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Seymour Hersh report: WH lied about Bin Laden raid

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, May 11, 2015.

  1. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    I agree with the "set up" part, but it might not be so unreasonable to think that the W.H., having gotten wind of Hersh's reporting/story, was perfectly content to let him run with it. As I recall, Clinton's W.H. did the same thing with regard to his MonicaGate grand jury testimony. The story was circulating that he'd been visibly angry -- among other things slinging an earpiece aside, as I recall -- but the reality was far, far tamer and the gap between the rumor and the reality was of some p.r. benefit to him.
     
  2. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    I don't think people have much appreciation for just how treacherous and duplicitous US relations with Pakistan have been over the past several decades. My understanding is that there have always been elements within ISI that aided, protected or looked the other way when it came to Islamic extremists. It's a politically treacherous issue for Pakistani leaders, as well. There is and should be little trust on our part. But, bottom line, diplomatically and militarily, the US has to contend with the Pakistan that exists (not the one we'd like to have) because it's strategically important to keep them in the fold.
     
  3. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    That's the exact example I was thinking of, and nearly posted.

    So, OK, maybe they let Hersh run with a bad story, rather than work with him to get it right, because a bad story benefited them.
     
  4. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    It matters whether the President lies to the American, but the context matters more. Bush lying about WMDs is disgustingly criminal. Obama, if Hersh is telling the truth, lying about OBL's death is not a problem, to me.

    It is impossible today for the U.S. to arrest an OBL, unlike what Israel did with Eichmann.
     
  5. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    Why?
     
    YankeeFan likes this.
  6. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    But if they worked with him on the story, wouldn't it seem like they were collaborating? Hersh would then get criticized for being a mouthpiece for the administration, and the administration would get criticized for trying to use Hersh to put out propaganda.
     
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    "Not a problem"?

    At all?

    If the Hersh piece is true, he looked into the camera time and again and lied about this, to American citizens, as did the front-runner to be the next president.

    Didn't you have a problem with the Pat Tillman or Jessica Lynch tall tales?
     
  8. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    All politicians lie through their teeth.

    There's no putting the toothpaste back in the tube at this point.
     
    Dyno likes this.
  9. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Can someone articulate exactly what this big lie was? Possibly omitting/covering up for some rogue ISI agent who took the reward? If that's the case, I, too, am having trouble getting worked up over it. It certainly doesn't sound like an out-and-out lie to cover up a horrendous mistake, like it was with Tillman.
     
  10. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    If the story went down differently, the U.S. government would've broken many established international laws governing military conduct.

    Some Americans might be used to that by now, but it's still not OK to totally disregard them.
     
  11. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Obama: Pakistan was not involved. In fact, they were pissed.

    Hersh: Not only was Pakistan involved, they led Obama directly to Bin Laden for a price.
     
  12. britwrit

    britwrit Well-Known Member

    My God, if you can't trust Nawaz Sharif, who can you trust?
     
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