Bush denies he influenced Iraq elections

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20050717-09102200-bc-iraq-candidates.xml

Bush denies he influenced Iraq elections

WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) -- Bush administration officials say they drew up but did not proceed with a plan to influence the January elections in Iraq.

The New York Times reports that the National Security Council issued a statement Saturday denying the charge that the government helped candidates they favored.

An article in the next issue of The New Yorker reports that the White House decided to go ahead with the plan despite Congressional outcry.

The Bush Administration disputes the story by Seymour Hersh, saying the final decision was to not influence the election.

<</SNIP>>

[Spinzonner]

1. I always believe the administrations version of things

[Skittles]

41. lol

yeah, I am prone to believe lying pieces of crap

[greekspeak]

2. Sure he didn't.

His lying is boring me now. It is not even outrageous any more, it is pathetic. He does it and does it. He is getting worse at it. These are the pathetic habitual lies of a pathetic coke headed drunk who cannot ride a bike. I guess we are supposed to take his twitching and blinking as signs of a truth telling saint with Jayeezus's own private phone number.

[Kahuna]

11. What you said. It is impossible to keep up with his lies anymore.

nt

[meganmonkey]

22. Great post

You sum it up so well, and even made me laugh which can be hard to do these days.

:hi:

[Botany]

3. What the bush White House screwing w/ the vote?

<Bush administration officials say they drew up but did not proceed with a plan to influence the January elections in Iraq.> :rofl:

Gee, I remember seeing (until they got pulled) pictures of the same
Iraqis in different voting lines around Baghdad.

[leesa]

24. Just like the whopper..."The war plans for Afghanistan were just sitting

on the shelf", when queried as to why we were all ready to invade right after the bogus 9-11 attack

[thinkingwoman]

4. they thought about it

planned it and prepared for it...but changed their minds in the end?

Right.

Whatever.

[Rebellious Republican]

5. Gee, do you suppose Georgie has a credibility problem, maybe

he can't be trusted because all of his lies are catching up to him.
All I can say is BWHAHAHA!
:rofl:

[54anickel]

30. Lots of denials coming from the WH these days. Will folks start to

notice?

[cliss]

33. Somebody is......

my right-wing Rat-publican boss. About 2 months ago, he came up to me and said, "The war in Iraq was based on lies".

Now, coming from a lifelong Repub who's gotten into several scraps with me over politics, that's a major statement.

He conceded that he can't trust anything the government does anymore. = Translation, you were right all along Cliss. I condede. Yeah, people are noticing.

[54anickel]

36. That's encouraging. I've heard the same from a few. They say

yeah, he lied but all politicians lie; he HAD to do something; it was for the good of the nation, blah, blah, blah.

All depends on how loyal they are to the Repuke party. Some justify the actual lie, others justify the act of lying, only a couple Repukes that I know regret their vote for the idiot.

Still, it is progress I suppose, moving beyond the denial phase to the defensive, hoepfully to be followed by acceptance that he's a worthless, corrupt, criminal POS.

[Rebellious Republican]

38. I hear the exact same thing, especially the "All politicians Lie" thing

The only thing I would have to add is, its about their own stupid arrogance and pride.

They do not want to admit they were duped, because they are to smart to be duped.

Oh well thats OK, I will let them have their backdoor, just as long as they take it.

:dilemma:

[Skittles]

42. I would feel sorry for therm

were it not for the fact their ignorance has made us all pay dearly - and in Iraq, our soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians are paying with their LIVES

[Rebellious Republican]

43. I hear ya, my sentiments as well Skittles! N/T

:banghead:

[w13rd0]

6. Drew up a plan to influence elections...

...but didn't use it.

Yeah, right...

Did they also draw up plans on how to influence US elections through similiar means? Can we see those plans please?

[grasswire]

7. too bad they didn't make the same decision in Ohio

....and in Florida. I guess they didn't think it was wrong here to "influence" elections.

[farmbo]

8. Bush may not have overtly influenced the election, but he rigged the count

From February 19, 2005:

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/2295/2

The former Marine also said that the Jan. 30 elections, which George W. Bush has called "a turning point in the history of Iraq, a milestone in the advance of freedom," were not so free after all. Ritter said that U.S. authorities in Iraq had manipulated the results in order to reduce the percentage of the vote received by the United Iraqi Alliance from 56% to 48%.

Asked by UFPPC's Ted Nation about this shocker, Ritter said an official involved in the manipulation was the source, and that this would soon be reported by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in a major metropolitan magazine -- an obvious allusion to New Yorker reporter Seymour M. Hersh.<snip>

[meow2u3]

9. His constant lies are part of the Big Lie propaganda scheme

The reason Bush lies so much is that the more he lies, the less outraged the people will become over time, or so goes his reasoning. It will benefit us to keep up the anger over his lies; this anger is justified.

[realFedUp]

26. hard enough to get the true election count from US states

the info that this administration had open influence
in backing their candidate and in the final vote
count seems rote now....when you can install and
dethrone people at will in the world.

