Gerald Ford didn't lie or feel a need to lie about this

[Psychoblues]

Don’t trust me about this, read and hear it for yourself. Follow the link and it will set you free.




By Bob WoodwardWashington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2006; Page A01

Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified. "I don't think I would have gone to war," he said a little more than a year after President Bush launched the invasion advocated and carried out by prominent veterans of Ford's own administration.

In a four-hour conversation at his house in Beaver Creek, Colo., Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously. In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney -- Ford's White House chief of staff -- and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his Pentagon chief.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701558.html

Jerry was a friend of mine. I worked with Jerry Ford and 2nd Lt. Bush, you ain’t no Jerry Ford.

Psychoblues

 

[glockmail]

His body's not even cold. Have you no shame?

OIC. You're a Liberal.

 

[Psychoblues]

His body is as cold as his truth to power even if he didn't want them repeated until after he was dead.

His body's not even cold. Have you no shame?

OIC. You're a Liberal.

OIC. You're a self described conservative with no understanding of it's overwhelming destructive powers that bind you.

Psychoblues

 

[CockySOB]

I don't see a problem with releasing Fmr. Pres. Ford's statements as it would seem that while they were slated to be part of a future book effort, they were going to be freely usable after the President's death.

And as I read the text from the excerpts posted, it would seem that Fmr. Pres. Ford was not saying that any of Pres. Bush's military actions were mistakes, but rather that he and his administration failed to present a single, cohesive argument for going into Iraq.

FORD: Well, I can understand the theory of wanting to free people. Whether you can detach that from the obligation number one, of what's in our national interests, there comes a point where they conflict. And I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security.

No problem with that excerpt. Freeing other oppressed peoples should not take precedence over our national interest. Although I wonder how many liberals will go for that if I mention Darfur?

FORD: I don't think if I had been president, on the basis of the facts as I saw them publicly, I don't think I would have ordered the Iraqi war. I would have maximized our effort through sanctions, through restrictions, whatever, to find another answer.

The operative portion here is "on the basis of the facts as I saw them publicly." Fmr. Pres. Ford understood both the fact that much of the material evidence supporting the war in Iraq was probably NOT made public, just as much of his own administration kept some things under its hat. But we do see that Fmr. Pres. Ford WOULD have supported direct action such as sanctions, etc. based solely on the information made public. So who knows how far he would have committed had he been privy to the information NOT made public? No one can know, can we?

FORD: I think Rumsfeld, Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction.

Again, no problem here. I'd love to hear the entire interview to see if/how Fmr. Pres. Ford ties the second excerpt in with the third (humanitarian concerns for the Iraqis under Saddam's heel vs. WMD as a national security issue.) My guess is that Fmr. Pres. Ford would have preferred the justification for entering Iraq to be the national security interest first, and the humanitarian interest second.

FORD: And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do.

Again, the emphasis is not on going into Iraq, but in how it was presented to the public.

As I have held throughout, the fact that Saddam posed a continuing threat to national security should have been the main argument, and the secondary argument should have been the humanitarian angle, just as Fmr. Pres. Ford would seem to indicate via these select excerpts. But this presents a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation for Pres. Bush. either he's damned for not caring about the poor, oppressed peoples of the world, or he's soft on national security. I disagree with how the Bush administration tried to put both issues at the forefront at one time or another, but I do not disagree with the military action in Iraq.

As to your little fantasy to the end of your post, get a life. Statements like that are wholly unprovable and serve no purpose.

** citations are from the Woodward article in the original post

 

[Gunny]

Don’t trust me about this, read and hear it for yourself. Follow the link and it will set you free.




By Bob WoodwardWashington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2006; Page A01

Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified. "I don't think I would have gone to war," he said a little more than a year after President Bush launched the invasion advocated and carried out by prominent veterans of Ford's own administration.

In a four-hour conversation at his house in Beaver Creek, Colo., Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously. In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney -- Ford's White House chief of staff -- and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his Pentagon chief.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701558.html

Jerry was a friend of mine. I worked with Jerry Ford and 2nd Lt. Bush, you ain’t no Jerry Ford.

Psychoblues

What's your point, nimrod? Lots of people disagree with President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. So?

President Ford's statements FAR from support all the bullshit accusations you've posted on this board over the years. All I see is an opposing point of view from a polite, intelligent person. Something you obviously aren not.

 

[glockmail]

.......


OIC. You're a self described conservative with no understanding of it's overwhelming destructive powers that bind you.

Psychoblues

Enlighten me.

 

[Psychoblues]

Are you cross dressing or simply cross threading? Give me a hint as to what the hell you are talking about?

Psychoblues

Enlighten me.

