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Tony Snow vs. Petraeus on Troop Reductions
Surely this counts as a new land speed record for dropping something down the memory hole.
Tomorrow, President Bush will endorse the Petraeus plan for removing five Army surge brigades by July 2008. He's going to portray that incremental reduction as the spoils of victory. Just yesterday, however, Gen. Petraeus conceded that "the string is going to run out" on the deployments of the surge brigades by the summer, and since the active-duty Army doesn't have any more available brigades to send in relief and the reserve component (the National Guard and Army Reserve) is overtaxed as well, the surge just has to come to an end -- unless the Pentagon is willing to extend active-duty deployments even further, which Secretary Gates pledged in April not to do.
Just don't tell any of that to Tony Snow. "Wrong. You don't have to pull 'em out," Snow said today at the daily press briefing when challenged by a reporter.
Snow tried to portray the reporter's inquiry as an attack on Petraeus' credibility, even though Petraeus himself acknowledged the fact yesterday.
Comments (32)
Legion wrote on September 12, 2007 3:58 PM:Is it more evil to lie or to lie on behalf of a liar?
db wrote on September 12, 2007 4:14 PM:Well, Tony apparently reads TPM and read Josh's post about this troop drawdown nonesense because of huge security imnprovements being nothing more than lipstick on a pig, no matter how they try to sell it as based on progress.
How the hell are they going to know what security looks like a year from now? But they sure as hell know what troop readiness will look like if we do not withdraw at least 30k troops. The generals want 60-70k withdrawn, and sooner.
Congrats, Josh! The WH knows it better know and be prepared to address your criticism since most of the dc press read it. And it's usually solid as a rock.
EH wrote on September 12, 2007 4:15 PM:I suppose that depends on whether they know it's a lie or not. Or if they recall knowing.
drv wrote on September 12, 2007 4:16 PM:So, after all these years, why isn't the press prepared for this kind of bull shit?
Why didn't that reporter have the transcript from Petraeus's testimony so he could quote it back to Snow? That's the only way to stop these guys from lying. I don't get it. Don't these reporters realize they are setting their own trap by asking a question when they don't have the evidence to back it up?
d
SickAndTired wrote on September 12, 2007 4:49 PM:well now...Snow just never ceases to amaze me....damn if he couldn't sell a lot of used cars....Go home and get yourself healed Tony.....and you might want to get right God and quit the lying. You as a conservative should understand that.
harriett wrote on September 12, 2007 4:49 PM:I'd like to say something nasty about Mr. Snow, but the poor man is so obviously crazed on drugs, he doesn't recognize reality anymore. I don't feel he'll live until Christmas, and that's no 'desire' or 'wish' on my part...just a sad fact. I wish him enlightenment before it's too late.
Fred M. wrote on September 12, 2007 4:51 PM:This is turning into Bizarro World! I guess this administration has reached the point where they simply believe that if you repeat a lie often enough it will become the truth!
Of course their most disgraceful behavior is to again try to morph Iraq into a fight against al Qaeda when it didn't begin that way and is far from that today.
Boehner's comments today are just another example of how the republicans are again trying to associate Iraq and al Qaeda among the mindless masses of this country.
Fred M. wrote on September 12, 2007 4:54 PM:> So, after all these years, why isn't the press
> prepared for this kind of bull shit?
Because our so-called news organizations today are far more concerned with pretty faces and ratings than with actual journalism!
Damian wrote on September 12, 2007 5:16 PM:Well, Tony's made a living, er, been paid to lie for the WH for the last couple of years. With him leaving the WH next week, he probably intends to tell some real WHOPPERS, just for fun.
security code: nail
gtash wrote on September 12, 2007 5:27 PM:Or, we could say Tony is suggesting The General leaves open the possibility of drafting the troops needed to replace a 30,000 troop rotation should things fail to improve by summer 2008---but you'd have to ask Gen Fallon and Mr. Gates about that because that is not his job. He really hasn't thought about it. Honest.
Crime wrote on September 12, 2007 5:32 PM:Remember the Castanza Rule, "Remember, IF YOU believe it, IT is not a lie."
SteveW wrote on September 12, 2007 5:49 PM:You know, a lot of folks go easy on Snow because he has cancer, however I can't bring myself to feel badly for this propagandist and perpetrator of lies. Frankly, I don't wish the man well and that's how I feel about him. The soldier's in Iraq are dying in part because this man works/worked the media as the Bush/Cheney spokesman. Many who suffer from cancer, and I know this first hand, take a hard look at their lives and try to live life more thoughtfully, honestly, and less carelessly. Tony Snow has been afflicted with cancer twice, yet to the bitter end he's willing to lie carelessly and bully others who don't buy his line of bullshit, just as he did while working for Fox Cable News (choke) and his radio show.
So, for all of those in the media who seem to have an ability to separate Snow's lies from "the real Tony Snow", I don't buy that for a moment. He's a very bad man and more deserving of bad things happening to him than any soldier or Iraqi who dies every day.
linda wrote on September 12, 2007 8:03 PM:adios, tony. dont let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.
charlie wrote on September 12, 2007 8:26 PM:right hand... meet left hand. It would be nice if you both knew what each other is doing.
code word: shame
Fred M. wrote on September 12, 2007 8:27 PM:(I swear I'm not making it up)
Such arrogance in spite of such a record of lies, failures and cover-ups.
