i'm doing the talking here

On theme of the Butler report, which diluted the responsibilities of the intelligence failures on the British WMD report in a collective responsibility.

BBC NEWS Programmes Hardtalk Butler Report: Tim Sebastian interviews Hans Blix: "HB: 'When we hear that the world is better and safer after Saddam has disappeared I would disagree. It's better; the only big gain of the war is that Saddam is gone but safer? How can one claim that it is safer? I mean it has not stifled terrorism it has stimulated terrorism.' "

President Bush disagrees.

'American people safer' after war, Bush says - Tuesday, 07/13/04: "''The American people are safer,'' Bush said no fewer than six times during the 32-minute speech at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory."

There were actually eight times including a conclusive 'The American people and the world are safer.'

President Bush Discusses Progress in the War on Terror: "There are still outlaw regimes pursuing weapons of mass destruction, but the world no longer looks the other way. Today, because America has acted, and because America has led, the forces of terror and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer."

Taking the risk of quoting the Daily Show, Jon Stewart interviewing Wolf Blitzer - famous CNN anchor - went straight to the point about the Senate Report on Intelligence failures.

Quoting inaccuratly from memory: JS: Taking the report results, which concluded great failures in the handling and quality of the intelligence, isn't this one of the biggest scandals ever?
WB: 'pauses to think on a good reply'
JS: Supposedly somebody would have to go, to take responsibility...
WB: George Tenet is gone...
JS: Yes after being told what a great job he has done..."

On the other side of the Atlantic, on the other inquiry:

BBC NEWS Programmes Hardtalk Butler Report: Tim Sebastian interviews Hans Blix: "TS: "In the original intelligence that was presented to the Prime Minister it contained caveats and questions marks. When it was presented to Parliament and the public, those question marks and caveats had gone. Is that still acting in good faith?"
HB: "No I think they should have preserved the question marks."
TS: "It's not in good faith?"
HB: "I think it was a spin that was not acceptable. They put exclamation marks where there had been question marks and I think that is hyping, a spin, that leads the public to the wrong conclusions."
TS: "It's a distortion?
HB: "Yes a spin is a distortion, the public doesn't get the whole truth."

Meanwhile the author of the British WMD report in question was promoted to Head of the British intelligence.

Democracy in motion - posted by AquiQ @ 3:35 PM