The (Very) Big Lie
When Michael Barone writes a column, I’m all ears. Here’s the highlights of his latest work:
It is said that a big lie can work if it is repeated often enough. For weeks, leading Democrats have been hammering away at the Big Lie that George W. Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Starting on Veterans Day, Bush, Dick Cheney and others in the administration embarked on a “pushback,” arguing that Bush, and many leading Democrats, including some now part of the Big Lie campaign, accurately characterized the intelligence at the time.
We’ve all talked about the dirty politics that the Democrats have played in this “Bush lied” debate. That’s old news. Unfortunately, so is the Democrats’ tactic in lying about Iraq. The big difference is that this time, it’s about the life and death issue of the war in Iraq. This isn’t about a simple difference of opinion, either. This debate is about the will to win this vital war. That’s why the pushback is so important and why the delay in starting the pushback was so upsetting to conservatives.
J.D. Hayworth deserves special mention for his raising the House vote in their Friday morning caucus meeting, too. As I’ve written here, it was Representative Hayworth’s idea to call the Democrats’ bluff and hold Democrats’ feet to the fire.
When we look back, we’ll see that Hayworth’s idea of the vote was the turning point in this debate. For that fact alone, we should thank Rep. Hayworth profusely.
In a related story, Bill O’Reilly has jumped all over Rep. Murtha, too. Here’s what he wrote in his latest column for Jewish World Review:
President Bush is right when he says that politicians and media who insist he “lied” or “misled” America into the Iraq conflict are damaging the war effort and hurting the country. Many Americans are tired of hearing Howard Dean and The New York Times whine about “misleading.” If you have verifiable information that the president knew there were no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction but went ahead and invaded anyway, please post said information.
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And, by the way, please consult Dan Rather and Mary Mapes if you are going to use documents to prove President Bush a liar. For me, the issue is fairly easy. Bob Woodward, the hero of Watergate, reported that CIA chief George Tenet told Mr. Bush face-to-face that Saddam’s possession of WMD’s was a “slam dunk.” I believe Woodward and Tony Blair and a variety of foreign intelligence agencies who have acknowledged believing Iraq had WMD’s. Forgive me, but I don’t believe Howard Dean.
Right on, Mr. O’Reilly. Anyone can make allegations. It takes proof to justify those allegations. At this point, I haven’t seen the first bit of proof that Bush lied us into war and I doubt that we ever will, barring a bombshell revelation from Lucy Ramirez or Bill Burkett.
Anyway, let’s do what’s best for the country, shall we? Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise for all Americans? Let’s get out of Iraq as quickly as possible without allowing the terrorists a victory.
If O’Reilly hadn’t conditioned that last statement, I couldn’t agree with O’Reilly. I’m all for getting out of Iraq the second we vanquish Zarqawi and his gang of thugs but not a split-second sooner and that’s what Bill O’Reilly is espousing here.
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRing
November 21st, 2005 at 3:53 pm
I would probably say that we need to stay until it is stabilized.
I would not have supported an invasion for the purpose of giving them democracy.
The initial purpose was to determine if Saddam stil had WMD’s that could end up on US soil.
We did that, and did it good. But we made a mess. I am trying to teach my 2 year old to clean up his messes after he is done.
I think we adults should do the same.
But, as soon as Iraqi forces can handle it, we should be gone.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:41 am
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