A Bush debate lie that most missed

[Elwood P Dowd]

including Rush Limbaugh. Remember when Kerry mentioned moving troops from Afghanistan to Iraq? Bush said it didn't happen. However, during the debate Bush talked about loving this lady he met whose husband was killed in Iraq. Bush mentioned that the guy served in Afghanistan before being transferred to Iraq.

Now Rush (or was it Hannity?) said Kerry was lying about moving troops from Afghanistan to Iraq. A couple of my repuke friends mentioned it also. I have the tape, and they refuse to watch it.

Also, a friend of mine has a kid in the military whose best friend served in both countries. A quick call to him tonight revealed the truth. His friend was moved to Iraq from Afghanistan during the invasion in 2003.

I haven't done a Google search yet, but I distinctly remember Army Special Forces being moved from Afghanistan to Iraq. I think it even included those that were fluent in the languages of the area where OBL was hiding.

I know it's a small point, but it's worth adding to the list.

[Octafish]

1. Excellent catch, Elwood!

The Warlord Moron lies so fast it's hard to keep track of them. Thank goodness you think fast!

EdIT: tippo cuz I type too fast.

[Jack from Charlotte]

25. Here's an article and a link about moving a Special Forces unit from...

Afganastan to Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/comment/story/0,14259,1178658,00.html


"The fact that the Pentagon pulled the fighting force most equipped for hunting down Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan in March 2002 in order to pre- position it for Iraq cannot be denied.

Fifth Group Special Forces were a rare breed in the US military: they spoke Arabic, Pastun and Dari. They had been in Afghanistan for half a year, had developed a network of local sources and alliances, and believed that they were closing in on bin Laden.

Without warning, they were then given the task of tracking down Saddam. "We were going nuts on the ground about that decision," one of them recalls.

"In spite of the fact that it had taken five months to establish trust, suddenly there were two days to hand over to people who spoke no Dari, Pastun or Arabic, and had no rapport."

[featherman]

2. The RW is DENYING troops were pulled from Afghanistan? WTF

This is a matter of public record. Also they might ask Tommy Franks who was pretty upset about it and is on the record about it.

[acmavm]

3. You're right about the troops being pulled from Afganistan to Iraq, but

you're wrong, and give yourself too little credit for making this point, because the pull out of the troops from Afganistan gave the Taliban and the Warlords, the opportunity to go back in and start taking over most of the country.

Yes, bush* lied. What's new? But this is a MAJOR lie because it explains when we started to lose the war in Afganistan, when bin Ladin escaped, and when the ranks of Al Quaeda and other terrorist groups started to grow to the thousands of members they have today.

[djg21]

4. My Wife's nephew

was transfered from Afghanistan to Iraq. He served with the 101st Airborne Division. He died in Tallifar in July 2003.

[Octafish]

8. Please accept my deepest condolences, djg21.

Words cannot convey the sorrow. I am truly sorry for you and your family.

He must have been a most remarkable person. A soldier has to be the best to be a member of the 101st Airborne Division.

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. Octafish, I lost friends with the 101st during Vietnam

Now I was drafted and got lucky with a duty station in the States, but those kids that went airborn and then to 'Nam..........Damn, this shit is happening all over again.

My condolences to djg21 and pray this madman Bush is sent packing.

[seventhson]

9. please accept my condolences for your family's loss.

there are no words...

I hope these losses at least convince Americans that shrub must go and no more deaths are acceptable.

[AwakeAtLast]

5. No point is too small when dealing with these bastards!

Great job and excellent point, Elwood!

:thumbsup:

[jwirr]

6. A young man from

our community served first in Aphganistan, then Iraq. He was a MP working to train the police.

[proud patriot]

7. not only did they pull troops out ,but diverted funds marked for

Afganistan by Congress . Without consulting Congress .

Are RWers really this stupid

[Disturbed]

10. "Are RWers really this stupid?"

Yes. some are even more stupid and ignorant. Most are dimwitted with the maturity of a 10 yr. old. That is w's base. Andrew Card even said that w views Americans as 10 yr. old children. This is the Neo Fascist arrogance. They believe that.

[Demaholic]

11. "A Bush debate lie that most missed"

Good point Elwood...

I will have to bring this up in further discussions Monday...

[grace0418]

13. Hmmmmmmm

very interesting.

[sandnsea]

14. Nov 2001, Woodward's book

Or maybe Clarke's. Doesn't everybody remember? Money and troops were moved to Iraq without Congressional approval. Bush should have been impeached over it. That's what JK was talking about.

[RamboLiberal]

15. Bob Graham and Richard Clarke exposed this

In 2002, troops from the 5th Special Forces Group who specialize in the Middle East were pulled out of the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to prepare for their next assignment: Iraq. Their replacements were troops with expertise in Spanish cultures.
The CIA, meanwhile, was stretched badly in its capacity to collect, translate and analyze information coming from Afghanistan. When the White House raised a new priority, it took specialists away from the Afghanistan effort to ensure Iraq was covered.

