Letter in the local paper sounded like astroturf

[salin]

Read these quotes
To the editor:


John F. Kerry's backers are hoping that they can get away with claiming that President Bush lied to Congress about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

But wait! Read these quotes from prominent Democrats.

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, he has 10 times since 1983." Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb. 18, 1998.

...snip...

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal murderous dictator … So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., Jan. 23, 2003.

Think about it.

at: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2004/04/11/digitalcity.letters.sto

Is there any website that tracks potential astroturf?

[Florida_Geek]

1. astroturf normally takes a week or

so to show up and by googling. That why a lot of papers print it and only find out later it was printed in 20 other newspapers.

[salin]

3. just googled - didn't find other papers (yet) but did find

a hit on snopes.com (posted in 2003) - http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/wmdquotes.asp

and some (not all) of the quotes on a gopusa item (from feb) http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/february/0219_rightmarch_moveon_censure.shtml

Here's a dude explains that he got these quotes in an email! (guess the local paper got sent an gop email... as a letter to the editor, rather than a case of astroturf)
http://www.metrobeat.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A2534

[alfredo]

2. That sounds like an e-mail of talking points

I got from my republican associates. The 1998 quotes came around the time of Operation Desert Fox. What capability Saddam still had was destroyed then.

Kerry was responding to the info given to him by the same ones who lied to us about WMD's.

Respond to this, but first google Operation Desert Fox The first two quotes came 10 months before Desert Fox.

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9812/16/iraq.strike.03/

In a televised address, Clinton accused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of failing to live up to his commitment to allow unrestricted access to U.N. weapons inspectors.


"We had to act, and act now," he said.


"Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors with nuclear weapons, poison gas or biological weapons," Clinton said from the Oval Office. Clinton said he decided weeks ago to give Hussein one last chance to cooperate. But he said U.N. chief weapons inspector Richard Butler reported that Iraq had failed to cooperate -- and had in fact placed new restrictions on weapons inspectors.


British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the attack, named Operation Desert Fox, was necessary because Hussein never intended to abide by his pledge to give unconditional access to U.N. inspectors trying to determine if Iraq has dismantled its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs.