David Gregory says Bush showed good judgement for not invading Iraq immediately after 9/11
By John Amato Wednesday Apr 02, 2008 11:51am
During a discussion of Obama's spot on Hardball and the issue of responding to a crisis, cando from the comment section alerted us to this clip.
Gregory: If he talks about what you do in response to a crisis, either you have the right intelligence and you have the right response. Well, there's not a lot of argument that Bush had the right response to 9/11. He didn't jump to invade Iraq even though there was some argument that he should do that in the room. Number one.
Download | play 
Download | play (h/t Heather)
What great judgment it took to not attack a country with no evidence of their involvement in the attack except for Rumsfeld saying that there were no good targets in Afghanistan. We are talking about starting a war after all. It's not a chess move. And how did that original response work out? Did we get Bin Laden? Is Afghanistan a peaceful nation now? I think not. By not sending in enough forces to destroy al-Qaeda originally at Tora Bora, (if you think we should have invaded)---he only strengthened them. Sorry David. He showed terrible judgment in his initial response to the terrorist attacks on US soil. Part of the judgment factor is how one acts long term as well as in dealing to it immediately. How has that worked out so far? This is one of the most moronic defenses of Bush that I've ever heard before.
And Tony Blankley from the Washington Times (owned by Moon) gives an answer that really needs examining and is just as idiotic. He uses Cheney's actions in the bunker. He's not the President! Why was it that Dick Cheney had to order up planes to shoot down the jets? Why couldn't Bush be contacted? "the report portrays the vice president taking command from his bunker while Bush, who was in Florida, communicated with the White House in a series of phone calls and occasionally had trouble getting through." Say---what? Check out the 9/11 Commision report on that one. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Cheney doesn't have the authority to actually authorize the military to attack anyone when he was in the bunker. It is all very vague.
Cheney, who told the commission he was operating on instructions from Bush given in a phone call, issued authority for aircraft threatening Washington to be shot down. But the commission noted that "among the sources that reflect other important events that morning there is no documentary evidence for this call, although the relevant sources are incomplete." Those sources include people nearby taking notes, such as Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and Cheney's wife, Lynne.
Both the mission commander and the weapons director indicated they did not pass the order to fighters circling Washington and New York City because they were unsure how the pilots would, or should, proceed with this guidance," the commission reported...read on
Read the WaPo article. Pretty weird all around. (transcript of Obama and Matthews below the fold)
MATTHEWS: Let me give you a scene that may face you in the next year or two, where the national security adviser calls you at 3:00 in the morning and tells that you a couple of jet -- commercial jets have been hijacked. And they believe it is al Qaeda. And, as we know, al Qaeda always tries a second time. They tried for the World Trade Center after '93. They came back in '01. They're heading for the Capitol. What do you do?
OBAMA: Well, look, I am hesitant to engage in hypotheticals like that, because...
MATTHEWS: But it has been predictable.
OBAMA: Oh, well, the -- I don't think anybody predicted 9/11. And, so, we don't know what kinds of circumstances are going to come up.
Here's the important thing about that 3:00 a.m. phone call. What you want is somebody who is, first of all, going to get all the facts and gather up good intelligence. The second thing you want is somebody who is able to analyze the situation, the costs and benefits of action.
And one of the things that we know this president didn't do is to weigh the costs of going into Iraq vs. the potential benefits of it. We want somebody who is going to be decisive. And I won't hesitate to strike against somebody who would do us harm, if that's what is required.
But the most important thing that you need is somebody who is going to exercise good judgment. And judgment is not simply a matter of sounding tough or talking tough. It is a matter of weighing and making good decisions under stress.
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Yes, FIRST!
Gregory needs to stop blow drying his hair- his brain is getting fried. Seriously, what a joke as a "journalist".
Bush and Cheney wanted to invade Iraq on 9/10.
David Gregory=Big moron
The only judgement boosh showed was to stay in flight so long without landing people were wondering what was going on, was he dead, was there further attacks
Where was Orson Welles?
one question for that dancing fool gregory...W.T.F???????
what a fuckin baffoon. when are we going to acknowledge that invading iraq was a huge mistake. it was pointless.
i mean other than all the money making schemes by the presidents administration that is.
these people are criminals and people who sanction it and/or encourage it are criminals too. i'm looking right at you david gregory. fucking twat.
Is that Tony Blankly? (Was there ever a more appropiately named right wing hack?) I miss his fulminating idiocy on McLaughlin Report.
this is what happens when the media is in bed with the government
link
I hope the President switched his cell service.
David Gregory kinda went through a weird reverse-puberty, where his balls seemingly un-dropped.
Gregory is a fucking idiot.
No, he didn't just invade Iraq right away. He waited until it was absolutely crystal clear that Iraq was the wrong stinkin' country, and then went ahead and invaded anyway:
www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com
And guess what? It's still the wrong stinkin' country:
www.latimes.com
Another way of viewing the same circumstances might be bad judgment preceded by confusion and indecision. But Gregory's the expert.
Gregory was probably lobotomized after the McClellan shout match before resuming duties.
I don't get it. This administration is almost done. Why is David Gregory trying to get a job with it?
Gregory likes to dance...badly.
gregory is a access-addicted lackey. stick a fork in him.
and tony blankley works for the moonie-times. nuff said.
http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/10/09/march/story.jpg
this conversation wouldn't be anymore pathetic if it were between snuffalufagus and scooby doo, although that would actually be more entertaining than this snooze-fest.
Oh geeeezus!!!
David Gregory...you sir, are a buffoon!
Pepper @ 1:
How old are you?
Spoken like a thoughtful intelligent man. Given Hillary's history of enthusiastic support of Bush's warmongering agenda, don't let her within 100 miles of that 3AM phone call. True to form, she'd send the military off to bomb Hamilton, Bermuda.
Right, Gregory .. or more accurately .. Swollen Lips Gregory ... is paid 3 million a year to generate the GE authorized propaganda as does the rest of the GE 'team', as Matthews put it, called NBC, MSNBC 'news'. They create their 'media narratives' in order to manipulate pubic opinion which includes straight out lies, deceptions, and the 'cutting and pasting' of 'news' in order to create an 'outcome' that reflects the GE / Corporate Media agenda. So of course they either hire soul less buffoons who then mouth that agenda, or simply buy them off as Jack Walsh did with Matthews, Russert, Brokaw, and of course the Ken Doll called Williams .. told them their 'liberalism' was 'bullshit' and proved it to them buy giving them the millions do so. So we end up with evil pieces of shit like Scarborough and the rest of this GE team who peddle lie upon lie , deception upon deception, all in an effort to get their CORPORATE BOY McBush installed as the next president so a government BY AND FOR THE FEW, GREED, CAN BE SUSTAINED. The CORPORATE MEDIA MAFFIA .. because the corporate media really is akin to a mafia relative due to the agreed upon 'narratives' that the corporations that own these 'reporters' generate .... is in fact the NEW AXIS OF EVIL. They are a clear and present danger to what is left of our once great country called America. They are a clear and present danger to what is left of our democracy. All of these corporate pimps should be charged, tried, and convicted of purposefull, criminal, fraud committed against the American people. All of the them should be frogged marched our the the protection of their corporate studios and right into jail and then turned into bitches for the enjoyment of the inmates.
Loonie @ 11:
wtf do you think he was doing when he was dancing with rove? he was trying to get his balls unhung! so rove could examine them profeshionally!
So now the latest spin to try to make Bush look good is that he didn't invade any of the other countries in the world who had nothing to do with the 9-11 attack? Huh? Does Bush get praise for eating his vegetables at dinner, too?
I guess I am just plain stupid. But I can not understand, and have never found any information that has been available to justify invading Iraq. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11, he might have wanted to re-build his stock pile of weapons, but he hadn't done it. So tell me somebody how can the republicans nut cases justify this and where's the proof.
I thought the hijackers and terrorist that flew the planes into the twin towers were from Saudi Arabia. If we had invaded them, it would have made more sense. Altho there was no proof that the hijackers had the OK of the Saudi government.
moniker @ 3:
9/10/2000
David Gregory = White House Journalist Contractor!
This man is despicable. I was utterly unamused when MSNBC decided to give this Puppet a mouthpiece on their television station.
