Wham! Blair bungles Iraq speech

[rooboy]

He received the kind of polite applause regimental sergeant-majors lay on for visiting politicians, but nothing like the hooting and hollering President George W. Bush was given by his cheerleaders when he made a similar "surprise" visit.

At least Mr Blair did not wear made-up combat gear.

Mr Blair's curiously downbeat address to the troops contained a slip instantly highlighted by the British media, when he referred to the search for Iraq's weapons of mass "distraction".

He quickly corrected himself, but not before the media noted that one of Mr Blair's domestic political problems is that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8328510%255E954,00.html

[JNelson6563]

1. *ahem* Mr. Blair, your freudian slip is showing

Ah, the priceless slip of the tongue. ;-)

[Bonobo]

3. Slip of the tongue?

Or is it proof for the existence of God?

[goforit]

15. Hmmmm...........could be the proof of the almighty for sure.

:tinfoilhat:

[JNelson6563]

17. wouldn't that be great?

If there was ever to be some sort of proof for such a thing, I can think of no more fitting way to reveal it. Sort of like what happened in Liar, Liar. haha Can you imagine if everyone involved in BFEE business could only speak truth for a time?

I would be a believer after such a feat!

Julie

[Mikimouse]

2. One wonders if this slip was really...

not a slip, so much as it may have been a shot across *'s bows. Who should know better than Blair that the * administration lied about everything. Now that Blair has been relegated to the trash heap, there is no longer any reason for him to keep up the front.

[AP]

6. I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional.

If you pay close attention to Blair, he's been letting rip a lot of subtle criticisms of Bush.

His visit to Iraq (his SECOND) was discouraged by the Bush administration, and the media in the US treats it like he's copying Bush (during the debate yesterday the CNN scroll said something like "Blair pulls a Bush"). However, Blair went to Iraq last summer, which was a very big embarassment for Bush.

[tabasco]

8. I think it was intentional

This is a guy that regularly has to debate his political opponents. This "slip of the tongue" is a swipe at Bush for misleading Blair and the world. But the Poodle has no excuse - it is too late for him to blame everything on Bush. Labor in Britain needs to install a new leader.

[T_i_B]

19. Here is the bad news

Nobody on earth who isn't already in the service of these morans will belive it was intentional. Plus the visit will be rightly seen by many of us as a cheap publicity stunt same as the whole Bush/plastic turkey incident.

And now the good news for you AP, out of all the UK media only the Independent is covering Blair's gaffe. Blair looks like he will be able to get away with this little gaffe. :grr:

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Surprisingly it's in the Number 10 transcript:

"But the other threats are brutal and repressive states who because of their brutality, because they don't actually have the support or consent of their people, are developing weapons that can cause distraction and destruction on a massive scale and are a huge, huge liability for the whole security of the world."

http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page5110.asp

The Daily Mail used it in its headline
http://www.femail.co.uk/pages/standard/article.html?in_article_id=205211&in_page_id=2

and the BBC, Scotsman Scotsman, and Mirror all mention it.

[calimary]

4. That would be Whoppers of Mass Distraction!

This is hilarious. Truth will out.

[madrchsod]

5. why is it that the Brits are saying they

will be in Iraq for the next 2-3 yrs and bush says we will bug out this summer. oh i forgot..we will be invited to stay by the puppet government. sorry i went off the script....

[Just Me]

7. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,...

,...oh, oh, ho, can't breath,...breath,...GOOD ONE BLAIR!!!

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Cannikin]

10. I've already emailed it to all of my local 'conservative' talk show hosts.

It usually fires them up when I send them such things...and it makes my day.

[Holly]

9. makes me wonder

if this is what Bliar is calling them in private. I've let inside comments or " jokes" out by mistake before...although a lie that killed thousands could hardly be referred to as a joke.

[snippy]

12. I would not be surprised.

[arcane1]

18. Mr. Blair's chances for redemption are disappearing fast

I still hold out hope that he will just say to hell with it, and expose it all.

Tony, your career is doomed anyway, so go out with some honor!

[ZenLefty]

11. Best line from the article:

At least Mr Blair did not wear made-up combat gear.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

14. You beat me to it! Best paragraph: At least Mr Blair did not wear made

-up combat gear.

[goforit]

16. And didn't bring a plastic turkey for all the troops.

ROFLMAO!!!!!

[0007]

13. Ha ha ha ha! What a poodle!

"Mr Bush may well get away with that but Mr Blair is facing a terrible January back home when an inquiry, chaired by Lord Hutton, into the death of the weapons scientist David Kelly is due to hand down its findings.

Last night many newspapers were calling the "secret" visit little more than a publicity stunt."

[Emillereid]

21. The good Doctor Freud said a 'cigar is sometimes just a cigar', but dear

friends this isn't one of those times. What a doozy -- this is the real mccoy 'Freudian slip' -- it's Tony's unconscious conscience trying to surface. I just love it!

[Aidoneus]

22. like hell was that "bungled"--butcher Blair is finally telling the truth

if unintentionally..