Bush Dismisses Gloomy CIA Report on Iraq

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040921/ts_nm/un_bush_cia_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480

<snip>

NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites), determined to put an optimistic face on deadly conditions in Iraq (news - web sites), said on Tuesday that the CIA (news - web sites) was just guessing when it said the war-racked country was in danger of slipping into civil war.



"The CIA laid out several scenarios. It said that life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better. And they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like," Bush told reporters during a picture-taking session with Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.


Bush and Allawi met for 45 minutes on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.


The CIA, which has been blamed for spectacular lapses involving the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and prewar Iraqi weapons capabilities, gave Bush a report last July that presented a bleak outlook for Iraq.


... reminds me of another dire CIA warning ignored on August 6, 2001.

[mr_hat]

1. Those darn guessers. No wonder we need an info czar.

[VolcanoJen]

40. After the Allawi press conference, I started this GD thread

Bush accused the CIA of "guessing" during the Allawi press conference.

When Chimperor made that statement, my jaw hit the floor. I think we can hit him here politically, and should be making a bit of a fuss about that ridiculous, "I don't like it", delusional statement from the President.

Josh Marshall has picked up on this too:

Asked about the National Intelligence Estimate he received two months ago, which painted a bleak outlook for Iraq, the president said the CIA was "just guessing ... The Iraqi citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions."

In one ear and out the other.

Doesn't that tell you a lot about how we got to this juncture?

[NC_Nurse]

2. I guess the CIA is just a "focus group" now

like anyone else who speaks the truth to *'s fantasy! :eyes:

[shraby]

3. Bush better watch out...he's screwing

with the CIA again.

[doni_georgia]

24. Boy, you could complete that sentence a lot of ways

Seems to me like he's screwing with everyone in the U.S., except maybe Pickle.

Mac in Ga

[swag]

4. "Fantasy world of spin" proven

[blm]

5. Jan30,2001: Bush Dismisses Gloomy Hart-Rudman Report on Global Terror

Thank God we had a president who dismissed the Hart-Rudman report on global terror, or Rudy Giuliani would be just another ex-mayor of NY and not as rich and famous as he is today.

[JoFerret]

8. Great reminder

What a dangerous delusional fantasist.

[Inland]

9. God works his miracles through the incompetence and craveness of his

Servant George.

[MaineDem]

12. Did he really dismiss that?

Man oh man!!!

[leftchick]

17. was this even mentioned in the "official" 9/11 report?

I am guessing not... :(

[Inland]

6. Actually, it was lousy, lousier and dead. Didn't Condi read it to him?

[young_at_heart]

7. Bush "dismisses" everything

Rove taught him well!

[truthisfreedom]

30. no, he doesn't! sometimes he "blasts" things, other times he "rejects"

things. he's very flexible, you know.

[amber dog democrat]

37. Paraphrase: Custer dismisses gloomy reports of Cree Indian scouts.

concerning the abandoned villiage near the river. Insists on pressing his collum onward over the next rise....

It is pure folly to listen to this fool. I can only hope his advisors will leave him wondering where they went when he is left holding a bag of failed policies and empty promises.

[mindfulNJ]

10. I'm about to throw a fit here...

HOW THE F@#@! CAN ANYONE VOTE FOR THIS LOSER?!!!:grr:
IT ABSOLUTELY DEFIES ALL LOGIC!!!!!!!!!!!


...(end of rant....sorry)

[bif]

11. Hey, pass the pipe this way, George

The man must be high. It's the only explaination.

[ixion]

13. Actually, the report said the BEST we could hope for was continuing chaos

and what was PROBABLY going to happen was that it would deteriorate into civil war.

But hey, who cares about the truth these days. :cry:

[Cobalt Violet]

14. As the beheading videos surface...

Bush LIES again!

[warrens]

15. Anyone who ever read Riverbend

Knows even the reasonable Iraqis are pissed off. It's not going to be pretty, and Bush knows it. The neocons are just so self-deluded they can't admit a mistake, ever. Remember when he was asked on national TV what was the biggest mistake he ever made, and he couldn't think of ANYTHING?

[leesa]

16. They must be girlie-men!

Don't let it ruin your golf game Georgie.

[drscm]

18. As long as it's someone elses children fighting my war, why should I care?

And they talk about California being the home of LA LA Land.