It is pretty sad. This guy calls himself a journalist all the while, george Bush invites him to his ranch for some "down time", whatever that means, and in addition to that, he gets the best seat the Press Dinner. Haha, and you are supposed to expect objectivity and clarity in his reporting on the President when the guy himself is leashed and lassoed in by ole Cowboy Bush?
Hah, yeah, and we supposedly demonize the "state run" media of supposed "fascist" and "dictatorial" regimes. Haha, folks, before we lecture other countires on how they do their business, lets clean up our own backyard.
ysbaddaden @ 5:
Looks like they got some compromising information on Gregory. I wonder what it is? Sex? Some fetish? Is he gay?
Marge @ 24:
I'd say you got this just right, Marge. The only thing I would add is that there was a clear link to Al Qaida and we know they were operating from camps in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was and is a logical target which Bush/Rummy/et al never took seriously and is still a major source of trouble.
Dale @ 16:
He's trying to keep his credentials, banking on the fact that McCain will win the election.
Gregory didn't just replace Carlson. Carlson is producing Gregory's show.
David Gregory, the Barney Rubble of NBC News.
Another victim of Kool-Aid poisoning.
-GSD
Dale @ 16:
Maybe he likes sloppy seconds.
He's a 'journalist' at GE? (sorry MSNBCGE)
How come GE has never stated how much $$ its made from Operation Iraq Disaster?
Funny that.
Step back and think about it, its absurd.
"Immediately;" I don't think, like Inigo Montoya, that that word means what he thinks it does.
Immediately means as soon as was feasible. The attacks happened in September of 2001. He spent 2002 making the case for war, and invaded in early 2003. That was as soon as he possibly could.
And in history, it's going to look like this:
2001 TERROR ATTACKS
(in very tiny print, so tiny it's almost a comma) afghanistan invasion
IRAQ WAR
Blue Lensman @ 29:
yeah the major trouble is the C.I.A cant get enough cocain out of afganistan to sell to dealers!
anneyhussein @ 20:
Not George Hamilton?
Messnbc the unwatchable network. Seriously, do they not have fact checkers or researchers anymore?
After reading this I am not surprised because from dawn to dusk that network is hideous. What talent does Scarborough, Gregory or Matthews have? Ahhhndrea Mitchell, Moron O'Donnel and just gossips who pretend they are relaying news. I have NBC, MSNBC and CNBC blocked. I find Bloomberg's financial news is far more valuable and they have a great website.
MSNBC is at the bottom of the barrel in ratings. Scarborough's are terrible and so are Matthews. Two obnoxious slobs.
I used to think he was a decent reporter.......then I read about this crap coming out of his mouth
Why replace little tucky with another stooge? Doesn't pat buchanan want a show?
There was no intent to go after Osama bin Laden in the first place. There was only an intent to Replace the Taliban as the governmental authority of Afghanistan.
Precisely why after the invasion Bush claimed he didn't care where Osama was.
After installing a Puppet president Bush got what he wanted, Permission to build a gas pipeline to India that the Taliban refused to allow.
The Papers were signed, location was surveyed, and construction has been placed on hold because of Taliban resurgence throughout the area.
Pull the White House cock out of David Gregory's ass and watch him
deflate like the doll toy that he is.
tyree @ 36:
I thought heroin was the major export? Maybe that's why the CIA is having troubles?
In any event, we just don't hear enough from you, tyree!
tanglewood @ 38:
Was this not the 'network' that fired Phil Donahue on the eve of Operation You'n'me-Les'-Go Kick-Some-Eye-Rakki-A$$?
It's all so fucking GOOD, what has happened under Bush.
Gas nearing $4.00/gallon; middle-class destruction; 4000+ dead soldiers; 1,000,000 dead/displaced Iraqis; exported jobs; health insurance gouging; a city left for dead; banking crisis; Bill of Rights torn up; a treasonous VP; the list goes on and on and on.
It's all so fucking GOOD, Gregory.
These corporate media whores got theirs, and that's all that matters to them.
Since they had allready made plans to invade before 9/11 how is waiting showing good judgement?
