Calblog: The Battle for the News Cycle

October 25, 2004

The Battle for the News Cycle

The right-of-center blogosphere (yours truly included) had high hopes for this news story from today's Washington Times, which showed that Kerry's claim during the debates that he met with the UN Security Council was not exactly accurate. Personally, I think Kerry lies often and this lie was about an event recent enough and verifiable enough that perhaps others would finally realize.

However, in the same news cycle, the NYT came out with an article that explosives have been looted in Iraq. That's the news that's getting play from MSM and certainly from Kerry, who is using the acts of terrorists in Iraq to accuse Bush of lying. (Note: I heard the accusations of lying in Kerry's speech but I yet to have a link that excerpts that part.)

Do I think the explosives in Iraq are no big deal? No. I do, however, have an expectation that bad things will happen in war and we have to expect a certain number, even if we can't predict what. Iraq has not hit the level of disaster or quagmire or even mistake on my internal barometer. I think this administration will be able to deal with the missing explosives in whatever way military folks do that. I think a Kerry administration would say the missing explosives prove we shouldn't be there. They'd start to pull out and not deal with recovering or neutralizing them at all. That's why missing explosives don't change my vote.

UPDATE: The Defense Department spokesman on Fox News this morning said that the explosives were already gone when troops first reached the facility in 2003. Wait and see whether that information filters through the normal channels.

Posted by Justene Adamec at October 25, 2004 08:04 AM | TrackBack

Comments

I think I'm just getting the joke now: this whole site is a parody of a GOP-supporter's blog, isn't it?

If 370 tons of high-grade explosives (of the type being used now to kill our troops and Iraqis) disappeared in 2003, why is Condoleeza Rice just finding out about it now? Why is the administration just now ordering an investigation into the matter?

Justene writes that: "I think this administration will be able to deal with the missing explosives in whatever way military folks do that."

By doing nothing? Shrugging the shoulders as Justene and Condi have done? Gee., that makes me very confident of GOP stewardship of this war.

Posted by: m.croche at October 25, 2004 11:52 AM (Permalink)

Our stated goal with Saddam was to prevent him from giving WMD to terrorists.

Now, because of Bush's handling of the war, terrorists have gotten their hands on 760,000 pounds of military-grade very-high-explosives.

Yes, indeed, bad things happen in war. However, not so many bad things, and not so many bad things that are the complete opposite of our stated goals.

There's also the chain of command and coverup issues, which I expect we'll hear more about later.

If this doesn't come out before the election, it will come out after. In the latter case, what do you think will happen, and how much damage do you think Bush calling himself a Republican will have on the Republican party?

Posted by: The Lonewacko Blog at October 25, 2004 12:50 PM (Permalink)

I am unclear that it is because of "Bush's handling of the war." Because of who released the info and when, combined with a startling omission of when and how it went missing, I am highly skeptical. No one ever accounted for all the rogue nuclear material in the former Soviet Union. Shall we bring the USSR back?

Yes, it's a problem. the conclusion the Bush critics are drawing from the problem require huge leaps.

Posted by: justene at October 25, 2004 12:56 PM (Permalink)

That anonymous source, well-quoted through the early part of the news cycle, has faded. Identified sources, including NBC news reporters embedded with the troops, say they weren't there.

Late last night, I watched the numbers on the number of explosives destroyed. About 1000 times the missing amount and no tracking method to say that the "missing" explosives weren't part of the destruction.

If this becomes a scandal it will be because Kerry and the NYT times make stuf up.

Posted by: Justene at October 26, 2004 07:01 AM (Permalink)

I guess some of the facts in Justene's latest post are no longer operative. The NBC news reporter embedded with the troops says that the troops didn't actually look for the explosives. They instead went along their merry way to Baghdad.

I have no idea where Justene is getting her: 1000 times the amount (of high-grade explosives - suitable for use in a nuclear device) being destroyed. We're supposed to be grateful that insurgents and terrorists only have 370 TONS of the stuff?

And by the way, why is it the Rice only finds out about this two weeks ago? Rice, the head of the Iraq Stabilization Group? Justene's silence on this issue indicates to me that her bland assurances that all is being handled capably are the product of the kind of wishful thinking characteristic of this incompetent administration and its enabling supporters.