Newsweek Vs The Bush Government: Let's Talk Contradictions...

I'll keep this simple...

Newsweek made some claims that were false or unprovable regarding the treatment of detainees at Guantanomo Bay. They admitted the mistake - despite the story being based on good faith - and made a retraction. The affect of the story was the loss of a few American lives. Which may sound trite, but I don't mean it to be. It is still substantial as all life is precious to those who have it.

The Bush Government made a number of claims to the UN and the world at large in regards to the reasons they felt an invasion of Iraq was necessary. The claims were found to be false. FACT: No WMDs have been found in Iraq. The affect of these claims was the loss of hundreds of thousands of lifes, both American, Iraqi, British, Austrailian, etc, etc. The Bush Government has not once apologised for mis-leading the world and continues to be in power and influences the world.

In response to the apology by Newsweek, the White House had this to say:

"The report has had serious consequences. People have lost their lives. The image of the United States abroad has been damaged," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, is he talking about the lies made by the government regarding Iraq or a legitimate apology at doing something wrong...?

The US government seems blind to the contradiction! Another case of Bush's 'Do as I say, not as I do' policy...It's a world gone mad for sure...

It is actually pretty terrifying that the American Government, one of the biggest superpowers, can get away with this...it's pure arrogance..

Haven't some news sources said that the weapons were looted?
Don't flame me I'm a little hazey on the details but I heard it somewhere.

Originally posted by Echuu
Haven't some news sources said that the weapons were looted?
Don't flame me I'm a little hazey on the details but I heard it somewhere.

It was reported that It may have been possible that the weapons might have been looted. But after people asked, "how could ALL of the WMD's be looted without a single trace of them being there" and "why are we not going to war with the people who now have the WMD's" the issue was quickly dropped.

Well yeah; then Colin Powell had that briefing or whatever about caravans supposedly being seen going from Iraq to Syria.

I dunno; politics are starting to sicken me. It would be nice to eliminate all media and start over. Not that its possible but we can all dream.

The US government seems blind to the contradiction! Another case of Bush's 'Do as I say, not as I do' policy...It's a world gone mad for sure... [/B][/QUOTE]

yep thats Bush for you.and yes it is a world gone mad but that happened decades ago when it went mad though.

Originally posted by Ou Be Low hoo
I'll keep this simple...

Newsweek made some claims that were false or unprovable regarding the treatment of detainees at Guantanomo Bay. They admitted the mistake - despite the story being based on good faith - and made a retraction. The affect of the story was the loss of a few American lives. Which may sound trite, but I don't mean it to be. It is still substantial as all life is precious to those who have it.

The Bush Government made a number of claims to the UN and the world at large in regards to the reasons they felt an invasion of Iraq was necessary. The claims were found to be false. FACT: No WMDs have been found in Iraq. The affect of these claims was the loss of hundreds of thousands of lifes, both American, Iraqi, British, Austrailian, etc, etc. The Bush Government has not once apologised for mis-leading the world and continues to be in power and influences the world.

In response to the apology by Newsweek, the White House had this to say:

"The report has had serious consequences. People have lost their lives. The image of the United States abroad has been damaged," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, is he talking about the lies made by the government regarding Iraq or a legitimate apology at doing something wrong...?

The US government seems blind to the contradiction! Another case of Bush's 'Do as I say, not as I do' policy...It's a world gone mad for sure...

actually though i think newsweek is detestable i think you make a good solid point

Newsweek publishing a story that wasn't solid is not a good thing, but the Bush government's response to it is outrageous considering their own behaviour.

If newsweek printed an article about body hair coming to life and eating people. People would start shaving off all their body hair.

Originally posted by Ou Be Low hoo
Newsweek publishing a story that wasn't solid is not a good thing, but the Bush government's response to it is outrageous considering their own behaviour.

your right in saying that. Bush wants you to cut him slack because he was so sure about those weapons and then the white house turns around and critisizes newsweek for printing a story they thought theyw ere sure about despite thier shotty work. hhhmmmm i do see the correlation. good thread man

Originally posted by Echuu
then Colin Powell had that briefing or whatever about caravans supposedly being seen going from Iraq to Syria.