Yeah and they said Jesus couldn't swim. Same logic. Gregory IS as stupid as he looks. Cheney needed time to fabricate his case.
WTF are these idiots doing? I thought they were supposed to report the news, not give us opinions. Yet that is ALL we hear. Subjective comments are constantly surrounding even the most noncontroversial stories. What (or who) makes them think their opinions mean any more than any one else's? It's just propaganda. It's no wonder so many people cannot form their own opinions when they are already attached to the story.
I thought Gregory had some common sense. Obviously he is has terminal village stenographers disease.
and this guy has a show . why? does msnbc have some kinda training program to produce these idiots, they may as well have kept tucker.and dan abrams irks me because he's always right and everyone else is wrong in his world.
I've got to say that Obama's reply to Tweety's question about the 3 a.m. phone call is absolutely ridiculous!
Here’s the important thing about that 3:00 a.m. phone call. What you want is somebody who is, first of all, going to get all the facts and gather up good intelligence. The second thing you want is somebody who is able to analyze the situation, the costs and benefits of action.
And one of the things that we know this president didn’t do is to weigh the costs of going into Iraq vs. the potential benefits of it. We want somebody who is going to be decisive. And I won’t hesitate to strike against somebody who would do us harm, if that’s what is required.
But the most important thing that you need is somebody who is going to exercise good judgment. And judgment is not simply a matter of sounding tough or talking tough. It is a matter of weighing and making good decisions under stress.
Then he wants to make an analogy with the thinking that went into starting a pre-emptive war? WTF?
Dale @ 16:
Maybe they know something we don't.
Heil Boosh!
WHO decided to give this jackass a show?
I totally agree with David Gregory. It was also superb judgement that he did not invade Spain and Iceland or any of the other countries that had NOTHING to to with 911.
What a GE republican water carrying tool
Chap @ 52:
Don't forget Poland.
David Gregory is really an awful person.
Joe Scar(Lori Klausutis) and Gregory need to stop licking dart frogs.
Doesn't that make it worse in a way? So he didn't impulsively make the decision to invade a country for no reason, he made that erroneous decision after having ample time to contemplate it.
OBAMA: Oh, well, the — I don’t think anybody predicted 9/11. And, so, we don’t know what kinds of circumstances are going to come up.
I'm sorry, but I find this to be one of the more disturbing aspects of this report. When I heard it on Hardball yesterday I could hardly believe my ears.
Lollimom @ 45:
Maybe they just want to back a winner!!
And that is how one must discribe Predisent Bush and friends - Winners.
John Barringer @ 57:
He was channeling Condi!
Thank magical being we have at least one news reporter fighting for truth,justice and three million dollars.Gregory is much shorter on his knees like that, just the right height to unzip bushs zipper. I always had the feeling this little ratfucker was a little ratfucker! I believe his real name is G E Gregory.
"Race 08" has been a sore disappointment so far. It's like CrossFire with ADD, and the days Scarborough is on there's even less of a point.
Might as well bring back Tucker? Nah!
Some idiot blogger claimed the other day that MSNBC was too progressive because of Olbermann. After Scarborough, Matthews, and now this right wing salad tosser Gregory. I must say Joe Scar is the worst. All of his comments angle towards some "Obama has no chance" spin. He actually pretends to like Obama all the while relentlessly pouncing on the most trivial non story of the day(Obama's bowling scores) he can find.
John Barringer @ 57:
That Obama REFUSES to accept the prediction of Nostradamus as fact truly IS disturbing(I got chills up my spine).I can't vote for HIM now.rolleyes.
What is your point?
I can see it now. Ten years into the future the songs will be written about the glorious warrior-king george boosh. History will be re-written, pilgrimages to the pretend ranch, narrated by...David Gregory.
Didn't we hit Afghanistan (cough cough -- al queda) because of 911? (and how well is that working out now?)
David Gregory is another fine example of fascist corporate media.
Good judgment sheez, it's about as good judgment as butch and hoppy doing 95 with ballots in a van!
But the worse judgment of all is why we haven't Impeached this piece of corrupt lying oath breaking piece of shit president already. Hello Nancy.
Left&Left @ 62:
Remember Scarborough was Newts spear carrier.
