraqis for security and other basic needs. It also conflicts with upbeat public statements from President Bush, Rumsfeld and Bremer himself on the progress made on Iraq's political and economic reconstruction.