"Carefully choreographed" video rally for the troops ..... MSNBC

[RedEarth]

"Carefully choreographed"
The president engaged in a carefully choreographed question-and-answer session with 10 American servicemen and women and one Iraqi soldier, whom he saw on a large video screen set up in a room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House.

“Do the Iraqis want to fight, and are they capable of fighting?” he asked. He was told they were.

“The Iraqi army and police services, along with coalition support, have conducted many and multiple exercises and rehearsals,” Capt. Stephen Pratt of Pocatello, Idaho, told Bush. “Along with the coalition backing them, we’ll have a very successful and effective referendum vote.”


....


Prepped to answer

Before it began, a Pentagon official coached the troops, telling them the president planned to ask questions on three topics: The overall security in Iraq, how they were preparing for the vote on Saturday and how much progress had been made in the training of Iraqi troops.

Allison Barber, a Pentagon official, said Bush would ask them specifically, “In the last 10 months, what kind of progress have we seen?”

She asked who was prepared to answer the question. “Master Sgt. Lombardo,” one said.

After Bush asked just that question, Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo responded: “Over the past 10 months, the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces are improving ... They continue to develop and grow into a sustainable force.”



more.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9686462/

[oregonindy]

1. der furher is pleased with herr goebbles propaganda conference. n/t

[rodeodance]

3. this should have been the headline for all the Katrina photo-ops!!

[fooj]

2. They are desperate. It was totally obvious...

The answers were scripted and memorized.

Peace.

[ewagner]

4. Why am I reminded

of my old, childhood Luthern Cathecism Class.

The Minister would ask the question and I would give the memorized "answer" to the question.

That what this was.

[TahitiNut]

25. Exactly. What we witnessed today was the "Misery Synod" catechism.

:evilgrin:

[underpants]

5. I'll bet none of them came from a unit like John Crawford was in

they wouldn't be near a TV or a TV camera.

I am almost finished with that book. Man I could just read and read and read more stories from him.

[pacalo]

6. You've got to check out the soldier sitting in the middle row

second from the left. At about 9:05 into the video I began noticing how he couldn't keep a straight face.

[RedEarth]

7. maybe Letterman or Leno will point it out....lol

[pacalo]

22. Yes! And too bad TDS is having re-runs this week. :(

[Debau2005]

8. Question...

How can it be a "rally" if only 11 people were there? Correct me if I am wrong but don't we have 10's of thousands of troops in Iraq? But he only rallied 11?

[savemefromdumbya]

13. you made my day!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Hubert Flottz]

20. That's about average for a Big Freeper Rally.

They probably had 12 porta potties standing by!

[ucmike]

9. i wish kanye west was there.

[Neocondriac]

10. Jesus , this has been going on for years....

I tried to attend two BushCo. rallys in Florida only to be turned away when I refused to sign a loyalty pledge.On the second occassion I was escorted back to my car by Secret Service and told to leave the area. Land of the free and home of the blindly loyal.

[Just Me]

15. Yeah, BUT, now,...the press is actually reporting the facts about,...

,...the carefully staged propaganda activities.

Better late than never, I guess.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

11. The video is up at c-span.org. He has an earpiece with a wire and

stumbles a bunch. The troops sound like they are reading from cue cards. This is a must see. It's awful but proves how fake this presidency is.

[liveoaktx]

14. It's also coming up at 3:00 CST on Cspan with the WH Briefing repeat after

[paineinthearse]

12. "Yes sir, no, sir, where do I go sir, permission to breath,sir..."

Anyone remember the old Ray Davies song? Am I dating myself?

Yes Sir, no Sir
Where do I go Sir
What do I do Sir
What do I say

Yes Sir, no Sir
Where do I go Sir
What do I do Sir
How do I behave

Yes Sir, no Sir
Permission to speak Sir
Permission to breathe Sir
What do I say, how do I behave, what do I say

So you think that you've got ambition
Stop your dreaming and your idle wishing
You're outside and there ain't no admission
To our play
Pack up your ambition in your old kit bag
Soon you'll be happy with a packet of fags
Chest out stomach in
Do what I say, do what I say
Yes right away

Yes Sir, no Sir
Where do I go Sir
What do I do Sir
What do I say

Yes Sir, no Sir
Permission to speak Sir
Permission to breathe Sir
What do I say, how do I behave, what do I say

Doesn't matter who you are
You're there and there you are
Everything Is in its place
Authority must be maintained
And then we know exactly where we are
Let them feel that they're important to the cause
But let them know that they are fighting for their homes
Just be sure that they're contributing their all
Give the scum a gun and make the bugger fight
And be sure to have deserters shot on sight
If he dies we'll send a medal to his wife

Yes Sir, no Sir
Please let me die Sir
I think this life is affecting my brain
Yes Sir, no Sir
Three bags full Sir
What do I do Sir, what do I say
What do I say, how do I behave, what do I say

:patriot:

[paineinthearse]

16. E&P: Was Bush Teleconference with Soldiers in Iraq Scripted?

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001305786

Was Bush Teleconference with Soldiers in Iraq Scripted?

By E&P Staff

Published: October 13, 2005 3:23 PM ET

NEW YORK Contrary to early accounts, President Bush's question-and-answer session with U.S. troops in Iraq tied to Saturday's vote on the new constitution now seems far from spontaneous. Subsequent reports from journalists on the scene revealed quite a bit of choreography in Thursday's teleconference with the president in Washington.

