The Administration's #1 excuse to counter the DSM charges?

[kentuck]

"That was before we went to the United Nations." As if it cannot be true because the Administration went to the UN. They exhausted every option before invading Iraq. But, on closer examination...

And in the memos themselves, it is clear that the British were demanding Bush go to the UN before they would sign on to the agreement, because they thought it was not "legal". They needed justification, as stated in the memos. That is why Bush relented and why Colin Powell went before the UN with his stack of lies. Not because they were trying to exhaust all the options. Their first option was their last option: they meant to invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam from the beginning. That is the bottom line.

[aden_nak]

1. They rigged the data BEFORE going to the UN. So their calendars work.

[gratuitous]

2. And their #2 excuse

Is to feign ignorance of English: What does that mean, "fix the facts"? No idea what you're talking about. No, it doesn't comport at all with the reports out of Foggy Bottom that the intelligence people were told over and over what facts the administration wanted to hear, or that a report that said Saddam was no threat was returned with the comment, "Wrong answer. Try again."

[TahitiNut]

11. "fix the facts" = "cook the books" ... there's no other interpretation!

The pretense of benign parsing is disgusting.

[damntexdem]

13. Remember what the right did with Clinton's 'what is is'?

Their spin in 'fix the facts' should open them up to widespread laughter.

[tk2kewl]

3. Who cares if they went to the UN?

They went with a concoction of lies. It only adds another group to the list of those to which bush lied.

Lied to Congress.
Lied to the people of the U.S.
Lied to the U.N. and the entire world.

Did I leave anyone out?

[damntexdem]

15. We care, those of us outraged at how they lied to the U.N.

Just as they lied to the people of the U.S. and of Britain.

[tk2kewl]

19. i guess you only read the subject line

[marylanddem]

4. Impeach. Impeach. Impeach. Impeach

Impeachment must happen.

[Coexist]

5. and you say, in response to that,

that the memo was written BEFORE the U.S. went to the U.N. is the POINT.

The U.N. issue was just a scam to get through. The U.S. had no intention of NOT invading Iraq - no matter what the U.N. and Saddam did, said, didn't say or didn't do. 1700 Americans were already dead, but didn't know it, $300,000,000 of MY tax dollars that could have been used to save military bases, secure borders and airports was already SPENT, but we didn't know it - before the U.N. play-acting began.

They put on a dog-and-pony show for WORLD LEADERS in a huge waste of time and created a web of lies and fear that embarrassed us in front of a World body.

[Roland99]

6. In "Plan of Attack", Cheney did NOT want to go to the UN!!

[ewagner]

7. Going through the motions

Even when this was going on, most of us here thought that Bush and gang were "just going through the motions" at the UN. The evidence was weak and fabricated but it didn't matter. The results of the UN vote didn't matter either. They met the British pass/fail simply by GOING to the UN. The whole thing was a sham......

[Just Me]

8. That shit intel Powell presented to the UN embarassed the hell out of,...

,...me. Every single bit of it was proven to be total garbage!!! That had to have been one of the first, truly embarassing moments I ever had as an American. That "case for war" was so freakin' poor that the UNSC practically laughed at us; except the administration's aims were no laughing matter. Everything else the BushCo regime pulled after that was beyond embarassing,...it was shameful and humiliating!!!

The reference to "that was before we went to the UN" (by Blair) simply validated the evidence revealed by the minutes/memo: BushCo, with Blair's assistance, defrauded the USA in order to get his illegal, profiteering, aggressive war.

[TahitiNut]

9. The Cabal's Kabuki with the UN fits perfectly into the fraud.

A UN Security Council resolution authorizing an invasion was one of the (highly unlikely) scenarios that would provide "cover of law" for the invasion and occupation. As expected, however, such a resolution was NOT obtained.

As expected, however, the UNSC required resumption of weapons inspections. The US/UK hoped that Saddam ("wrong-footed") would refuse to accept the inspectors. Such a refusal would have increased the probability that the UNSC would authorize military intervention. Saddam, however, didn't refuse.

At this point, as the US/UK knew, it would take the UNMOVIC 5-9 months to come to the (already known) conclusion that Iraq possessed NO WMD's! Thus, the time-line was set. The US/UK had to invade before the clock ran out ... and they did!!

[kentuck]

16. Good point.

The UN did not give them permission to invade - only to require Saddam to let inspectors back into the country. But that was not enough for Bush and Blair - we might experience a mushroom cloud if we waited. Remember Condi Rice talking about the "mushroom cloud"?

[CrispyQ]

10. These guys live in a fantasy world

but have deluded themselves that they create reality. Their world domination dreams will crash around them, but there will be plenty of harsh reality dished out to the rest of us too.

[damntexdem]

12. Their going to the UN, the way they did it, and the lies they told there .

tend to support the allegations that they lied the two nations into an illegal invasion.

[ChiciB1]

14. THIS Story Was Hatched LOOOOOOONG Before He

even got himself appointed to occupy the Oval Office!

He's and his creepy "corrupt ones"!

[madrchsod]

17. "the dog ate my homework"

works every time.

[rzemanfl]

18. With * the lie goes, : "the dog ate my homework, I was going to

get it out of the dog's ass, but it died, so I was going to cut it out of the dog, but my parents had the dog cremated."

[melissinha]

20. They think the American public is gullible

Which in many cases it is.. and lately the public has been complicit..

LIke you all have said.... YES their excuse is true and THAT FACT is more damning... they decided prior to seeking UN approval. I just don't get their logic.... or maybe I do.. they think any excuse that can be spun is good enough.. maybe they mean that this wasn't official cause they hadn't YET sought approval of the UN. But as you all ahve pointed out before, the neocons have been chomping at the bits asking Clinton to take Saddam out.

Honestly the case for the neocon involvement in 9/11 is getting stronger... there is certainly motive.

Someone please explain how their excuse can be spun as a defense? I don't get it.