The Circus in Chicago

Quote oralloy:

Imaginary lies? A short collection of quotes from Bush and the people in his Administration whom he selected to speak for him:

1/15/1999, Dick Cheney, CEO of Halliburton (later, Vice President)
“Oil remains fundamentally a government business. While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two-thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies, even though companies are anxious for greater access there, progress continues to be slow.” (at the London Institute of Petroleum)

10/11/2000, George W. Bush, Candidate for President
“I don’t think our troops ought to be used for what’s called nation building.”

09/18/2002, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense (before Congress)
“We do know that the Iraqi regime has chemical and biological weapons. His regime has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons — including VX, sarin, cyclosarin and mustard gas. … His regime has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of biological weapons—including anthrax and botulism toxin, and possibly smallpox.” (presentation to Congress)

10/7/2002, George W. Bush, President
“The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.”

11/14/2002, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
“I’m glad you asked. It has nothing to do with oil, literally nothing to do with oil.”

11/15/2002, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
“Five days or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last longer.”

01/10/2003, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
“… something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question.”

02/08/2003, George W. Bush, President
“We also know that Iraq is harboring a terrorist network headed by a senior al Qaeda terrorist planner. This network runs a poison and explosive training camp in northeast Iraq, and many of its leaders are known to be in Baghdad.”

03/16/2003, Dick Cheney, Vice President
“My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly, . . . [in] weeks rather than months.”

03 / 19 / 2003. Start of Iraq War

03/27/2003, Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary
“There’s a lot of money to pay for this … the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years…We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.”

03/30/2003, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
“We know where they are [Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction]. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.”

05/01/2003, George W. Bush, President
“My fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.” Under the banner “Mission Accomplished.”

05/09/2003, Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary (phone interview with Vanity Fair)
“The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason, but — hold on one second… [Interrupted by DOD attorney].”

07/02/2003, George W. Bush, President
“There are some who feel like — that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring ’em on! We’ve got the force necessary …”

09/14/2003, Dick Cheney, Vice President
“If we’re successful in Iraq … we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11.“

09/17/2003, George W. Bush, President
Q: Mr. President, Dr. Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld both said yesterday that they have seen no evidence that Iraq had anything to do with September 11th. THE PRESIDENT: “We’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th.”

06/28/2004, Dick Cheney, Vice President
“Two days ahead of schedule, the world witnessed the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraq.”

06/29/2005, Dick Cheney, Vice President
"I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."

03/18/2006, Dick Cheney, Vice President,
“Q: About a year ago, you said that the insurgency in Iraq was in its final throes. Do you still believe this? Cheney: Yes.“

05/22/2006, George W. Bush, President
“We have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror.”

09/10/2006, Dick Cheney, Vice President
“If we had to do it over again we would do exactly the same thing.” Q: Exactly the same thing? Cheney: Yes, Sir.

09/11/2006, US Government Accounting Office,(gao.gov/new.items/d061094t.pdf)
“Attacks against the coalition and its Iraqi partners reached an all time high during July 2006.”

01/18/2007, Henry Kissinger (Advisor to G. W. Bush; Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford)
“They [American forces] are there as an expression of the American national interest to prevent the Iranian combination of imperialism and fundamentalist ideology from dominating a region on which the energy supplies of the industrial democracies depend.”

9/9/2008, Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve through 2005. (from The Age of Turbulence, p.463)
“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”

Yes. Some of the supposed lies were actually truthful.

Other supposed lies were just honest mistakes.

HO HO HO.

09/14/2003, Dick Cheney, Vice President
“If we’re successful in Iraq … we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11.“

09/17/2003, George W. Bush, President
Q: Mr. President, Dr. Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld both said yesterday that they have seen no evidence that Iraq had anything to do with September 11th. THE PRESIDENT: “We’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th.”

You can google it.

