That Senate report
Last week, Senate Democrats released a report that provided "proof" for the "Bush lied, people died" slander.
In a statement accompanying the report, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat who is chairman of the intelligence panel, said, “The president and his advisers undertook a relentless public campaign in the aftermath of the attacks to use the war against Al Qaeda as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.”
Rockefeller is a piece of work, and should be laughed out of town. It was almost five years ago that then "Fox News Sunday" host Tony Snow ripped Rockefeller a new one on national TV. But anti-Bush reporters have a short memory, and most TV coverage of the report was one-sided to say the least.
The right side of the blogosphere responded with a needed "fact check:"
- Stephen F. Hayes at the Weekly Standard
- Powerline Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
- Gateway Pundit has a ton of links too.
While none of these reports can pierce a longrunning media storyline that Bush cooked the intelligence, there was a piece in Monday's Washington Post that at least acknowledged the truth, by Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt -- not a Bush ally.
But dive into Rockefeller's report, in search of where exactly President Bush lied about what his intelligence agencies were telling him about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, and you may be surprised by what you find.
On Iraq's nuclear weapons program? The president's statements "were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates."
On biological weapons, production capability and those infamous mobile laboratories? The president's statements "were substantiated by intelligence information."
On chemical weapons, then? "Substantiated by intelligence information."
On weapons of mass destruction overall (a separate section of the intelligence committee report)? "Generally substantiated by intelligence information." Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles? "Generally substantiated by available intelligence." Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? "Generally substantiated by intelligence information."
As you read through the report, you begin to think maybe you've mistakenly picked up the minority dissent. But, no, this is the Rockefeller indictment. So, you think, the smoking gun must appear in the section on Bush's claims about Saddam Hussein's alleged ties to terrorism.
But statements regarding Iraq's support for terrorist groups other than al-Qaeda "were substantiated by intelligence information." Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda "were substantiated by the intelligence assessments," and statements regarding Iraq's contacts with al-Qaeda "were substantiated by intelligence information." The report is left to complain about "implications" and statements that "left the impression" that those contacts led to substantive Iraqi cooperation.
Unfortunately, this honest assessment won't stop the lies and slanders. The seething hatred of the left and the mainstream media is too prevalent and too powerful for the truth to will out just yet.
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[...] Kirchick of the New Republic follows the lead of Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt. This may sound like ancient history, but it matters. After Sept. 11, President Bush did not want [...]