Study: "False Pretenses" Led U.S. To War

Journalism Groups' Research Finds 935 False Statements By Bush Administration

(AP)  A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.

"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Mr. Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al Qaeda or both.

"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al Qaeda," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

Named in the study along with Mr. Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Mr. Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al Qaeda, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al Qaeda.

The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.

"The cumulative effect of these false statements - amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts - was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study concluded.

"Some journalists - indeed, even some entire news organizations - have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it said.

[ioweign]

It is always the best policy to tell the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar.
Jerome K. Jerome


They still don''t get it...

[speakinup]

MCVet - you didn''t answer the question, did you ?

Nope!

Why ?

I''ll tell you why - because you don''t have a reasonable answer.


So, you are saying Bush lied to get us there, but yor silence on why he won''t CYA by planting WDMs contradicts yor first statement.

You big lie theory - as well as Hillary''s reference to how the Republicans have created a "vast conspiricy" are nothing more than lies themselves - propped up by Soros''s money.

Now, you are probably ignorant and well meaning, but never-the-less a tool of Soros''s.





BTW, I got a kick out of how you called me a ''cultist'' and in the same breath say, "Sieg Heil Bush". It shows just what the far left is like - hypocritical, ignorant, and want to stay that way.

[slpdisk]

You can not correct a wrong with a wrong!

[slpdisk]

You people like good little sheep tend to stray from the subject, which is these criminals lead us into an illegal war based on lies to get the American peoples cooperation. Here let me give you an example. From the sanctions placed on Iraq after gulf war,our government led the oil for food scandal which as of today has caused starvation and sickness killing over 1.5 million Iraqi civilians mostly children. Does that give another country the right to attack us and illegally occupy america?

[mcvet]

Let un not forget the he Mass murdered the Northeren Kurds with Poison Gas ( I do belive that that would be considered a WMD!)


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Posted by gunnerv1 at 03:53 PM : Jan 24, 2008
+ report abuse

Where did Saddam get that gas? Hummm?? PLEASE go to the site that has the 935 LIES posted and tell us WHICH of those are actually TRUTH. If you, as everyone else can''t find one, then have a LITTLE honor about you for goodness sake! Bush LIED us into a war that had NOTHING to do with the attacks on us... The "Front for the War on Terror"? It was a LIE man... you don''t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out... it''s all laid out for you in BLACK and WHITE... it''s right there with dates, places, names... it''s all right there! Sieg Heil Bush

[mcvet]

Hey ANYONE - IF YOU CLAIM BUSH LIED TO GET US INTO IRAQ LIKE THIS "non-profit" report advocates,

WHY DIDN''''T BUSH PLANT WDMs IN IRAQ TO VINDICATE HIMSELF ?

That would seem to be the obvious next step.

Did I just hear the far left (Soros) house of cards fall ?


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Posted by speakinup at 06:05 PM : Jan 24, 2008
+ report abuse

Now look we have to give you some space here because you are a cultist but come on!! I have pulled up EVERY one of the LIES told, they are VERY specific with dates, times and Names, as to why they are, without a doubt LIES! NO one in the Reich has come forward to contradict even ONE of the lies so what is YOUR problem. Because you aren''t intelligent enough to admit you were lied to we should just ignore the reality? Because some folks YOU may not agree with contributed to the group doing the data search we should just ignore the reality? That''s crazy!! Sieg Heil Bush!

[robert_orme]

This what is wrong with this country is we want to focus on one man and leave out the masses that had to vote for this and it was a mixture of both political parties and this is a shame that we have no good choices for president and one who has proven that she is only after money and we need a special group in government who will do the job that these clown collect a hand out for that we call senators and house of representives......One we will wake up and wonder where freedom and our rights have went at that point we will not be able to fight back without alot lf losses wake up America.

[Krazcarl]

speakinup...you cant be that stupid thet would notice it was a USA bomb and they would undermine our whole nuclear program it''s not like a bullet where one fita all they can tell by constuction where it came from even shrub isn''t that stupid tgough he nay have thought of it,

[speakinup]

Hey ANYONE - IF YOU CLAIM BUSH LIED TO GET US INTO IRAQ LIKE THIS "non-profit" report advocates,

WHY DIDN''T BUSH PLANT WDMs IN IRAQ TO VINDICATE HIMSELF ?

That would seem to be the obvious next step.

