about the Iraq war at last week's press conference.

And he *still* keeps trying to associate Al-Qaeda and 9/11 with Iraq.

here's the transcript. you can get the video from the link at the bottom.

Quote :

" Helen Thomas Asks President Bush Why He Went to War Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006 At the White House Tuesday, veteran correspondent Helen Thomas took President Bush to task on his reasons for invading Iraq. It was the first time Bush had called on Thomas, known as the “First Lady of the American Press”, in three years. [includes rush transcript] ..... AMY GOODMAN: We return to President Bush's news conference. Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas asked President Bush what some analysts called the most direct questioning he’s ever received on his reasons for invading Iraq. HELEN THOMAS: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it? PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I think your premise, in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist, is that, you know, I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect -- HELEN THOMAS: Everything -- PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Hold on for a second, please. HELEN THOMAS: -- everything I've heard -- PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Excuse me, excuse me. No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy, but we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people. Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second -- HELEN THOMAS: They didn't do anything to you or to our country. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al-Qaeda. That's where al-Qaeda trained -- HELEN THOMAS: I'm talking about Iraq -- PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al-Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans. I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, ‘Disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences’ -- HELEN THOMAS: -- go to war -- PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it. AMY GOODMAN: That was President Bush answering Helen Thomas at the White House on Tuesday. Commonly referred to as the “First Lady of the Press, Helen Thomas is the most senior member of the White House Press Corps. She has served as a White House correspondent for some 57 years and has covered every president since John F. Kennedy. It was the fist time President Bush has called on Helen Thomas in three years "

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/22/150252







[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 5:47 AM. Reason : ]

4/2/2006 5:43:57 AM

really....really....old..and bush basically put her in her place in his response

4/2/2006 9:08:41 AM

it was actually a calculated move by bush. he knew how she was going to react, by calling on her it helps show how vicious and crazy the media is. its part of the new campaign to make them look less bad for circumventing the media filter and withholding information from them.

i dont know who decided to do this, but it was a pretty smart move

4/2/2006 10:56:50 AM

How the hell did his fumbling around and failure to answer the question "put her in her place"?

4/2/2006 11:06:59 AM

he didnt fumble around...he knew exactly what she was going to ask....

she kept interrupting and he kept telling her basically to shut her mouth and let him answer....if you have seen video of it...its very entertaining...because she looks like an idiot and he comes across and very authoritative and in control...

4/2/2006 11:10:23 AM

BUT HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING.

She asked him "Why did you really want to go to war?"

All he came up with was some bullshit about Afghanistan and then "I also saw a threat in Iraq."

Why'd ya go to Iraq, Mr. Bush? BECAUSE I DID, THAT'S WHY. THE NIGGA GOT ALUMINUM TUBES.

4/2/2006 11:19:33 AM

he did to say why he went to war...he just didnt respond in the way that she wanted...he started by saying that her premise was wrong...from then on it was basically over...

4/2/2006 11:23:10 AM

Pardon my reading comprehension, but what specific reason did he give for having gone to war?

4/2/2006 11:28:37 AM

are we reading the same article??

Quote :

"I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, ‘Disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it. "

is that not a reason??

4/2/2006 11:31:53 AM

^

Quote :

"Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true."

ALUMINIUM TUBES ARE TEH WEAPONZ OF MASS DESTRUCTORS!

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 11:44 AM. Reason : .]

4/2/2006 11:43:47 AM

Quote :

""I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, ‘Disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it. "

not that one

4/2/2006 11:44:22 AM

trikk311 and JonHGuth were/are both right, at least based on reactions from people who actually saw the news conference...

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 11:52 AM. Reason : ---]

4/2/2006 11:52:13 AM

yeah. bush definately knew what she wanted to ask.

4/2/2006 11:54:29 AM

So the official reason of the day is that we went for weapons of mass destruction which didn't exist. And the world is safer now that Saddam doesn't have those nonexistent weapons.

GOTCHA.

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ]

4/2/2006 12:00:48 PM

nope...keep believeing that though...please

4/2/2006 12:01:41 PM

they're somewhere here!

have faith

4/2/2006 12:02:42 PM

who cares...

WMD are not relevant at all..and until dems get past it......

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 12:04 PM. Reason : asdf]

4/2/2006 12:03:43 PM

A lot of people care, clearly.

The families of 2000-some soldiers probably care.

The families of god knows how many Iraqis care.

(for starters)

WMD AREN'T RELEVANT? What the fuck? The president just said, according to you, that we went into Iraq because of WMD. We're still there. We'll be there forever. Tens and tens of thousands of people are dead. All because, according to what Bush apparently said the other day, Saddam wouldn't let us inspect for WMD. How is that irrelevant?

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 12:08 PM. Reason : asf]

4/2/2006 12:04:49 PM

nah...WMD was just a small part of the justification...

most of those families probably disagree completely with Helen Thomas..

most iraqis are happy about the way this has turned out

4/2/2006 12:08:24 PM

You're joking, right?

4/2/2006 12:08:59 PM

nope...are you??

4/2/2006 12:09:30 PM

You're just precious.

4/2/2006 12:10:03 PM

the feeling is mutual... i promise

4/2/2006 12:10:37 PM

spookyjon, bush really did win that exchange
not because of what he said, but because he called on her

4/2/2006 12:31:45 PM

Quote :

"The families of 2000-some soldiers probably care."

Can we please stop with this? We have a volunteer military. Fuck.

