E-Z-B
CAGiversary!
At a White House press briefing Tuesday, Press Secretary Scott McClellan, pressed by reporters and with Afghan President Karzai in disagreement, retreated on claims that Newsweek's retracted story on Koran abuse cost lives in Afghanistan.
He also claimed that he had never said it did, even though a check of transcripts disputes that. On May 16, for example, he said, "people have lost their lives." On May 17, he said, "People did lose their lives," and, "People lost their lives."
Here is the transcript from the latest White House press briefing:
Q: One other question. Karzai was quite definite in saying that he didn't believe that the violence in Afghanistan was directly tied to the Newsweek article about Koran desecration. Yet, from this podium, you have made that link. So --
McCLELLAN: Actually, I don't think you're actually characterizing what was said accurately.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000930917
This flip-flop probably has something to do with this:
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan denied yesterday that the riots in Afghanistan that led to 16 deaths had been prompted by an article in Newsweek magazine, calling them instead "a political act against Afghanistan's stability".
"These demonstrations were in reality not related to the Newsweek story," he said at a joint press conference held after a meeting with President George W. Bush. "They were more against progress in Afghanistan and our strategic partnership with America. We know the people who were behind the demonstrations."
His comments contrast with those of White House officials who have forcefully condemned the Newsweek report that claimed the Koran had been flushed down a lavatory by interrogators at Guantánamo Bay and have suggested it helped trigger the riots.
Last week Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said: "This report was used to excite violence and did serious damage. The protests may have been pre-planned but this report was used to excite violence."
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/019de66e-cbf1-11d9-895c-00000e2511c8.html
I hope Newsweek demands Scott McClellan's resignation.
He also claimed that he had never said it did, even though a check of transcripts disputes that. On May 16, for example, he said, "people have lost their lives." On May 17, he said, "People did lose their lives," and, "People lost their lives."
Here is the transcript from the latest White House press briefing:
Q: One other question. Karzai was quite definite in saying that he didn't believe that the violence in Afghanistan was directly tied to the Newsweek article about Koran desecration. Yet, from this podium, you have made that link. So --
McCLELLAN: Actually, I don't think you're actually characterizing what was said accurately.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000930917
This flip-flop probably has something to do with this:
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan denied yesterday that the riots in Afghanistan that led to 16 deaths had been prompted by an article in Newsweek magazine, calling them instead "a political act against Afghanistan's stability".
"These demonstrations were in reality not related to the Newsweek story," he said at a joint press conference held after a meeting with President George W. Bush. "They were more against progress in Afghanistan and our strategic partnership with America. We know the people who were behind the demonstrations."
His comments contrast with those of White House officials who have forcefully condemned the Newsweek report that claimed the Koran had been flushed down a lavatory by interrogators at Guantánamo Bay and have suggested it helped trigger the riots.
Last week Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said: "This report was used to excite violence and did serious damage. The protests may have been pre-planned but this report was used to excite violence."
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/019de66e-cbf1-11d9-895c-00000e2511c8.html
I hope Newsweek demands Scott McClellan's resignation.
ing feel to get your balls caught in a vice since the notably short American attention span isn't over this?! lol
