The Center for Public Integrity has created a valuable tool for documenting the lies of the Bush administration with respect to the run-up to the Iraq invasion. The database War Card contains more than 935 false statements made on 525 separate instances by Bush administration officials following the WTC attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 to the invasion of March 2003. You can search the database using key words such as "mushroom clouds" or "yellow cake", or search by the name of the individual actually said the false statement.
The massive database at the heart of this project juxtaposes what President Bush and these seven top officials were saying for public consumption against what was known, or should have been known, on a day-to-day basis. This fully searchable database includes the public statements, drawn from both primary sources (such as official transcripts) and secondary sources (chiefly major news organizations) over the two years beginning on September 11, 2001. It also interlaces relevant information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches, and interviews.
It turns out that the then Secretary of State Colin Powell made the most false statements (244) during the period, closely followed by President Bush (233), including the false statements Bush made in his State of the Union Address in early 2003. Condoleezza Rice comes in a distance 5th, with only 56 false statements. But for my money, Rice was the most effective liar, and her false statements had by far the greatest impact in the media. It is worthwhile using this database to re-read all of Condoleezza Rice's false statements: they are impressive in their sheer brazenness. Here is one her more memorable statements, made in an interview with CNN on September 8, 2002:
“We do know that he (Saddam Hussein) is actively pursuing a nuclear weapon. We do know that there have been shipments going into Iran, for instance — into Iraq, for instance, of aluminum tubes that really are only suited to — high-quality aluminum tools that are only really suited for nuclear weapons programs, centrifuge programs.”
No wonder President Bush has promoted Condoleeza Rice as his most trusted aide: the woman has real talent.
Amazing. Instant history. It is not necessary to look for deep dark conspiracies. The record is on what this administration has done is clear.
Posted by: Hattie | January 23, 2008 at 12:36 PM