4/2/2006 1:34:24 PM

Quote :

"spookyjon, bush really did win that exchange not because of what he said, but because he called on her"

i dont even know where to begin.

lets look at the logic here:
9/11 happens
al'qaeda is responsible
al'qaeda is being harbored by afghanistan
we invade afghanistan
...
sadaam has nucleur weapons (except he doesnt)
sadaam is threatening america (except he isnt)
sadaam is harboring al'qaeda (except he isnt)
we invade iraq


the president has two options. #1 admit we were wrong but say the world is still safer no matter what. #2 prove that we were right.
afghanistan is not iraq, and if he was smart enough to read a fucking map he would know that.

4/2/2006 1:34:56 PM

Quote :

"Can we please stop with this? We have a volunteer military. Fuck."

a military that trusts it will die protecting our country NOT die protecting someone's ego and poll numbers.

4/2/2006 1:35:52 PM

People keep fucking enlisting

Being in the military is a job

You get paid to do a fucking job, and you opt into it

The people dying in Iraq right now chose to be there, it's been more than 4 years since September 11.

4/2/2006 1:38:12 PM

for most of the people still enlisting the military (even with us in Iraq) is safer than staying in their own neighborhoods. doesnt mean they believe bush. it means our society is fucked up.

4/2/2006 1:41:18 PM

Nobody's drafting these guys.

I respect the military, but I don't put them on a fucking pedestal either. This is why they're there -- they're hired to do a job for our country. One they might or might not agree with.

4/2/2006 1:42:54 PM

Quote :

"Nobody's drafting these guys."

its a draft without the pesky problem of having middle class whites being drafted.

4/2/2006 1:47:15 PM

sweet christ.


Care to qualify that, or will you rely on being vague to make your weak point seem valid?

4/2/2006 1:49:22 PM

no he's right, that's what happens under an administration run by evil evil Republicans

[Edited on April 2, 2006 at 1:51 PM. Reason : teh R1ght = teh deb1l...]

4/2/2006 1:50:14 PM

Quote :

"Nobody's drafting these guys. I respect the military, but I don't put them on a fucking pedestal either. This is why they're there -- they're hired to do a job for our country. One they might or might not agree with."

that movie "Why We Fight" addressed that point

i think the phase that was used was by the republican stratagist was "fuck you, you signed up"

by having a volunteer army we're guarenteed not to have the level of protest that occured during the vietnam war

start killing large numbers of middle class kids (in other words, instate the draft) and see what happens

4/2/2006 1:52:29 PM

Quote :

"Interpersonal violence is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among adolescents and young adults. In this study, 246 inner city, predominantly black youth (ages 14-23 years) were surveyed regarding their exposure to, and participation in, violent acts. An in-depth psychological interview was also completed. A total of 44% reported they could access a gun within one day, 42% have seen someone shot or knifed, and 22% have seen someone killed. In the preceding 3 months, 18% reported carrying a gun, and 32% had been in a physical fight; 34 subjects were rated by the psychologists as a high risk for involvement in violent acts. Those subjects were more likely to be of lower socioeconomic status (p < 0.01) and to have been physically abused (p < 0.001) but no more likely to be a witness to violent events."

Exposure to violence among inner-city youth.

Schubiner H, Scott R, Tzelepis A.

Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

4/2/2006 1:54:59 PM

So you're saying the only real difference in having a draft and no draft is the group being killed

Not, you know, the fact that people are being forced to fight

4/2/2006 1:55:11 PM

Quote :

"no he's right, that's what happens under an administration run by evil evil Republicans"

the violence in inner cities has been going on for a long time.
clinton didnt solve it.
the only difference is we didnt invade iraq under clinton.

4/2/2006 1:56:08 PM

i don't really understand what point you're trying to make

but yeah, the real difference is what groups get killed

4/2/2006 1:56:31 PM

Quote :

"but yeah, the real difference is what groups get killed"

There's a certain level of stupid I refuse to dirty my hands with.

Congrats. I'm out of this thread -- you guys can continue in the "correlation = causality" circle jerk without my interference.

4/2/2006 1:58:19 PM

what an asshole

you don't think that there being a draft or there not being draft affects what economic groups get sent to war

are you serious?

4/2/2006 1:59:23 PM

if he admits you are right then he has to admit that the united states is not a perfect society.

god forbid we try to be a better country. being the best does not mean we are perfect.

4/2/2006 2:02:08 PM

i don't know what the fuck this dude's problem is

4/2/2006 2:02:54 PM

and i want to be clear

i'm not advocating a draft

i'm just pointing out the inequality that is there

4/2/2006 2:03:57 PM

revoltnow, could you please explain what the fuck your response had to do with my statements. my statements werent new or out there, they are pretty much the consensus of the media watchers.

4/2/2006 2:23:00 PM

#1 because he didnt win. at all
#2 "media watchers" are a bunch of fucking idiots
#3 how does him calling on her qualify as a win? how is actually taking a question from someone who disagrees with you a win? he is the president. its his fucking job to talk to both his supporters and his opponents.

4/2/2006 2:28:55 PM

1. read my first post
2. read your unrelated reply
3. ...
4. doh

4/2/2006 2:36:08 PM

from your first post:
"show how vicious and crazy the media is. "

so by vicious and crazy do you mean protecting our country from people like bush?


damn right doh. because doh is the most intellectual thing the president has ever said.

4/2/2006 2:42:28 PM

youve smoked yourself retarded

4/2/2006 2:46:50 PM

Quote :

"so by vicious and crazy do you mean protecting our country from people like bush?"

Whatever happened to just reporting the news?

4/2/2006 3:02:19 PM

set 'em up...

4/2/2006 3:04:27 PM