The mind boggles ...
JEP wrote on September 12, 2007 9:01 PM:At least after this administration's tenure, all the lawyers in the world will be shed of that "if their lips are moving" liar's label.
A new class of liars, Cheneybots all, has outlied the Lawyers tremendoulsy.
Helen Rainier wrote on September 12, 2007 9:37 PM:Snow says that Petraeus is a person whose career and reputation are on the line -- I say Hogwash. Petraeus is a 2-star general so he's obviously been around for quite a while.
I'll bet he has a minimum of 20 years already, so he's just hanging in now to try and get 30 years for retirement purposes and an extra star.
His career and reputation would be on the line if he were a captain or major who'd been in for 10 or 15 years.
But a 2-star? No way in hell, Tony.
Helen Rainier wrote on September 12, 2007 9:40 PM:Snow says that Petraeus is a person whose career and reputation are on the line -- I say Hogwash. Petraeus is a 2-star general so he's obviously been around for quite a while.
I'll bet he has a minimum of 20 years already, so he's just hanging in now to try and get 30 years for retirement purposes and an extra star.
His career and reputation would be on the line if he were a captain or major who'd been in for 10 or 15 years.
But a 2-star? No way in hell, Tony.
Helen Rainier wrote on September 12, 2007 9:49 PM:Sorry for the double-post.
Also, spoke before I should have -- in fact, Petraeus is already a 4-star general and has over 30 years -- so he has nothing to lose at this point -- certainly not his career nor his reputation.
Jim Coughlin wrote on September 12, 2007 10:17 PM:The oh so obvious fact. Petraeus was a 3 star, Casey/Abizaid disagreed with Bush and all of a sudden lost their credibility. Next thing you know the new genius is in charge. That's how the military gets promoted, leap up, click your heels, salute and shout "yes Sir" every time Bush, the CinC opens his mouth. Simple no?
SteveW wrote on September 12, 2007 10:35 PM:Yes, and I'm also sick of hearing even the progressive radio hosts tout what a "good soldier" Petreus is blah, blah, blah....Yes, we heard the same thing about the reasons why Colin Powell helped lie us into this war in the first place and now Gen. Petreus is lying to keeping us in this fiasco.
I'm not aware of any military statute/rule/law where generals must lie to protect their president. How is that upholding the U.S. Constitution? How is that serving his troops dying there every day? What exactly am I missing here?
David Pulliam wrote on September 13, 2007 12:05 AM:With the ability to lie without remorse, as if it was a duty designated liar tonysnow is a disgusting reminder of the government we need to remove.
David Pulliam wrote on September 13, 2007 12:09 AM:With the ability to lie without remorse, as if it was a duty designated liar tonysnow is a disgusting reminder of the government we need to remove.
moi wrote on September 13, 2007 2:21 AM:I am a cancer patient, and as such I have no sympathy at all for Tony Snow based simply on the fact that he has cancer. Having cancer is not a free pass. You don't get to get away with wrongdoing, simply because people feel sorry for you.
He has obviously not used the knowledge of his own impending death honorably, imo. He continues to lie to the public, and I'm sure he's even more so lying to himself.
What a waste! What a shame! He has such an opportunity, being in the limelight and having cancer, that he is totally squandering. He doesn't seem to even see that.
Typical for the bushies, of course, but sad nonetheless.
agathena wrote on September 13, 2007 2:56 AM:Tony Snow makes me wonder if there is indeed such a state as 'chemo brain' which causes memory loss and mental confusion.
Get well Mr. Snow and enjoy your retirement.
Utopia wrote on September 13, 2007 3:24 PM:He's not retiring. He's going to get a new gig so he can make more money. He has Fox News tastes but he's on a White House aids' salary. Not that it's peanuts ($168K I think I heard) but it sure ain't what Rupert was paying him.
U
Jeremiah wrote on September 13, 2007 4:10 PM:Tony Snow admitted that he'd be leaving when "the money ran out". Apparently he was talking about the Federal budget.
Bret wrote on September 13, 2007 5:00 PM:If he's out before the end of 2008, I wonder if Ann Coulter will be his replacement? Can you imagine THAT press briefing?
empi wrote on September 13, 2007 5:44 PM:I also thin Tony Snow is not long for this world. He looks horrible. It looks like the cancer is eating him alive.
John wrote on September 13, 2007 9:23 PM:Worst person in the world - Tony Snow.
Mike Mid City wrote on September 15, 2007 5:19 PM:At least you can credit any of the other evil doers with possibly having some belief in what they say.
Tony Snow - gratuitous crimes against the universe.
It takes a special guy to do Tony's job.
Tony used to be a man, now he's a burnt out husk. Oh well we play life as it lies.
Mike Mid City wrote on September 15, 2007 5:19 PM:It takes a special guy to do Tony's job.
Tony used to be a man, now he's a burnt out husk. Oh well we play life as it lies.