Is this true?

[Maine-ah]

"Former US president Bill Clinton said in October during a visit to Portugal that he was convinced Iraq had weapons of mass destruction up until the fall of Saddam Hussein, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said."

I have no source for this, some freeper asshole said this to me.

[elehhhhna]

1. IF so he was lied to--just like the rest of us

[Maine-ah]

3. that was my thought too.

[iamthebandfanman]

10. i just

dont buy that excuse.

i mean, i knew there were none way before the war started and im not any part of the government or have i ever been any part of the government..

i hate that excuse by democrats. ohh i didnt know, they lied to me! pishaw. i mean honestly, i dunno which one is worse...not knowing anything about whats going on or actually believing the lying bastards in control of this country. sheesh.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. You're getting sucked in

If the freeper asshole made this assertion - and I don't know if it's true or not - demand that the freeper prove it.

Don't get defensive and set out to do the freeper's homework. When people make statements like this, make sure you force them to the wall with demands that they prove what they just said.

Democrats are far too often in a defensive crouch, and that's bullshit.

Put up or shut up - that's what you tell the freeper.

And why would you believe an asshole, anyway?

[Canuckistanian]

4. Agreed. Make them look up the official records

They get away with this bullshit all the time. We demand a higher standard here.

Let them know they're not dealing with one of their fellow idiots anymore.

[Arkansas Granny]

19. Absolutely. Make them look it up. They might even learn

something in the process.

[Maine-ah]

5. I didn't. I personally thought he was full of shit

better to cya than to look like an idot though.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

25. Why?

See, there's that goddamned defensive posture again.

CYA?

WHY?

HOLD HIM TO THIS STATEMENT! Make HIM defend it!

CYA is for wusses. Cut it out.

[Maine-ah]

28. bite me.

why attack me for not quite knowing something?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

29. "attack"???

Stay in your crouch, then, if you can't understand friendly advice.

Welcome to IgnoreLand, and don't forget your knee pads.

[Maine-ah]

30. whatever

I came to ask for help, and you sit there behind your monitor and insult me. Not so "friendly advice". "Ignoreland", no, I was trying to stand up for what is right, and was unsure of something and didn't want to look like an ass if I was wrong. I don't just blindly believe that no democrat (especially Clinton) could do no wrong. Apparently you don't get that. I'm not as old as you, OLL, LOL, so if I don't know something about previous presidents, I have to ask.

I'm not going to argue this with you, there is no sense to in-fight here.

Have a nice day.

[cynatnite]

6. If I was a christian, I'd say 'amen'. :) n/t

[Marie26]

7. Google it.

From a quick Google, that quote seems to come from "NewsMax" (the tabloid for conservatives.) Go get him! :)

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/9/90838.shtml

[mzteris]

12. they picked it up,

but not they're not the source.........

http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/AFP/2004/01/09/347585?ba=m&bi=11&bp=12

Not sure this is the "source" either, but at least it's in Lisbon.

[mzteris]

8. Evidently the Prime Minister

did say Bill said that - we're talking October 2003 - just google the phrase....... but I didn't see evidence that Bill said he said that.... however, I did find this:

"Clinton told King: "People can quarrel with whether we should have more troops in Afghanistan or internationalize Iraq or whatever, but it is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted for stocks of biological and chemical weapons." http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/07/23/clinton.iraq.sotu/

[Arkansas Granny]

20. On the day that Clinton left office, there were no U.N. weapons

inspectors in Iraq. On the day the Bush decided to begin the invasion of Iraq, there were U.N. inspectors on the ground who had to leave. Bush could have found out the truth, but he didn't want that. He wanted to invade Iraq, whether it was for the oil, to settle old scores or to bump up hsi poll numbers, we may never know.

But without question it is Bush and not Clinton who is responsible for the thousands of our soldiers who have been killed and injured and for untold thousands of Iraqi citizens.

[mzteris]

21. without doubt

I hold bushco completely responsible for the debacle of the illegal invasion of Iraq.

I'm just making sure our arguments are sound and we're not talking out our behinds in saying who said or did what when.

[Karmakaze]

24. Remember though, that was because Clinton ordered them out...

so he could start bombing Iraq in 1998 - it was called Operation Desert Fox.

Trying to absolve Clinton of all blame will not work, because he does indeed have Iraqi blood on his hands. In fact it was his administration that created the policy of "regime change" that ultimately led to the invasion.

Being honest is a far better strategy than covering up what Clinton did. Bush is infinitely worse, but Clinton is not blameless. Admit he did wrong as well, and you take away the Republican talking point. Try to cover up, and they can keep pointing out the facts, and people will think Dems are trying to hide their own culpability, and THAT will become the focus.

[Arkansas Granny]

26. Clinton did not order the inspectors out o f Iraq in 1998,

the U.N. ordered them to leave because Saddam was not cooperating.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1123

Clinton did not order the attacks to begin until he had received a report from U.N. chief weapons inspector, Richard Butler.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec1998/n12171998_9812172.html

Honesty is important, but so is accuracy.