The official pool report, in fact, painted this scene: "The soldiers, nine U.S. men and one U.S. woman, plus an Iraqi, had been tipped off in advance about the questions in the highly-scripted event. Allison Barber, deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense for internal communication, could be heard asking one soldier before the start of the event, 'Who are we going to give that to?'"

Yet when asked if the soldiers' comments or questions were pre-screened, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan answered, "no."

At a press briefing later on Thursday, a reporter asked McClellan about the teleconference.

Q Scott, why did the administration feel it was necessary to coach the soldiers that the President talked to this morning in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, I don't know what you're suggesting.

Q Well, they discussed the questions ahead of time. They were told exactly what the President would ask, and they were coached, in terms of who would answer what question, and how they would pass the microphone.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, are you suggesting that what our troops were saying was not sincere, or what they said was not their own thoughts?

Q Nothing at all. I'm just asking why it was necessary to coach them.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in terms of the event earlier today, the event was set up to highlight an important milestone in Iraq's history, and to give the President an opportunity to, once again, express our appreciation for all that our troops are doing when it comes to defending freedom, and their courage and their sacrifice. And this is a satellite feed, as you are aware, and there are always technological challenges involved when you're talking with troops on a satellite feed like this. And I think that we worked very closely with the Department of Defense to coordinate this event. And I think all they were doing was talking to the troops and letting them know what to expect.

Q But we asked you specifically this morning if there would be any screening of questions or if they were being told in any way what they should say or do, and you indicated no.

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think that's what the question was earlier today. I think the question earlier today was asking if they could ask whatever they want, and I said, of course, the President was -- and you saw --

Q And I asked if they were pre-screened.

MR. McCLELLAN: You saw earlier today the President was trying to engage in a back-and-forth with the troops. And I think it was very powerful what Lieutenant Murphy was saying at the end of that conversation, when he was talking about what was going on in January, how the American troops and coalition forces were in the lead when it came to providing security for the upcoming election, an election where more than eight million Iraqis showed up and voted. It was a great success.

And he talked about how this time, when we had the preparations for the upcoming referendum this Saturday, you have Iraqi forces that are in the lead, and the Iraqi forces are the ones that are doing the planning and preparing and taking the lead to provide for their own security as they get ready to cast their ballots again.

Q But I also asked this morning, were they being told by their commanders what to say or what to do, and you indicated, no. Was there any prescreening of --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not aware of any such -- any such activities that were being undertaken. We coordinated closely with the Department of Defense. You can ask if there was any additional things that they did. But we work very closely with them to coordinate these events, and the troops can ask the President whatever they want. They've always been welcome to do that.

[i_c_a_White_Ghost]

18. scottso

Typical denial: "I'm not aware of any such" instead of just saying yes or no

[ChairmanAgnostic]

17. ON CNN RIGHT NOW! ! !

the coverup, not the conference!

[RedEarth]

29. Here's a bit of the pre-interview transcript from CNN..... pathetic

Rough transcript of Pentagon flunky addressing the troops:


"The president's going to ask some questions and he may ask all 6 of them, all 3 of them. He might have such a great time talking to you. He might come up with some new questions. So what we want to be prepared for is to not stutter. If there's a question that the president comes up with that we haven't drilled through today I expect the microphone to go through to you Captain Kennedy."

[global1]

19. The Choreographed President And His Choreographed War!!!!

I've been saying this since he was selected in 2000. Today we've had just another example of the choreographing.

When * is all over and done with - What a great title for a tell all book on his misAdministration.

"The Choreographed President/The Choreographed War"

[DearAbby]

21. Bush* needs RONCO BALD SPOT REMOVER Spray aerosol

color spray to match the natural color the hair. Easy to use...spray area liberally. By RONCO! The could have at least made the back of * look good...MAKEUP!

Scripted Town hall meetings, Hand picked rally participants (those that sign loyalty oaths) and now this. Almost expected to see a person holding cue cards on the screen.

[Hubert Flottz]

23. Brought on by the Choreographed intelligence about WMD.

Play acting is paying off in the billions for Bushco. A little dog and pony show like the one today is just an example of the effort to keep the bovine like GOPer faithful fooled. We lefties depend on our will to live Republicans depend on their swill to live and their faithful little piggies suck it up!

We've been violated! Forced to pay for our own downfall! Abused! Robbed! Lied to! Belittled! I can't wait until it's their turn in the barrel!

[soup]

24. Ha.

Not only can you see the video, but right below it, you can launch an item called 'Videoconference controversy':

• Videoconference controversy
Oct. 13: President Bush’s videoconference with U.S. troop is stirring controversy. NBC's Rosiland Jordan reports

and/or you can check out the related stories:

MSNBC
Related Stories

• U.S. to send 1,500 more troops to Iraq
• Bush calls for patience on Iraq mission
• Bush officials put best face on Iraq delay
• Bush promotes Iraqi war policy to veterans
• General backtracks on Iraq pullout timing

Oh, yeah. Things are going well. right path turning corners staying courses let freedom reign

[lectrobyte]

26. It's always scripted. The news would be if someone asked something

unexpected, or told him to go Cheney himself...

[paineinthearse]

27. Rememer the soldier in Iraq

During the armor fiasco. A soldier stood up and told Rummy they had to find scraps themselves in order to protect their hummers.

No more mass-troop press conferences since.

[lectrobyte]

30. Yes, I wonder what ever happened to that soldier?

[MisterP]

28. "View From Inside the San Diego Zoo"