Maybe the George w bush sewage plant should be called the David Gregory Sewage Treatment Plant?
moondancer @ 66:
That's what they call gay sex now?
I have a job for Joe. Instead of all the tee-hee-hee bowling footage and bashing Obama with lies and more lies and sitting there with arms crossed frowning when getting schooled by Rachael on how phony McCain is he could always.....
Investigate the death of Lori Klausutis.
I think Nancy Grace may even be interested in helping.
Pure neo-con regurgitation. That's what it is. The continual spinning of the war until Bush is out on January 20, 2009.
I also had the good judgment not to boink my sister-in-law the first time she passed out at my house.
Course my wife didn't see it that way after she caught me the fourth time she passed out.
Marge @ 24:
The problem is that you are assuming Shrub and his henchmen were motivated to do the right thing, while just the opposite is true. All that you state is true, but you're looking in the desert for a fish.
The reasons we invaded Iraq are threefold: power (American hegemony), money, and oil. It's as simple as that. OK, throw in a bit of religious "End times" mumbo-jumbo.
And people wonder why I get pissed at MSNBC for giving Gregory a show while Rachel Maddow... the brightest intelligence to hit the pundit circle in years is only a guest.
Zippy the Pin Head vs. Wonder Woman!
ysbaddaden @ 68:
ROFLMAO!! Nice one!
propoganda is as propoganda does.
the other phrase that comes to mind is 'media whore'.
David Gregorry = Go Gray Diver
Rasputin @ 73:
I've taken to calling him Pig-Eyed Joe. Kind of rolls off the tongue.
I just had a cup of coffee and I take that back in #67.
"Maybe the George w bush sewage plant should be called the David Gregory Sewage Treatment Plant?"
Sarcasm alert..
We should keep with that grassroots project, but modify it slightly, attach a rider to it, so that the raw sewage input of the George W Bush Sewage Treatment Plant no longer get's treated, instead it is to be redirected to the parking lot and allowed to flood the local area, that way we can have the Nancy Pelosi Swamp Water Preserve.
Let media matters deal with David.
In a sense Gregory is right. On the GWB scale, this is incredibly good judgement. It is kinda like saying a 2 year old who is potty-trained uses really good judgement. For an adult it is just common sense.
Aaaw, c'mon! David's new at this lying, bullshitting, who-needs-the-facts-just-repeat-the-NeoCon-party-lines-and-talking-points-approved-for-regurgitation stuff. By the say, David... Satan wants me to remind you about the deal you made with him for that cushy job you've now got... your soul turning you into Tony Snow in about 3 seconds...
why is no one talking about the fact that tony also mentioned in another interview with wes clark that general mc peak..(OBAMA's top military man) also supported the idea of staying in iraq for 100 years???????
wes clark stated mcpeak is as wrong as mccain is.
woodguy @ 74:
Thanks Woody.
Come on guys and gals not one laugh from that? in Number 78 above?
Take a break, breath.
Did you get the irony?
Ok...cancel show....
Good call MSNBC....time to give Rachel Maddow a shot now...
terenia @ 82:
He said that three years ago, and the last time I look McPeak is not our candidate, Obama is. McShrub is your candidate and he's the one who said '100years', not McPeak. Got any relevant facts, or just spin?
Bush also deserves credit for not invading France, the UN and Hollywood, despite inside pressure to do so.
David Gregory is a joke. Why isn't he on Fox yet?
What in the name of Marx is this? The U.S. had no right to invade Iraq. None. Saddam was a bulwark of stability and intelligence among the mediocrities that pass for leaders among the Arabs, Perso-Pashtuns, and Jewish leaders. When we did something immoral and illegal (removing Saddam) the only logical conclusion was the strengthening of the Iranians and the Israelis. Unfortunately, the Israeli and Iranian regimes are equally evil.
What in hell possessed Bush to get hubristical enough to do this? The destruction of a (for a Middle Eastern regime, I consider Israeli actions every bit as criminal as Arab and Iranian actions) remarkably tolerant regime is more than a war crime. If anything is a crime against humanity, this is it.
Refresh my memory. Didn't Bush fly around the country