[BrotherBuzz]

26. Hey, that's Los Angeles

The rest of us live in the land of fruits and nuts. ;)

[Dem2theMax]

41. Fruits and nuts checking in.

:)

Your post had me LOL.

[Beetwasher]

19. OUT. OF. TOUCH! Is Bush Actively Working to Elect Kerry Now?

He could not have said or done anything more stupid than this...

[Career Prole]

20. Is everyone "just guessing", dumbass?

Possibility of Civil War Looms Over Iraq

How bad is it?

Slippage of control in Iraq makes a mockery of power hand-over

Iraq civil war: Rumors and reality

[dqueue]

21. man, oh man...

Man, oh man, that fearless leader of the US has resolve! I guess the neocons in OSP must be feeding a livelier picture of the events in Iraq... just as before the invasion, the intel is manipulated to suit the needs of this corrupt administration.

And people still support this guy WHY?!

[Disturbed]

22. Porter Goss...

will straighten out the CIA. There will be no more gloomy reports when he takes charge.

[LynnTheDem]

23. Baghdad Bush...D.C. Dubya.

bush is such an ignorant fool.

[Ilsa]

25. I guess staffers have seen enough heads rolling on the

WH lawn to be afraid to give the Chimp news they know he doesn't want to hear. "There is no bad news for the Pretzeldent," must be the internal mantra.

My, what a lovely world he lives!

[fameless]

27. Why is he allowed to do this?

He just throws everything aside, never gives any real reason as to why, yet the media never says anything. This whole politics thing gives me indigestion.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

28. Bush doesn't need the CIA

Don't you know he has a direct line to God?

[tuvor]

29. Just like the good ol' days.

Why the CIA thinks Bush is wrong
The president says the US has to act now against Iraq. The trouble is, his own security services don't agree.
13 October 2002
http://www.sundayherald.com/28384

CIA in blow to Bush attack plans
The letter also comes at a time when the CIA is competing with the more hawkish Pentagon, which is also supplying the White House with intelligence on the Iraqi threat.
October 10, 2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,808970,00.html

White House 'exaggerating Iraqi threat'
Bush's televised address attacked by US intelligence
October 9, 2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,807286,00.html

[truthisfreedom]

31. code words for "GOD TOLD ME THAT I'M THE CHOSEN LEADER OF 'MURKA AND

I KNOW EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE TOTALLY PEACHY HERE IN 'RACK. SO STOP WORRYING AND NEVER READ ANY OF THOSE SO-CALLED REPORTS THAT YOUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING WASTED ON WHEN THEY COULD JUST BE GOING DIRECTLY INTO HALLIBURTON'S DEEP POCKETS." where they belong.

[Terran]

32. OK, so wait a second. Isn't civil war

the sole reason given for why we can't pull out of Iraq tomorrow? "Oh no, we can't leave, there'd be civil war." So...aren't we just guessing about that too? And who's doing the guessing? Pundits and neocon chickenhawks, not the CIA.

And if Iraq is going to have a civil war regardless of whether we're there or not, we may as well bug out...right? Frankly, I think they're LESS likely to have that civil war if we leave.

[trueblew]

33. Did Dubya really read this?

[truthisfreedom]

34. sorry, but NOWHERE that i read did it say "life could be better." it

pretty much ran the gamut from bad to worse.

[trueblew]

35. Bush's Bunch is already backpeddling...

he didn't mean to be so harsh and arrogant.

[teryang]

36. The word of the prezdent is good enough for me

snicker

;)

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

38. At least this time he didn't whip out a golf club

"Now watch this drive!"

[jeanmarc]

39. Baghdad Bush strikes again! nt

[illuminaughty]

42. Where did I hear this scenario before?

Oh yeah! It was my ignorant ass self and my lovely friend from Afghanistan....discussing the situation around March 18th...2003! It was obvious. Sunni, Shia, Kurds, and chaos.

And since my friend speaks 6 languages and has to work 12 hour days at a barbecue restaurant, maybe he could work for the administration in intelligence, maybe they could throw him a bone from our massive defense budget.

But, hey let's be real. Most of us were psychic enough to predict this scenario. There is no intelligence to it central or otherwise. The neocons knew the result long ago. Mission Accomplished.

