I’m nominating this for the best quote of the Bush era.
“There’s no debate in the world as to whether they have those weapons…We all know that. A trained ape knows that.” – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, September 13, 2002.
It’s funny because, you know, the president is kind of a trained ape. But there are so many things that have been said that I’m sure someone can find something better. I’m just not sure they can find a quote that packs quite as much ironical truth in with such a big lie.
We’re kind of falling into the same trap about “Iranian nukes” too.
The Bush administration treats the existence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran as a foregone conclusion. A lot of sloppy reporters also talk about the “Iranian nuclear weapons” as if their existence is now beyond doubt.
The less sloppy reporters will talk about “Iranian nuclear ambitions” or “Iranian nuclear weapons capacity” – knowing full well that the average reader equates all these with a nuclear weapon (any country with any nuclear program has the theoretical “capacity” to build a bomb – including Brazil.)
And once this meme of an “Iranian nuclear weapon” is repeated enough by our Over Lords, we will start to parrot it and believe it too – just as in the case of Iraqi WMDs.
“The fact that there is no actual evidence of any ‘Iranian bomb’ appears to be as irrelevant to these pundits today as the non-existence of Iraqi WMD was in 2003.”
http://www.geocities.com/csafdari
“
And oh, incidentally, Rumsfeld now denies claiming that there were WMDs in Iraq:
“‘Never said that … never did,’ defense secretary now asserts”
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/269394_rumsfeld08.html
That’s not what he said here on This Week with George Stephanopolous
Booman, Where does Rumsfeld’s statement come from? New conference? Where?
My source is David Corn but he doesn’t say in his book or in that article where Rummy said it. I assume it was on teevee.
-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 9/13/02
It was at a media roundtable with the BBC and Voice of America. Do a search for “trained ape”. It’s about 3/4 of the way through the session.
Here is the link.
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RAY McGOVERN: Mr. Ritter, the administration even now repeats one of Mr. Rumsfeld’s dictas here, not only trained apes, but all our allies, all intelligence services, everyone in the whole world including Mr. Rumsfeld’s trained apes, knew, believed that there were weapons of mass destruction there. Would you comment on how everyone could have been so disastrously wrong?
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."George W. Bush or Chimpanzee?
Mr. Rumsfield’s apes are probably a lot easier to train than those thinking for themselves in the wilds of the world.
The Clinton Obama debate over the foreign policy flap that turned personal, I missed the coverage within this community? I’m just catching up.
Seems Obama got a bounce from it. Oops, Via Andrew Sullivan, An Obama surge?
More here. So is he right?
What to make of these headlines?
Bloomberg: Kenneth Starr’s Law Firm Gives More Money to Clinton (Update1)
Starr’s guilt gelt!
or these
Clinton Woos the Outsourcers that Workers Fear
Hillary Clinton: Right-Wing Darling?
Is this campaign not a rope too long?
Except that an ape wouldn’t lie.
You obviously haven’t been following the Gonzales hearings.
are they really trained? ‘Cuz if so, their trainer needs to be fired. Mounds of poo have been flung at us for the past seven’ish years.
I find it sad to say, the trainer hasn’t gone astray.
Flinging mounds of poo are what these apes were trained to do.
(that’s my poetic entry of the day)
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Army Secretary Pete Geren briefs reporters at the Pentagon. (AP)WASHINGTON – The Army censured a retired three-star general for a “perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of leadership” after the 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan of Army Ranger Pat Tillman.
Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger failed to provide proper leadership to the soldiers under his administrative control. … He let his soldiers down,” Geren said. “He was the captain of that ship, and his ship ran aground.”
At least six other officers received lesser reprimands.
Geren said he considered recommending a court-martial for Kensinger but ruled it out.
“You are hereby censured for your conduct and failure of leadership in matters relating to the investigation and reporting of the death of Corporal Pat Tillman,” said a memo reprimanding the retired general. “Your failings compounded the grief suffered by the Tillman family, resulted in the dissemination of erroneous information and caused lasting damage to the reputation and credibility of the U.S. Army.”
The Army panel will decide whether Kensinger should be stripped of his third star, a move that would cut his retirement benefits. Kensinger, who headed Army special operations, retired in 2006.
≈ Cross-posted from blksista’s diary — The murder of Pat Tillman ≈
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Can you imagine how hard he had to work to keep a straight face when he laid that line on the press corps?
Considering what he had to face every briefing day?
I must admit…I have new-found respect for the old cold war warrior.
Errrr….the cold old war warrior.
Oh.,..YOU know…
Him.
Hubris vs. fool.
Over and over and over and over and over…
The Sisyphus of Defense.
AG