I suspect Rovian Tactics in this whole explosives story.....

[shelley806]

A Rovian tactic is to spread mis-information to the enemy that makes the opponent look bad...and when it's disproven as absolute fact, it makes the enemy look bad.

Example #1.) RatherGate; the truth of Rather's facts were outweighed by the indignation of cries of foul play, left slanted media; not checking facts, etc. Result:? Rather looked bad, CBS looked bad, and Bush was still not proven to have gone AWOL or discharged dishonorably, or gotten favored treatment because of his father. Bush fu'd but it was once agina covered u by a smikescreen designed to do just that--divert attention from negative facts by mis-information.

Example #2.) Judge Election? or Senate? Rove ordered and paid to have people distribute flyers to neighborhoods that scandalized his candidate. Everyone thought that the other guy did it, and it was right before the election; he couldn't retract it...awful mess.

Hatfield?

I'm worried that Mohammed Abbas was paid favors to release the info to the IAEA. Why else would he do this right now? He knew it would hurt Bush. If he leaked the info, and it's proven that the explosives were stolen prior to the invasion, then we have egg on our face, and it detracts from the real issues.


Every time I hear Bush say: Check your facts, I shiver. (He doesn't check his facts, he lies.) But it seems like a set-up.<BR>

If someone could give me a good reason why Abbas would release this info to the IAEA, I'd appreciate it!

With this new information, we need to ask how Major Pearson could have removed 250 tons of ammo in one day...Impossible.

[DaveinMD]

1. this story is in our favor

They haven't answered the questions yet and the press is not rolling over.

[RafterMan]

2. Please read ANY ONE of the many threads on the press conference

or wait for the replay on C-SPAN 2.

The only way this is a Rove trick is if he's working for Kerry.

[shelley806]

3. I hope you both are right.

Why did Abbas tell the IAEA when he knew it would affect the election?????

[RafterMan]

4. What are you talking about?

There's video of the sealed explosives on the site from April 18...

The couldn't have been removed prior to the war.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. nope. story has gone on too long against Bush

it would have been turned around by now if your premise were true.

[goodhue]

6. no the story is very real

Dean Staley and Joe Caffrey got the goods--highly explosive materials at al Qaqaa on April 18th left unsecured; now missing.

[shelley806]

7. I hope you're right about the motives behind this story...

I saw the new minneapolis video yesterday, and heard Aaron Brown discuss it with Kay.

But someone need to tell me why Dr. Muh. Abbas told the IAEA prior to the election....? He didn't have to. He could have waited until after the US elections. Why now?

[goodhue]

10. timing is another matter entirely

why now seems obvious
it does not make the story any less true

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. I think Baradi made this clear and happen because the Bushies tried to

oust him last month

[brooklynite]

8. Too bad Rudy didn't get the memo

If that was Rove's plan, he wouldn't have surrogates stepping on the talking points.

[dqueue]

9. I agree... somewhat...

It seems potentially Rovian... well, the whole week, really. At the same time, it seems viable that some element within the government is actively attacking bushco to push him out of office.

Possibilities, in my tinfoily mind:

1. If this is Rovian, and they somehow bounce it in their favor, they attack Kerry as only responding to the media-presented facts versus established, documented facts... this is seeming less and less likely as the week goes on, though.

2. If Rove's October Surprise is strong enough, and somehow bushco emerges victorious, he will seem christ-like in having brushed off all these "liberal media attacks", and that's potentially devastating for the rest of us. I'm not allowing myself to believe in this scenario too strongly, only to recognize it as possible.

[Goldmund]

12. I think you guys are in awe of Rove

Face it -- they've been fucking up majorly all week long. There is no way in hell this could benefit them -- to the contrary.

[shelley806]

15. I appreciate your response...

I admit that i've worried that this NYT story, with all of the awful conclusions about the explosives being used against our troops and civilians, since it hit the press late Sunday evening. I worried about a Kerry walking into a wolf (!!) trap.

In your 2.) point, Are you assuming that this story would be Rove's October Surprise?

And please give your opinion about why Abbas would choose this time to report to the IAEA, unless he wanted B* out of office? He could have sat on it. No one seems to be able to answer this very necessary question, and he is the original source!

[rndmprsn]

11. it might have been a rove plan...but it think its got away from them...

they would NOT have let this story get this out of hand for an ENTIRE week before the election...i honestly think that thier plan was to spend the entire time on the attack against kerry rather than defending themselves to the point of looking rediculous...

first denying...
sending rudy out only for him to put his foot in his mouth...
still denying...
then claiming it was the russians...
pentagon has to deny this...
denying...
then the KTSP video comes out and the house of cards start coming down.
still deying then deflecting...
pentagon releases some satelitte image proving nothing..
kerry/edwards hit them again and again...
fake/doctored advert...
FBI investigating haliburton story comes out...
pentagon offers pathetic news conference...
etc etc etc...

[hippiegranny]

13. not this time

they lost an entire week (spent back on their heels) trying to figure out how to spin this. Meanwhile Kerry is picking up speed and looking pretty damn Presidential.

[Weembo]

14. Despite Rove's known and grudgingly respected abilities,

most studs of their respective trades (in his case, the master of spin disaster) get beaten at their own game sometime, or maybe he just lost a step, especially if his minions started believing their own press. Look at Unitas trying to lead back the Colts against the Jets, etc.

[shelley806]

16. Thanks all of you for easing my fears, but I would be so much less

fearful if someone could give someone could give me a good reason why Abbas would release this info to the IAEA, knowing that it would harm *co in the upcoming elections.

He is the original source of this NYT missing explosives story, and I thought he favored B*?

[Eurobabe]

17. too short to turn it around.

Rove fucked up if he dropped this bomb.

[wiggs]

19. I thought the same two days ago...

and posted that Kerry and Edwards should wait a day or two until more facts were available....just for the purpose of protecting their momentum and avoiding a possible Rove turnaround.

Now, on Friday, it seems there will be no surprise turn to the story. So I say go for it, but still Kerry should couch his remarks (unless he knows for certain about the explosives from inside info) by saying "based on information we have, it looks like another in a long list of blunders" and "this is a serious issue that could be causing American and Iraqi deaths by the hundreds...As President, I look forward to getting to the bottom of this and other examples of administration incompetence".

We may not know enough by Tuesday to say exactly what happended at Al QaQaa, but we can reinforce already established themes of incompetence, poor post-invasion planning, taking the military eye off the ball, and refusing to recognize error and living in a dream world.

The explosives story can be used as a metaphor to make a larger point about this administration and I think this can be done carefully and forcefully now without claiming to know the actual facts.

[shelley806]

21. Very good advise....Maybe you can email Kerry/Edwards site?

[PerfectSage]

20. It can't be Rovian.

It's too late in the news cycle & too close to the election for an effective rebuttal/smearing of Kerry. If there was still more than a week to the election...

B/C No Mo' Years :party::toast:

[shelley806]

23. Rove did it before very late in an election with intent......

Because it was too late for the other side to respond effectively. I don't have the link handy, but the Atlantic Monthly, Nov. 2004 has article on Rove that is chilling.

[w4rma]

22. Nope. Those explosives are being used by the insurgents and terrorists

to blow up U.S. soldiers and to be used in bombings around the world. Also note that with the radioactive waste that also wasn't guarded (couple that with these explosives), they are probably working on a dirty bombing, right now.