Those were just two of the tradeoffs required because of what the Pentagon and CIA acknowledge is a shortage of key personnel to fight the war on terrorism. The question of how much those shifts prevented progress against al-Qaeda and other terrorists is putting the Bush administration on the defensive.

Even before the invasion, the wisdom of shifting resources from the bin Laden hunt to the war in Iraq was raised privately by top military officials and publicly by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and others. Now it's being hotly debated again following an election-year critique of the Bush administration by its former counterterrorism adviser, Richard Clarke.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-03-28-troop-shifts_x.htm

[liveoaktx]

29. Vid Clip

Manhunt

[RapidCreek]

16. Of course Bush lied

That goes without saying of course.

Go here and read down toward the bottom of the page.

Interesting the talking heads failed to point out that the commander and chief doesn't even know where and when military units have been deployed.

How's that for supporting the troops.....the fucker cares so little about them he doesn't even know where they're fighting.

RC

[DemBones DemBones]

18. I get "Page Not Found" for that CNN link -- have you got it saved?

Down the Memory Hole. . .

[RapidCreek]

19. Try this

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/06/sprj.irq.101st.airborne/

I know about the 101st because Senator Johnson's boy (South Dakota) a sargent in the 101st was fighting in Afgahnistan first and is now in Iraq.



RC

[DemBones DemBones]

17. Good catch! I haven't reviewed the debate tape and transcript

as yet but we all need to do so and get this sort of info out there. Unfortunately, there are things that, politically speaking, campaigns can't say. Citizens can say those things and we must if we want to help raise the veil of ignorance that's descended over this country.

[Disturbed]

20. Sad...

but I don't feel that most of the American public gives a damn about these things. They have just grown used to Pres. lies. Most Pres. lie to the people. Read "People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.

[SKKY]

21. Didn't Pat Tillman spend some time...

...In Iraq before being transfered to Afghanistan, and then ultimately killed? I believe I remember reading that. They move people between the countries all the time. Aside from the valid argument that we had people moving to Iraq before Afghanistan was completed, I don't see where the other arguments are.

[tom_paine]

22. Naturally, Corporate TV Pravda reported this debate as being without

any serious gaffes.

Actually, there were several, including the fact that AQ Khan's network has been brought to justice, which is simply a whopper.

But, as we all know, the Rules of Amerikan Corporate TV Pravda, which by needs must remain unwritten, specifically forbid against anything which will make the Emperor look bad, even if he lied and lied and lied.

Luckily, Kerry did not lie at all, for the smallest lie of his would have been trumpeted for WEEKS across the land.

[BiggJawn]

23. We get Astroturf LTTE all the time...

Where the writer states that he served in both Afghanistan AND Iraq....Also pics of returning soldiers who served in BOTH theatres...

If the official RNC position is "No we didn't", they forgot to get the word out to the troops...

[jumpstart33]

24. This may lead you to the info you want. Pay attention to Lieberman commen

http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=US+troops+move+from+Afghanistan+to+Iraq&page=6&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D5227a0082710cd7c%26clickedItemRank%3D51%26userQuery%3DUS%2Btroops%2Bmove%2Bfrom%2BAfghanistan%2Bto%2BIraq%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wsws.org%252Farticles%252F2001%252Fnov2001%252Firaq-n01.shtml%26invocationType%3Dnext%26fromPage%3DNSCPNextPrev%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsws.org%2Farticles%2F2001%2Fnov2001%2Firaq-n01.shtml

I am ceratin that this info will turn up from a really good investigative reporter.

[merh]

26. Great catch!

I heard a pundit dispute Kerry's comment that Bin Laden is still out there and * was wrong in pulling troops from Afghanistan -- he said that Bin Laden is in Pakinstan and not Afghanistan so Senator Kerry was wrong on that point. They are ridiculous, struggling for ways to discredit the substance of Kerry's comments.

[jumpstart33]

27. Found this link: The US sabotged a deal for surrender of Al-qaeda

at Tora Bora. This might have led to the capture of Osama and avoided a lot of unnecessary deaths.
http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=tora+bora+afghanistan&page=3&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D5227a00827111cea%26clickedItemRank%3D24%26userQuery%3Dtora%2Bbora%2Bafghanistan%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wsws.org%252Farticles%252F2001%252Fdec2001%252Fafgh-d17.shtml%26invocationType%3Dnext%26fromPage%3DNSCPNextPrev%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsws.org%2Farticles%2F2001%2Fdec2001%2Fafgh-d17.shtml

[jumpstart33]

28. Not just lies, but total incompetence..Biden tried to warn the President

http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=tora+bora+afghanistan&page=3&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D5227a00827111cea%26clickedItemRank%3D24%26userQuery%3Dtora%2Bbora%2Bafghanistan%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wsws.org%252Farticles%252F2001%252Fdec2001%252Fafgh-d17.shtml%26invocationType%3Dnext%26fromPage%3DNSCPNextPrev%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsws.org%2Farticles%2F2001%2Fdec2001%2Fafgh-d17.shtml

[July]

30. kick. nt