The Bush administration must really think we’re fools. There’s no other possible explanation.
Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld joined the ever-growing list of prominent government figures to deny the obvious fact that U.N. weapons inspectors were in Iraq immediately before our invasion began.
Speaking with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Rumsfeld made a comment early on about Saddam Hussein denying UNMOVIC inspectors access to Iraq.
[W]hy would [Hussein] forego billions of dollars of Oil for Food revenues that he could have had for his oil, by not allowing the inspectors in, allowing that process to go forward as other countries did? Why would anyone do that?
There’s no explanation for Rumsfeld saying that Hussein did “not allow the inspectors in,” when the truth is the exact opposite. What’s worse, Rumsfeld said it again later in the same interview.
Blitzer: [W]as the intelligence wrong? And in other words, if the intelligence was wrong, looking back, was it a mistake to go to war at that time instead of giving the U.N. more time to continue their own inspections?
Rumsfeld: Well, the U.N. inspectors were not in there. The U.N. inspectors were out.
Blitzer: Well, they left after the U.S. made it clear that the war was about to begin.
Rumsfeld: And I would just say the answer is yes, you asked this question at the outset, and I answered it yes, I think it was the right thing to do.
I’m mystified as to how Rumsfeld can expect to remain a credible person when he lies with such brazenness.
These aren’t judgment calls. This isn’t a matter of interpretation or opinion. We’re dealing specifically with objective facts. The Security Council passed a resolution, UNMOVIC inspectors were sent to Iraq, Hussein offered access to suspected weapons sites, and after three months, the inspectors reported that they couldn’t find anything. Hans Blix was a real person, heading up a real team that really was in Iraq. This happened in reality, but Rumsfeld wants us to believe otherwise. I’m at a loss.
Even when confronted with his deceptions by Blitzer, Rumsfeld simply changes the subject, as if he can’t be bothered to tell a national television audience the truth.
But just as troubling as Rumsfeld’s obvious mendacity is that he’s one of several people telling the exact same lie.
Bush personally got the ball rolling in July when he said we launched our invasion in part because Hussein “wouldn’t let [U.N. inspectors] in,” a demonstrable lie. To add insult to injury, Bush repeated the falsehood in January.
Republican amnesia spread from the White House to Congress, as well. Two months ago, Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was on CNN parroting the same lie, saying, “If in fact [Saddam] didn’t have [WMD], why on earth didn’t he let the U.N. inspectors in and avoid the war?”
And while we’re at it, James Woolsey, the former director of the CIA and a supporter of Bush’s efforts in Iraq, went on NPR in February and repeated the same lie. “In fact, the [U.N.] inspectors were not there just as the war started,” Woolsey said, “the inspectors got kicked out in ’98 by Saddam.”
(That sound you hear is me banging my head against my desk in frustration)
This is simply stunning. How could anyone believe the administration’s claims about Iraq when so many officials are willing to shamelessly lie about what happened to national audiences? Moreover, how can even the most ardent GOP backers defend the administration’s honesty when so many Republicans are contradicting obvious truths?
It’s as if Bush and his allies expect us to be so ignorant that they’re willing to gamble with lies, hoping the public won’t know the difference.
Simply breathtaking.