Did I just hear the far left (Soros) house of cards fall ?

[gunnerv1]

Let un not forget the he Mass murdered the Northeren Kurds with Poison Gas ( I do belive that that would be considered a WMD!)

[tngreen]

"gunownerdan," you are exactly right, and it would do the public well to remember Democratic complicity in promoting this war and hold the scumbags accountable. The Green Party was very outspoken against entering the war, and it''s members (like me) believed people like Scott Ritter, who said that the administration''s case was fabricated. The truth was out there, but not on CBS News. You had to go to outlets such as Democracy Now! for the real facts. Funny how with their miniscule budget they were able to get the story.

[gunownerdan]

These people also seem to work for the Bush administration...

"Iraq''s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program.
He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.....
It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime . He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation . And now he is miscalculating America''s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction
...So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real .."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

[samsel3]

On September 14,2002 Rep. James McDermott at a Capitol Hill Briefing said that politics and oil, not fear that Iraq will use WMD are driving factors behind the presidents call for regime change. McDermott said there was an organized effort to squelch such discussions. "The political operatives in the white house have been very careful to spin it away from oil. Anytime anybody sees a connection they spin it the other way".
In an interview published by the French, dedefensa.org journalist Amy Goodman''s interview with General Wesley Clark. Clark stated he viewed a defense department memo that described how the U.S. was going to take out seven countries in five years...."starting with Iraq,then Syria and Lebanon, then Libya,then Somalia and Sudan, and back to Iran."

[samsel3]

On January 26, 1998 in an letter to the President the PNAC asked Clinton to invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein.
February 12, 1998 John J. Maresca vp of UNOCAL oil appeared before a House sub committee. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for exploitation of oil & natural gas resources in the Caspian Sea area.

In his testimony he stated, "The key question is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made available to nearby Asian markets ". The exploitation option stated : "One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed by American companies because of U.S. sanctions (with Iran ) . The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which of course has it''''s own unique challenges. " He continued saying, " the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments,lenders (world monitary fund & world bank ) ,and our company "......"

UNOCAL and other American companies are prepared to undertake the job ".
More than a year and half before 911 the CIA Special Activities Division was conducting operations in Afghanistan, trying to topple the Taliban regime for the Caspian Sea Oil Pipeline...........We now call such activities terror

[simonsez40]

For the life of me I can''t figure out why SPEAKINUP would defend a bald-face liar, deceiver and criminal? There is SO MUCH evidence that proves otherwise he''s a liar and doesn''t give an iota about the American public - all he cares about is moving forward his agenda regardless of the laws, the constitution or being held accountable.

If any American citizen had done 1/4 of the crimes he''s committed we''d be in Leavenworth for life!

[micma-2009]

Posted by speakinup


Geezz you''''ve lost it.

If you claim that Isreal has nuclear weapons and you know that to be false when you say it then you are lying.

Bush new at the time he used the yellow cake documents in his case for war that they were forgeries. He knew months in advance. That makes it a lie. It was a central part of his case. When asked why he used it in his state of the union address even though the administration was told months in advance by the CIA and foreign intelligence the documents were bogus, Condi simply said, "we forgot that we knew that". Of course they also knew that there was absolutely no connection between Sadam''''s government and Al Qaeda but they told many lies about that too.

You''''d do better to defend your country than the lies and failed policies of a failed leader. When you make an enemy of the truth you always come out looking foolish. That''''s why you always come out looking foolish.

Go ahead, google Office of Special Plans. I dare you.

[micma-2009]

speakinup


Aren''t you going to come back and pat yourself on the back again? Come on, do it for me. It gives me a good belly laugh. Please?

Must be lunch time at RNC headquarters.

lol!

[micma-2009]

speakinup?


tick..tock..tick..tock...crickets chirp........


lol!

[micma-2009]

speakinup

As for the obvious lack of WMD''s, he simply made up the excuse that Sadam spirited them away to Syria. Aparently, Sadam was able to hide hundreds of truck loads of WMD''s but he couldn''t hide himself or his family. This makes sense only if you are desperate to defend a lying moron. Which you obviously are. Having a village idiot for a President emboldens village idiots everywhere.

lol!


Thanks for the laughs! This is entertaining!

[vmcneal2]

Oh wait..I know why George didn''t plant a WMD..He''s not that smart.