[gratuitous]

10. Bush didn't help *candidates* he favored

But the question is still open whether the administration provided help to parties it favored.

You have to watch every word these bastards say. Remember when Rumsfeld said that during the Neverending War on Terror the administration would not be constrained to tell the truth, and then about two days later, he announced that the administration had changed course and would not peddle disinformation?

Impeachment. Impeachment. Impeachment.

[Toucano]

12. FREEDOM'S ON THE MARCH!

What fucking pigs! Democratic Middle-East my ass!

What about the plans to influence elections in the U.S.?

[Judi Lynn]

13. Bush 'sought to influence polls in Iraq'

Bush 'sought to influence polls in Iraq'

July 17 2005 at 10:44AM

New York - American President George Bush approved a covert plan to influence the outcome of Iraq's January 2005 election, but dropped it amid opposition from the United States Congress, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

After debate within the White House, "the president's national security team recommended that he sign a secret, formal authorisation for covert action to influence the election," the Times said, citing "a dozen current and former government officials" familiar with the discussions.

"Bush either had already signed it or was about to when objections were raised in Congress. Ultimately, he rescinded the decision," the Times said.

All the sources spoke anonymously, except for Frederick Jones, spokesperson for the National Security Council, who would not comment on whether a formal authorisation ever existed.
(snip/...)

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1121589361655U262

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Senate/Congressional republicans slapping the outstretched hand of *?!

Amazing.

F***. He probably did it anyway. Reagan never let Congress get in the way of a good time in San Salvador, Nicarauga, and Iran.

[rooboy]

15. Rescinded the decision? 2 words...

Bull. Shit.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

16. Hey.... what's good for Amurka (Diebold) is good for Iraq, I'm

just sayin'.....

[Cadfael]

17. There's an aritcle about this in the NY Times

WASHINGTON, July 16 - In the months before the Iraqi elections in January, President Bush approved a plan to provide covert support to certain Iraqi candidates and political parties, but rescinded the proposal because of Congressional opposition, current and former government officials said Saturday.

In a statement issued in response to questions about a report in the next issue of The New Yorker, Frederick Jones, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said that "in the final analysis, the president determined and the United States government adopted a policy that we would not try - and did not try - to influence the outcome of the Iraqi election by covertly helping individual candidates for office."

The statement appeared to leave open the question of whether any covert help was provided to parties favored by Washington, an issue about which the White House declined to elaborate.

The article, by Seymour M. Hersh, reports that the administration proceeded with the covert plan over the Congressional objections. Several senior Bush administration officials disputed that, although they recalled renewed discussions within the administration last fall about how the United States might counter what was seen as extensive Iranian support to pro-Iranian Shiite parties.<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/politics/17elect.html?th&emc=th

[mom cat]

18. Thanks. One line from your article says it all:

The article, by Seymour M. Hersh, reports that the administration proceeded with the covert plan over the Congressional objections.

[goforit]

25. I thank those CIA agents that brought this story to light.

[Jacobin]

19. Raise your hand if you are surprised

:eyes:

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

20. "Spreading Freedom" Bush style.

This administration is such a fucking scam.

[fooj]

21. Kind of like in Ohio, right?

He's getting on my last nerve. It's totally insulting at this point!

peace.

[goforit]

23. Or .....how about the 2000 and 2004 election as well?

I believe former-President H. W. Bush may have rigged his congressional election
through an interesting change within his election district.

The seed and their cabal doesn't fall far from the roots.

[lovuian]

27. Is the CIA ticked!!! they leaked the story!!!

this administration doesn't know what a elections is about!!!

[VegasWolf]

28. It's true for once. They just couldn't get those Diebolds over there

quick enough.

[donco6]

29. Someone should photoshop Bush with 10 purple fingers. eom

[wli]

31. they rigged US elections, of course they rigged Iraq elections

[Zorra]

32. Yuh, sure....btw, where are those WMD they also lied about? Even the

republicans are getting sick of Bu*h's lies and corruption.

[WhiteTara]

34. sort of like he didn't influence the iraq war

my motto: when chimpy says one thing, immediately know that he did the other.

[are_we_united_yet]

35. Oh.

For moment there I thought the administration wasn't being straight forward with the American people.

:eyes:

[LynnTheDem]

37. FLASHBACK: bush Cartel calls Hersh a LIAR over secret Pentagon group.

...bush Cartel admits to Congress existance of secret Pentagon group.

Gee who to believe, Hersh proven right time after time, or the proven liars bush Cartel.

[daleo]

39. From "there are no plans on my desk" to

"There are plans on my desk, but I didn't use them". Actually, just drawing up the plans to interfere with another country's "democratic" election shows criminal intent.

[Athame]

40. If they had a plan for it in Iraq. . .

:think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think: :think:

[Emendator]

44. Yeah right

In an election in a country of 60% Shiites, where the Sunnites sat out, after having to wait for almost 3 weeks for the US to count the votes, the result is a Shiite victory of 49% (although they did end up getting 51% in the parliament). Yeah, that sounds like a really great election.