[newyawker99]

57. Hi Illuminaughty!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[0007]

43. This is priceless to say the least. I watched on tv while junior sat

next to Allawi and said, "the CIA was just guessing, one day they say this and the next day the CIA sez that." Smirking all the while and discrediting the organization that he claims he took seriously before 911.

This is a classic of all classics

[DFWJock]

44. No guessing necessary...

Bush is 100% idiot.

[spanone]

45. He is one nervy son of a bitch. How long will the American people

put up with this crap? I'm so disappointed in the citizenry of this country. Sad days.

[funky_bug]

46. Kerry quoted him last night in Orlando

The rally last night in Orlando was AWESOME!!! One of my favorite points was when Kerry read this particular quote to the crowd. Why? Because he started..."The CIA...uh..." and paused just long enough for the crowd to BURST into hysterical laughing and cheering. Then Kerry, ever the straight-man, said, "I'm just reading the quote."

It was beautiful.

[Supersedeas]

47. warnings ignored by *, time for an extended vacation

[vogonity]

48. Thanksgiving is coming

Maybe * will go back to newly peacful Iraq and hand out plastic turkeys again this year.

[takumi]

49. Photo of Bush = "This is your Brain on Drugs."

[ismnotwasm]

50. unbelievable.

What an ass. He just needs to go away. And shut up while he's at it, he never makes sense.

[Zerex71]

51. He's the one who needs to be dismissed.

[KansDem]

52. Did he dismiss it as quickly as he did the Aug. 6 PDB?

Perhaps he felt the CIA report was historical?

LOL, Bush and Allawi met for 45 minutes on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The "sidelines?"

What were they doing? Cheerleading?

Gimme an "I"...!
I!
Gimme an "R"...!
R!
Gimme an "A"...!
A!
Gimme a "Q"...!
Q!

What does that spell...??!!
"Quagmire...!!!"

Yeaaah...! Uh, no, wait...!

[LibeMatt]

53. Alternet take on this

From one of Alternet's logs:

* * *
CIA's 'just guessing'
Here is George Bush's take on the CIA's National Intelligence Estimate predicting a grim future for the U.S. occupation on Iraq: "The CIA laid out several scenarios. It said that life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better. And they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like." Pop Quiz: What illegal substance is the president on these days?
Posted by lakshmi on September 22, 2004 @ 10:07AM.
* * *

In light of this and other similar postings here, I propose we start trying to figure out just what the F*$%#up-In-Chief IS on. Is is Halcion with a Scotch chaser like his dad? If he were twitchier, I would say he's tweaking (crystal meth), but he sleeps far too much. Maybe pharmies like Rush Limbaugh?

[54anickel]

54. "There all just guesses, I dismiss them and ya wanna know why? Here's

why, because God told me what was really gonna happen. Doncha see, I'm just carrin' out His plan, followin' His orders."

Can't you just hear him spouting that line to the Heritage Club?

[wiggs]

55. This is gold. Kerry should emphasize....

Kerry or his surrogates should talk about all the instances of dismissing expert advice:

Ignored Clinton warnings on Al Queda
Ignored August PDB
Ignored Clarke and Tenet warnings pre 9/11
Ignored Egypt and Powell warnings of consequences of Iraq invasion
Ignored Paul O'Neill warnings on second round of tax cuts
Ignored Blix, UN, Ritter, and Kaye findings re WMD
Ignored Pentagon warnings regarding troops needed post invasion
Ignored science and Pentagon findings on global warning
Ignored administration cost opinions for Medicare
Ignored geneva conventions as not applicable to POTUS
Ignored CIA opinion of Iraq status

It would be one thing if this guy was brilliant and if some of his actions worked out. But he has a remarkable ability to ignore educated advise in order to choose the wrong path.

This news is a goldmine that should be mined for weeks. Ignoring CIA warnings....unbelievable chutzpah.

[donkeyotay]

56. Let's save some big bucks and get rid of the CIA

They haven't been good for much of anything. We don't need another layer of intelligence bureaucracy; we need to get rid of the ones we've got. Replace it with a Gallop focus group. Way cheaper.

"just guessing" ???

So, if I read this right, not only does this administration not have a plan for Iraq, never had an exit strategy for Iraq, but now our official position is that things will work out because the Iraqis want democracy.

We went from invading Iraq because we had no choice to invading Iraq because we had no plan but we thought the Iraqis might want us to.

How can the flip-flopping Kerry ever surmount this????