White House transcript of Bush & Blair responding to DSM question

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Q Thank you, sir. On Iraq, the so-called Downing Street memo from July 2002 says intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy of removing Saddam through military action. Is this an accurate reflection of what happened? Could both of you respond?

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, I can respond to that very easily. No, the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all. And let me remind you that that memorandum was written before we then went to the United Nations. Now, no one knows more intimately the discussions that we were conducting as two countries at the time than me. And the fact is we decided to go to the United Nations and went through that process, which resulted in the November 2002 United Nations resolution, to give a final chance to Saddam Hussein to comply with international law. He didn't do so. And that was the reason why we had to take military action.

But all the way through that period of time, we were trying to look for a way of managing to resolve this without conflict. As it happened, we weren't able to do that because -- as I think was very clear -- there was no way that Saddam Hussein was ever going to change the way that he worked, or the way that he acted.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I -- you know, I read kind of the characterizations of the memo, particularly when they dropped it out in the middle of his race. I'm not sure who "they dropped it out" is, but -- I'm not suggesting that you all dropped it out there. (Laughter.) And somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go to use military force to deal with Saddam. There's nothing farther from the truth.

My conversation with the Prime Minister was, how could we do this peacefully, what could we do. And this meeting, evidently, that took place in London happened before we even went to the United Nations -- or I went to the United Nations. And so it's -- look, both us of didn't want to use our military. Nobody wants to commit military into combat. It's the last option. The consequences of committing the military are -- are very difficult. The hardest things I do as the President is to try to comfort families who've lost a loved one in combat. It's the last option that the President must have -- and it's the last option I know my friend had, as well.

And so we worked hard to see if we could figure out how to do this peacefully, take a -- put a united front up to Saddam Hussein, and say, the world speaks, and he ignored the world. Remember, 1441 passed the Security Council unanimously. He made the decision. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050607-2.html

[Maraya1969]

1. Blair lies so much more eloquently than Bush does don't you think?

[Quakerfriend]

5. So true!

[City Lights]

6. Yes, maybe because he speaks in a language we understand.

Translating bushspeak is hard work! It can't be because he lies more often than chimpy.

[Career Prole]

2. Laugh, you grinning ape.

You'll be crying soon enough.

[Generator]

3. Assholes!

So big fucking deal you went to the UN with false information. You knew it was false. Colin Powell knew it was false. Going to the UN with fixed intel is the point, assholes.

Last resort my ass. And didn't WE pull out the weapons inspectors? Lying douchebags. I hate being lied to. Isn't that a real American red-blooded reaction???????? Ugh.

[eallen]

4. "I am not a crook."

Well. Someone had to say it.

:bounce:

[goclark]

12. Yep " I am not a crook" part 2

[MichiganVote]

7. Notice how both assiduously avoid the dreaded "WMD"

Hit them had on that dem's. No WMD, nada.

[livvy]

8. Apparently someone needs to hire some new clerical help...

Because I don't remember reading this type of sentiment in the memo. One would think they could afford to hire someone more adept at notetaking! And, oh, yeah, the nitwit has taken the time to comfort soooo many families.
What disgusting little speeches by both of them!

Here's to you, Georgie!

[merbex]

9. When the reporter referred to DSM as the "so called DSM"

that was the PERFECT time to clarify the WHOLE thing by asking "Isn't it really MINUTES,which would make it an official document relaying the British gov't's assesment of the state of the Bush Administartion mindset on the date in question which was roughly Late July,2002?"

And if I could have a followup

The followup would have been appropiriate AFTER establishing that it was AN OFFICIAL GOV"T DOCUMENT reflecting what the British gov't considered to be up to the minute assessment of what Washington was up to ON THAT DATE

[wtmusic]

10. Exactly. The response was lame and in total denial of what's on the

OFFICIAL record. :grr:

[nytemare]

11. Bush has absolutely no grasp of the use of the English language

What a dolt.