Weldon's Denial Deepens After NIE Report
After the leak of the major conclusion by the press that Iraq War is spreading terrorism more rapidly, the White House declassified and released the key judgements of the April 2006 National Intelligence Estimate.
The NIE report is the concensus opinion of 16 US intelligence agencies. The most critical finding is that the War in Iraq has become a rallying point for radical forces. Specifically..
In William Bender's piece in the Delco Times:
Weldon "said he has not read the report but expects to receive a briefing today."
Translation: every informed person has already read the declassified conclusions, but Weldon not only has not read the report, but is going to get a briefing on it (someone is going to read it for him, and give him the Cliff Note's version).
Even more likely, the only real briefing will be by the RNC with talking points cherry picked from the report.
The released report is only a few pages. It is from almost 6 months ago (when things were going better than today), and it states what was obvious to the Democrats over a year ago, and what the Bush administration has been denying every day. Weldon is so misinformed on the relevant issues that he was quoted as saying:
Question for Clueless Curt: Was Iraq involved in WTC in 1993, or USS Cole in 2000, or attacks on 9/11/2001? ABSOLUTELY NOT. So why are you citing the unrelated existence of previous terrorism with the rapid fueling of new terrorism by the failed policies destablizing Iraq and the Mid-East.
Weldon also repeats the false argument that the lack of a successful attack inside the US since 9/11 is proof that we've been protected by current policies. This is like selling someone in Florida a magic necklace that keeps away polar bears, and offering a proof the lack of polar bears in your vicinity. Every time the US detains and tortures an innocent person due to unconstitutional policies, the terrorists score a successful attack on the very freedoms we claim to be preserving.
Tom Ridge, saddled with the job of helping Weldon's campaign, provided more of the same insight we got from his color-coded alerts, as he wallowed in ignorance:
Tom, do you think it created an overwhelming movement of Iraqis greeting us with flowers as liberators, while peace and democracy spread across the Mid-East?
The point is this: Bush and Weldon have been falsely claiming that Iraq is making us safer. Bush, as the recipient of the NIE, has know this for 6 months, yet he has been making mid-term elections speeches that claim the opposite. Weldon is marching to the beat.
The only thing, Weldon is independent of, is reality.
The NIE report is the concensus opinion of 16 US intelligence agencies. The most critical finding is that the War in Iraq has become a rallying point for radical forces. Specifically..
We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere.
The Iraq conflict has become the "cause celebre" for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement. Should jihadist leaving Iraq perceive themselves, or be perceived, to have failed, we feel that fewer fighers will be inspired to carry on the fight.
We assess that that the underlying factors fueling the spread of of the movement outweigh its vulnerabilities and are likely to do so for the duration of the timeframe of this Estimate.
In William Bender's piece in the Delco Times:
Weldon "said he has not read the report but expects to receive a briefing today."
Translation: every informed person has already read the declassified conclusions, but Weldon not only has not read the report, but is going to get a briefing on it (someone is going to read it for him, and give him the Cliff Note's version).
Even more likely, the only real briefing will be by the RNC with talking points cherry picked from the report.
The released report is only a few pages. It is from almost 6 months ago (when things were going better than today), and it states what was obvious to the Democrats over a year ago, and what the Bush administration has been denying every day. Weldon is so misinformed on the relevant issues that he was quoted as saying:
"Do we have problems with terrorists? Absolutely. [um... DUH!] Do I think it’s because of Iraq? Absolutely not,[huh??]" Weldon said, citing the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and USS Cole in 2000.
Question for Clueless Curt: Was Iraq involved in WTC in 1993, or USS Cole in 2000, or attacks on 9/11/2001? ABSOLUTELY NOT. So why are you citing the unrelated existence of previous terrorism with the rapid fueling of new terrorism by the failed policies destablizing Iraq and the Mid-East.
Weldon also repeats the false argument that the lack of a successful attack inside the US since 9/11 is proof that we've been protected by current policies. This is like selling someone in Florida a magic necklace that keeps away polar bears, and offering a proof the lack of polar bears in your vicinity. Every time the US detains and tortures an innocent person due to unconstitutional policies, the terrorists score a successful attack on the very freedoms we claim to be preserving.
Tom Ridge, saddled with the job of helping Weldon's campaign, provided more of the same insight we got from his color-coded alerts, as he wallowed in ignorance:
Ridge hadn’t seen the intelligence report, either, but was skeptical of its findings. "I don’t think I buy the thesis. I don’t believe it’s created jihadists," he said.
Tom, do you think it created an overwhelming movement of Iraqis greeting us with flowers as liberators, while peace and democracy spread across the Mid-East?
The point is this: Bush and Weldon have been falsely claiming that Iraq is making us safer. Bush, as the recipient of the NIE, has know this for 6 months, yet he has been making mid-term elections speeches that claim the opposite. Weldon is marching to the beat.
The only thing, Weldon is independent of, is reality.
posted by David Diano at 12:09 AM
5 Comments:
I think the Kurds are pretty happy were there.
"Bush and Weldon have been falsely claiming Iraq is making us safer." Since 9-11 and Iraq can anyone tell me how many times this nation has been attacked?
The terrorists plan their BIG attacks on US in multi-year intervals. Time between first WTC and 9/11 was 8 years.
We are less safe because the number of terrorist has grown. Their methods have improved.
We have diverted resources that could have prevent their growth.
We damaged the image/respect for the United States so much that the terrorists have more sympathizers and sanctuaries.
The lack of attacks within the United States is a false/shortsighted measurement that doesn't take into the account the growing threat.
Pretend it is Sept 10th, 2001 and see how the argument holds up using the 1993 WTC attempt as the yardstick for the last attack.
Dave I don't agree with your response,the terrorists do have more sympathizers,but not more sanctuaries,they still have Syria,Iran, and northern Pakistan,but Iraq and Afghanistan are no longer safe sanctuaries for them,their losing too much manpower.How can the lack of attacks be a false measurement,it's a fact.
The lack of attacks being a fact does not make them a relevant fact for concluding that we are safer.
I bought a lucky rabbit's foot on Sept 12th. We haven't been attacked since. It must be the rabbit's foot. I also have a lucky medallion that keeps away polar bears.
But, seriously, a new poll out of Iraq reveals:
The poll, done for University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes, found:
_Almost four in five Iraqis say the U.S. military force in Iraq provokes more violence than it prevents.
_About 61 percent approved of the attacks — up from 47 percent in January. A solid majority of Shiite and Sunni Arabs approved of the attacks, according to the poll. The increase came mostly among Shiite Iraqis.
Of 61% of the population approves of the attack andthey U.S. military promotes violence, then those that wish to harm the US would find easy sanctuary in Iraq if they wanted to lay low.
19 people launched the most devastating attack on US soil. There are MORE terrorists and sympathizers. There are more groups of 19 similiarly motivated people. Many have improved their skills in the crucible of the War in Iraq.
Oh, yeah, and the military keeps firing Arabic translators that happen to be gay.
We are far less safe.
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