 

[manu1959]

yes i heard this a day or so after he died....ford never really did much of anything so no real surprise that he would not have gone to iraq...hell he would not have gone to afganistan....he probably would have pardoned OBL to facilitate national healing

 

[Gunny]

yes i heard this a day or so after he died....ford never really did much of anything so no real surprise that he would not have gone to iraq...hell he would not have gone to afganistan....he probably would have pardoned OBL to facilitate national healing

He did trip and fall down the stairs getting off Air Force One once .......

 

[manu1959]

He did trip and fall down the stairs getting off Air Force One once .......

great football player...bum knee....was funny though

 

[Gunny]

great football player...bum knee....was funny though

I was surprised when I found that out. He must've used to have some balance and coordination .....

 

[Psychoblues]

Serious discussion gone south by nimrod comments from not-so-serious self confessed right wing POS types. Thanks,anyway, for your contributions.

Psychoblues

 

[Gunny]

Serious discussion gone south by nimrod comments from not-so-serious self confessed right wing POS types. Thanks,anyway, for your contributions.

Psychoblues

What serious discussion? You're an idiot. We all know it. End of discussion.

 

[glockmail]

Are you cross dressing or simply cross threading? Give me a hint as to what the hell you are talking about?

Psychoblues

What are conservatism's overwhelming destructive powers that bind me?

 

[Avatar4321]

What are conservatism's overwhelming destructive powers that bind me?

Self reliance and personal responsibility. It destroys socialism by promoting freedom.

 

[T-Bor]

Whats his point ?? What are you a f idiot Gunny ? You know what his point his. Someone who has no political agenda and knows politics is saying that Bush decision sucked !!! Thats what he is saying. But I wouldnt expect an old uneducated , POS, like yourself to understand that. YOU S !!!!

What's your point, nimrod? Lots of people disagree with President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. So?

President Ford's statements FAR from support all the bullshit accusations you've posted on this board over the years. All I see is an opposing point of view from a polite, intelligent person. Something you obviously aren not.

 

[Avatar4321]

Whats his point ?? What are you a fucking idiot Gunny ? You know what his point his. Someone who has no political agenda and knows politics is saying that Bush decision sucked !!! Thats what he is saying. But I wouldnt expect an old uneducated , POS, like yourself to understand that. YOU SUCK !!!!

Considering the way Ford became President, and the lack of reelection, I wonder how knowledgible he really is on politics. I would atleast say its debateable.

Regardless, he never said that the President's decision sucked. He just said he wouldnt have made the same one with the information he knows. Problem is there is alot of information that the public will never and should never know. Classified information that the President has. As this and many other boards demonstrate, any idiot can second guess the President without having the same information he does. With that said, I think its pretty obvious that acting is far better than reacting.

 

[Gunny]

Whats his point ?? What are you a f idiot Gunny ? You know what his point his. Someone who has no political agenda and knows politics is saying that Bush decision sucked !!! Thats what he is saying. But I wouldnt expect an old uneducated , POS, like yourself to understand that. YOU S !!!!

Well, well, look what the cat dragged in from the dumpster. I know what the idiot's trying to imply, and what he's trying to imply isn't in Ford's statement at all.

But a I wouldn't expect a fucktard like you to be able to decipher simple English.

 

[T-Bor]

Oh I can decipher it Gunny...Question is whether or not you can ? See, fact is your, your an old fart. And your days are numbered. And that makes you angry doesnt it. I can see why you are a cynical old prick. Thats what being brainwashed by the govt does to ya. But you will be one less member of society soon enough. If the agent orange didnt get ya, the old age will. Cya ya in the afterlife dipshit..

PWNED !!!!!

Well, well, look what the cat dragged in from the dumpster. I know what the idiot's trying to imply, and what he's trying to imply isn't in Ford's statement at all.

But a I wouldn't expect a fucktard like you to be able to decipher simple English.

 

[Gunny]

Oh I can decipher it Gunny...Question is whether or not you can ? See, fact is your, your an old fart. And your days are numbered. And that makes you angry doesnt it. I can see why you are a cynical old prick. Thats what being brainwashed by the govt does to ya. But you will be one less member of society soon enough. If the agent orange didnt get ya, the old age will. Cya ya in the afterlife dipshit..

PWNED !!!!!

You call that "owned"? Must have a much lower standard to meet in whatever hole you occasionally crawl out of. Loosen up that chinstrap a bit, bud.

Not much makes me angry, and surely not you .... some puss hiding behind a computer running his suck feeling all bad about himself. Bet you get up in the morning and kick your dog just to get that power rush in an attempt to hide your impotence from yourself. But in the end, it's still you in the mirror.