![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that, earlier this week, Keith Olbermann did an outstanding job of reminding us how -- again -- Condi Rice either is mendacious beyond belief, or suffers from a severe memory problem.
Just to set this up, here was Ms. Rice's foot-in-mouth moment in front of the 9/11 Commission:
Ouch.
But this week, as a response to Bill Clinton's assertion the Bush Administration sat on its hands regarding al Qaeda between Inauguration Day and 11 Sept 2001, Ms. Rice made the claim that, "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda."
If you watch the video, you'll see Olbermann present the following:
(emphasis added)
Oy.
Or, take this exchange from a White House pwess bwiefing, with Ari-the-Liar at the podium:
Really. If you have neither read nor seen Olbermann's report, you should.
Just to set this up, here was Ms. Rice's foot-in-mouth moment in front of the 9/11 Commission:
RICE: I remember very well that the president was aware that there were issues inside the United States. He talked to people about this. But I don't remember the al-Qaida cells as being something that we were told we needed to do something about.
BEN-VENISTE: Isn't it a fact, Dr. Rice, that the August 6th PDB warned against possible attacks in this country? And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB?
RICE: I believe the title was, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."
Ouch.
But this week, as a response to Bill Clinton's assertion the Bush Administration sat on its hands regarding al Qaeda between Inauguration Day and 11 Sept 2001, Ms. Rice made the claim that, "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda."
If you watch the video, you'll see Olbermann present the following:
"On January 25, 2001, five days after Mr. Bush took office, counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke sent Rice a memo, attaching to it a document entitled "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat of al Qaeda." It was, Clarke, wrote, "developed by the last administration to give to you, incorporating diplomatic, economic, military, public diplomacy, and intelligence tools."
(emphasis added)
Oy.
Or, take this exchange from a White House pwess bwiefing, with Ari-the-Liar at the podium:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, February 27, 2001)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Taliban in Afghanistan, they have offered that they are ready to hand over Osama bin Laden to Saudi Arabia if the United States drops its sanctions, and the—they have a kind of deal that they want to make with the United States. Do you have any comments (INAUDIBLE)?
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS Secretary: Let me take that and get back to you on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OLBERMANN: There is no record of any subsequent discussion on that matter.
Really. If you have neither read nor seen Olbermann's report, you should.
