Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

The Washington Post has an article about the frequent distortion of facts and actual lies that are popping up in Bush and Bush Administration speeches as of late. Granted it is not all that abnormal for a politician to "stretch" the truth for a particular political cause, but it is still deplorable in my book and it is even more deplorable for Bush who made a huge case of Al Gores alleged misstatements while on the campaign. As Bush himself would say (and has actually said) you "can't take the high horse and then claim the low road!"

In addition to the Post article I heard a story yesterday on a national news program about the fallaciousness of the "Iraq and Saddam" connections. Apparently the purported "evidence" of a connection that hijacker Atta met an Iraqi official in Prague pre Sept 11 is totally bogus. Many recent news stories confirm that the Czech authorities have stated that the meeting never happened. These same authorities did originally state the meeting did occur but at the same time the FBI and CIA stated that there was no way it happened because Atta did not leave the country during the time it was said to have occurred. The FBI and CIA have stated this all along. Therefore this means that the Bush administration and Bush himself have chosen to ignore what they really know are the FACTS and still state this connection in speeches and in answer to questions. Why would they do this? Why would they knowingly tell lies? Simple. To further a political cause. They desperately wanted the Al Queda - Iraq link to be there so they spouted it anyway when they knew it was not true. They hoped this would turn public opinion against Iraq, and basically because 90% of people take the President and his administration at their word, on their integrity, it worked. In my own view this is an unacceptable and heinous abuse of power. REGARDLESS of your stance on the Iraq issue, REGARDLESS if the connection is true, totally irrespective, the President and his administration should not be dispensing lies to the American people to bolster their positions (in this case they knew on the advise of the FBI and CIA that this meeting never happened, but used it anyway).

The Post article mentions three other recent falsehoods espoused by the President. The Post calls them "dubious, if not wrong". These include Bush warning that Iraq has a growing fleet of unmanned aircraft that could be used "for missions targeting the United States", Bush citing a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency saying the Iraqis were "six months away from developing a weapon" and Bush stating "that objections by a labor union to having customs officials wear radiation detectors has the potential to delay the policy 'for a long period of time'".

These statements are all flat out false. The planes cant even come close to reaching the states, there is NO such report and the customs dispute has been over for a long time.

The Post article goes on to document several more clear "imprecise" statements by the President and the administration.

Also, as the Post goes on to point out and as I stated above, it is almost commonplace for political officials to "embroider" the facts to support a cause. The distinction here is that most of the time (or benefit of the doubt for most of the time) the officials do this off the cuff or on accident or make a mistake and misspeak (which Bush has also been known to do) but in these recent false statements there is premeditation. There must have been. Each statement is false and there is clear evidence to support that the administration knew they were false. That is a very important distinction. When the government starts making false statements in speeches and questioning with "foresight" as the article calls it, its a very serious problem. (And yes other Presidents have done this, Clinton and Nixon come to mind, but their actions were also deplorable.)

These actions are immoral and deplorable. Anyone with half a brain should question these actions and demand better. REGARDLESS of whether or not you agree with the administrations political causes you should have serious issues with the means. Call and or write the President, tell him you dont appreciate the false statements and his deliberate attempts to mislead. Demand better.

  For Bush, Facts Are Malleable: Post