That must be it! They hid all the nuclear bombs and chemical weapons in trailer homes...

America's involvment and human rights violation, particulary in Latin America enrage me the most.

Sheer imperialism - America is a dictatorship in the modern times.

Originally posted by Echuu
Well yeah; then Colin Powell had that briefing or whatever about caravans supposedly being seen going from Iraq to Syria.

I dunno; politics are starting to sicken me. It would be nice to eliminate all media and start over. Not that its possible but we can all dream.

Lucky they went to Syria, eh. Imagine if they had gone to somewhere Bush doesn't want war with!

Originally posted by Ou Be Low hoo
That [B]must be it! They hid all the nuclear bombs and chemical weapons in trailer homes... [/B]

To Bushs benefit, Everyone else thought he had weapons. So lets not beat this one to death to much.

Originally posted by Ou Be Low hoo
That [B]must be it! They hid all the nuclear bombs and chemical weapons in trailer homes... [/B]

makes as much sence as everything else he's tried to make us believe.

Originally posted by ragesRemorse
To Bushs benefit, Everyone else thought he had weapons. So lets not beat this one to death to much.

there were plenty of people who thought it was nothing but bullshit. Iraq never had the capability to have a missile they could launch from Iraq to any part of America. They wont have that capability for a long time, irrelevant of whether bush took out Saddam. I've got nothing against Bush's removal of Saddam, but i dont like the way he lied to the whole planet, lied to EVERYONE. If he had been able to find a justafiable reason for invading, i'd rest more comfortably with this whole debackle. I dont think saying "someone might attack us at some point we think, we'll get the first shot in" covers it.

Agreed. Bush looked at the entire world and fed us sheer bullshit.

Now, I sit back and wait for Kidrock to come say something stupid. He always does.

"hu hu, Well what would have kerry done? hyuck"
"yeah well saddam was abad man and bush did this for a good reason"
"go back to russia you damn communist!"

The difficult aspect of this situation is figuring out exactly who is MORE full of shit. Bottom line, Newsweek had the burden of responsiblity. They published a story that , directly, cost the lives of "non-muslim guests" in other countries. However, the Bush administration got caught in between a rock and a hard place. In either case, both sides are full of shit.

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
The difficult aspect of this situation is figuring out exactly who is MORE full of shit. Bottom line, Newsweek had the burden of responsiblity.

Is the US government not burdened by a responsibility to the truth?

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
They published a story that , directly, cost the lives of "non-muslim guests" in other countries.

The number of dead Iraqis is in the hundreds of thousands. The number of dead American soldiers is in the thousands. These deaths are a direct consequence of the US' actions.

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
However, the Bush administration got caught in between a rock and a hard place. In either case, both sides are full of shit.

Indeed, both sides are full of shit. The problem is that one side has made itself accountable and apologised. The other continues to deny any wrong doing.

Also, Newsweek offered an apology in reference to the admission that the sources they quoted have not been corroborated. This is not the same as being proven wrong. Indeed, the Red Cross had warned the US about the desecration of the Koran long before Newsweek published its report.

This is taken from the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) website:

Red Cross warned US of Koran desecration

ISN SECURITY WATCH (20/05/05) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday that it had warned Washington about “credible” reports that interrogators at the Guantanamo Bay military prison were desecrating the Koran long before Newsweek published its controversial report, which was later retracted amid government pressure.

An ICRC spokesman told reporters on Thursday that the group had warned US officials of allegations made by detainees between 2002 and 2003 that US military personnel were desecrating the Koran to insult Muslim prisoners there.

Spokesman Richard Boucher acknowledged on Thursday that the ICRC had warned the US State Department of the allegations, and that the Pentagon had responded to the warnings in 2003 by issuing strict guidelines on the treatment of the Muslim holy book by US military personnel, CNN reported. But ICRC spokesman Simon Schorno said the allegations had continued after the issuing of the guidelines.

“We have very extensive guidelines about how Korans are to be handled, who they're to be handled by, the wearing of gloves, how they’re to be moved and transported, in order to ensure that no such concerns will arise,” Boucher told reporters.

It's funny how the conservatives amoung us run and hide from the cold, harsh light of truth...