[Karmakaze]

32. Actually...

Butler was in the pocket of the CIA and:

"Russian Ambassador Sergei Lavrov criticized Butler for evacuating inspectors from Iraq Wednesday morning without seeking permission from the Security Council."

--USA Today, 12/17/98

"Butler ordered his inspectors to evacuate Baghdad, in anticipation of a military attack, on Tuesday night--at a time when most members of the Security Council had yet to receive his report."

--Washington Post, 12/18/98

and finally:

"But the most recent irritant was Mr. Butler's quick withdrawal from Iraq on Wednesday of all his inspectors and those of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iraqi nuclear programs, without Security Council permission. Mr. Butler acted after a telephone call from Peter Burleigh, the American representative to the United Nations, and a discussion with Secretary General Kofi Annan, who had also spoken to Mr. Burleigh."

--New York Times, 12/18/98

So, yes, Clinton did order the inspectors out. His ambassador told Kofi Annan and Richard Butler that the US was going to attack, and Butler immediately pulled out the inspectors without full Security Council approval. Your second link shows that the planning for the attack was in place BEFORE the report was received, and the above quotes show that most SC members hadnt even received it yet when Butler pulled out the inspectors.

" He said the timing of the attack had to wait on Butler's report." Sounds like the report was merely being used as cover, rather than the actual CAUSE of the strikes.

Yes accuracy IS important, and in this case I have been as accurate as the evidence allows.

[LynnTheDem]

9. So it was CLINTON who invaded Iraq??? CLINTON kicked the weapons

inspectors out of Iraq???

All this time I thought GEORGE W bUSH was the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. And now I find out nope it was CLINTON. bUSH was just borrowing the Oval Office.

Who could have known! :shrug:

[Karmakaze]

23. Actually, yes he did...

Remember 1998? Remeber Operation Desert Fox? It was Clinton that ordered the inspectors to leave and started bombing Iraq.

I would be careful going down that road. Bush may be infinitely worse, but Clinton was no saint when it came to policy towards Iraq. Remember, it was under Clinton that half a million children died due to US enforced sanctions, and it was Madeleine Albright that said "I think that is a very hard choice, but the price, we think, the price is worth it" about the fact half a million Iraqi children had died because of sanctions.

[LynnTheDem]

31. I'm dealing with the current illegal invasion of Iraq

And that was george w. bush. Not Clinton. ;)

[dogday]

11. Saddam wanted everyone to think that

he had WMD'S, so he propagated the rumor as much as posssible...

[radwriter0555]

13. What's the big deal with the probability that clinton lied? It takes the

wind out of the gop sails, and reduces their idiotic hate radio tawking point to mush to just say "YES, CLINTON LIED ABOUT WMDS!"

Even if it isn't true, it deflates them faster than a blow up doll getting cozy with a porcupine. Then they huff and puff and change the subject. All in good fun of course.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. thats immaterial...even if clinton said it..he didnt start a war over it

i didnt like saddam either but i am not the one who sent troops into that country with no real plan and no exit strategy.

[seabeyond]

15. lets remember we did NOT invade iraq because of wmd's

a lot of people thought there were stuff hanging around from the old days. bush knew people would not back him on the war over wmds. that is why bushco's put so much effort into lie, outing plame on nuclear, aluminum tubes and drones..... remember, our invasion had NOTHING to do with wmds there or not there. nor did it have anything to do with liberating the iraqi's. dont let them spin the story. whether wmds were there or not is not the reason bush went to war

so really it is irrelevant. clinton saying in 2003 we thought they were there and weapons were unaccounted for.... many people thought that. even the french. they still didn't feel it was a reason to go to war nor did the american people nor people around the war. it was escalating danger to u.s. risk that got the peoples support. THAT is BUSH LIES

[meegbear]

16. Here's the source ...

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/9/90838.shtml

'Nuff sed.

[mzteris]

22. not the source

The PM said he said it. Whether he did or not - who knows?

But Clinton did say something on Larry King in July of 2003. (see links above)

Not that I'm blaming C - I'm not! I hold buscho completely responsible.

[Arkansas Granny]

17. There were a lot of people who thought that Saddam Hussein

had weapons of mass destruction. If Bush had allowed the U.N. inspectors the time they needed to do their job, we would have known that he did not have WMD's and the invasion would not have been necessary. However, that was not part of Bush's plan, so you see what happened. The warmongers have been using the excuse "everyone thought he had WMD's" to rationalize the attack on a sovereign nation. The failure to find them after the invasion wasn't that important to Bush as he had achieved his goal with the invasion.

Besides, it doesn't matter what Bill Clinton thought at the time. He's not the one who sent our troops to Iraq and he is not responsible for the quagmire it has become.

[Ready4Change]

18. He has said that before.

Considering how the incoming Bush administration brushed aside the outgoing Clinton administrations high priority recommendation to pursue OBL and Al Queda, thus leaving our national pants down for 9/11, Clinton has been remarkably gentle in his comments regarding Bush administration policies.

[zbdent]

27. "Says so, right here . . .

in this letter signed by the good sources there at the P.N.A.C. . . ."