You're arguing with a drone. It can't reason, just contradict, like the Monty Python sketch. You'll have noticed it has a few pat phrases that it repeats ad nauseam. You will say something, it will just contradict and when you've won the argument and proven it wrong it will say "You can't point to a single fact I've got wrong," and then you'll go round in circles. It's like the Gammas in Brave New World, "How good to be Gamma because Gamma is good."

On the Scalia thread it's already admitted that it's not allowed an opinion on Garland until its NRA overlords tell it what to think/download an upgrade. It's the product of right wing radio, Fox News, an inadequate education, over 200 food additives banned in other countries and poisoned drinking water. It has no reasoning powers or sense of humour and because it's allowed to play with guns it actually thinks, (if that's the right word,) it's free. Slaves had more freedom, they were allowed to think for themselves.

I think we can all agree it would fail the Turing test. Don't waste your time, leave the drone to its programming, you can always debate with thinking human beings.

In the case of Currie which witness testified there was a crime? Currie didn't testify to a crime. She wasn't scheduled to be a witness even. No one testified that Clinton was trying to influence Currie. That was made up by the prosecutor while avoiding the fact that Currie wasn't a witness in any legal proceeding.

I like your statement,
Seems the republicans are robots that follows one command(er). It's funny and not so funny at the same time. Those republicans senators get paid for being robots. I'm gonna run for office, and make some easy money. They don't even have to be there in attendance. On the republican side.....

In a way you have to admire the evil genius that created a bunch of supine lickspittles who consistently vote against their own interests.

I've wasted too much time on Oralboy. I've agonised on finding the mot juste for a pithy remark only to have it shoot right over his head time and time again.

I'll admit that Oralloy is in kind of a nope nope nope mood on this, but overall he's okay. Even came to my side in another thread arguing about Bill Clinton's record on a certain issue.

I'm fine with anybody who keeps it civil. Sure he's playing a little game here, but it's not a nasty game. Sort of a "let's see if I can get this guy to bang his head against the wall out of pure frustration" type game. Which I guess can be effective. If you can get your opponents to bang their heads against the wall enough, they'll eventually become too dizzy to get to the polling place.

Tell me Blickers, how much money in oil contracts have US oil companies made in Iraq? My understanding is that 1 or 2 US oil companies actually have business in Iraq and other countries oil companies are in control of the Iraqi fields.

I don't have the facts for oil extraction offhand, but I do know that Halliburton, the company that Dick Cheney headed until he became Vice President and commenced pushing for US involvement in Iraq, has multiple contracts there, both in the oil part and the military supplies part of the Iraq invasion. They made out famously all around.

I was happy to have KBR around when I was in Afghanistan. They made good food and kept the base clean. Indeed they did make out very well, as would any company who received contracts at the time. KBR was about the only company who had the ability to do what they did on such short notice, and the troops like myself were more than happy to have them there.

I only ask about the oil contracts because if the WHOLE intent of going into Iraq was for oil, then only US companies and their allies would be making money from Iraq oil. In reality very few US companies are making money off of Iraqi oil.

Oralley is just an O'reilly sound board. Of course he agreed with you about criticisms of Clinton. But your post said it all. Very few raging GOP here. I dont mind them either, if its a civil argument that has a practical end. But the constant support of Trump, which has no logical basis in any facts at all, immediately causes a response of disinterest, and frankly, disrespect. I respect people who think for themselves, not some Trump advocate who demands he think for them. I do believe thats how Nazi Germany got its power. Its no coincidence more and more people are putting up the Roman salute that Nazis bastardized.

Considering that more than 60% of Republicans oppose Trump, your comment, as usual, is ignorant and idiotic.

He's by far and away the front runner, doesn't look like 60% opposition to me.

Just let them fall back on key words straight out of google search. Bengahzi and emails and thats all the proof they need Trump is the man! 🤑🙈

Well, you obviously don't understand how the process works then.

Yep, just cant reason with people bought by propoganda.

It's a bloody farce, I know that much. OMOV is the answer, that's what modern democracies do. It's a lot better than the slow train crash you call primaries. It could be all done and dusted by now.

What could be more Republican than someone losing the popular vote and still getting in?

Ask Al Gore, lol