Twenty Big Bush Debate Lies
1. "Bush hailed the coming presidential election in
Afghanistan, saying that the fact that 10 million people
had registered to vote was a "phenomenal statistic." But
Human Rights Watch this week said that figure was
inaccurate because of the multiple registrations of many
voters. In a lengthy report, the respected organization
also documented how human rights abuses are fueling a
pervasive atmosphere of repression and fear in many parts
of the country, with voters in those areas having little
faith in the secrecy of the balloting and often facing
threats and bribes from militia factions." (WP, 10/1/04)
2. "On North Korea, Bush charged that Kerry's proposal to
have direct talks with that country would end the
six-nation diplomacy that the administration has pursued
over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. Kerry has said he would
continue the six-party talks as well. Bush said direct
talks with North Korea would drive away China, a key player
in the negotiations. But each of the other four countries
in the talks has held direct talks with North Korea during
the six-party process -- and China has repeatedly asked the
Bush administration to talk directly with North Korea.
Moreover, the Bush administration has talked directly with
North Korean diplomats on the sidelines of the six-party
talks, and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell met with his
North Korean counterpart over the summer." (WP, 10/1/04)
3. "In a fierce debate over nuclear proliferation, Bush
asserted: "Libya has disarmed. The A.Q. Khan network has
been brought to justice." He was referring to a nuclear
smuggling ring based in Pakistan. But many experts also
credit the patient diplomacy started in the Clinton
administration for persuading Libya to cooperate. Moreover,
Khan, a national hero in Pakistan, was pardoned by
President Pervez Musharraf, and not a single person
involved in his network has been prosecuted anywhere.
Yesterday, in fact, the International Atomic Energy Agency
complained that it had been prevented from interviewing
Khan." (WP, 10/01/04)
4. "Bush said he has increased spending on curbing nuclear
proliferation by "about 35 percent" since he took office.
But in his first budget, he proposed a 13 percent cut --
about $116 million -- and much of the increases since then
have been added by Congress." (WP, 10/1/04)
5. "Bush said "Saddam Hussein had no intention of
disarming." Yet Iraq asserted in its filing with the United
Nations in December 2002 that it had no such weapons, and
none has been found. The Bush administration invaded Iraq
because it believed Hussein was concealing stockpiles of
weapons of mass destruction. Some post-invasion reports
have argued that Hussein retained the capability to restart
his weapons programs, but many experts consider that
doubtful as long as he remained under U.N. sanctions and
inspections." (WP, 10/1/04)
6. "Bush also overstated the case when he corrected Kerry
by saying that the senator forgot to mention that Poland
supplied forces when the invasion began. Kerry said there
were three countries that did -- Britain, Australia and the
United States -- and Bush said, "actually he forgot
Poland." Poland later supplied troops and commanded a zone
in Iraq. But, except for a few commandos, Polish troops
were not part of the original ground invasion." (WP,
10/1/04)
7. " As part of his case that Kerry has sent mixed
messages, Bush asserted that "he voted against the $87
billion supplemental to provide equipment for our troops,
and then said he actually did vote for it before he voted
against it." While Bush meant it as a jab, this was an
accurate description of the Senate process. Kerry supported
a different version of the bill, which was opposed by the
administration. At the time, many Republicans were
uncomfortable with the administration's plans and the White
House had to threaten a veto against the congressional
version to bring reluctant lawmakers in line. In a floor
statement explaining his vote, Kerry said he favored the
$67 billion for the troops on the ground, but he faulted
the administration's $20 billion request for
reconstruction." (WP, 10/1/04)
8. "Bush cited as a sign of progress in Iraq that the US is
"spending reconstruction money," when in fact the slow pace
of spending has become a major problem for US officials.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage testified to a
House Appropriations subcommittee Sept. 24 that only $1.2
billion in reconstruction money had actually been spent so
far , out of the total of $18 billion that was appropriated
last December in "emergency" funds for Iraq and
Afghanistan. (FC, 10/01/04)
9. "Bush also said "100,000 troops" and other Iraqi
security personnel have been trained to date. That's the
official figure, but the President failed to mention that
many trainees have received nothing more than a three-week
course in police procedures -- what Armitage referred to as
"shake-and-bake" forces. Only 8,000 of the total are police
who have received a full eight-week course of training."
(FC, 10/1/04)
10. "The President misquoted Kerry's position on how
quickly troops might be withdrawn from Iraq. Bush claimed
Kerry once said "I'll have them out of there in six
months," which is false. Kerry complained, "he's misled us
again." What Kerry actually said was that he believed he
could "significantly reduce" US troop levels in Iraq within
six months of taking office -- not at all the same thing as
having all troops "out of there." (FC, 10/1/04)
11. "The President said twice that "75 percent" of al Qaeda
leaders have been "brought to justice." But as The
Associated Press reported Oct. 1, Bush was referring to the
deaths or arrests of 75 percent of bin Laden's network at
the time of the September 11 attacks -- not those who are
running the terrorist organization today. The AP also
reported that the CIA said earlier in the year two-thirds
of those leaders are gone; at his acceptance speech in
September, Bush increased his count to three-fourths based
on unreleased intelligence data.Furthermore, the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies
reported May 25 that the occupation of Iraq has helped al
Qaeda recruit more members. The institute quoted
"conservative" intelligence estimates as saying that al
Qaeda has 18,000 potential operatives and is present in
more than 60 countries." (FC, 10/1/04)
12. "The president suggested that the war in Iraq was
connected to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying, "The
enemy attacked us." The federal Sept. 11 commission,
however, said that so far, it found no evidence "indicating
that Iraq cooperated with al-Qaida in developing or
carrying out any attacks against the United States." In
addition, Defense Intelligence Agency analysts concluded in
several papers in 2002 that even if Iraq possessed chemical
or biological weapons, it was unlikely to give them to
al-Qaida or other terrorist groups." (KR, 10/1/04)
13. "Kerry was correct that while Bush promised he'd plan
carefully for a war i