ABC News pulls story alleging deliberate falsification planned for Petraeus report

[Slaughtermeyer]

ABC News has pulled a story which basically exposes the likelihood of deliberate falsification of the report on progress in Iraq which is due in September. The report was placed back online after a firestorm of criticism. The report contained the following statement:

Officials told ABC's Martha Raddatz that the senior commanders in Iraq -- Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno and Gen. David Petraeus -- want the surge to continue until at least December and expect to report enough progress by September to justify the extension.

In other words, they "expect" to report enough progress regardless of what happens in June, July, and August.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/ABC_News_pulls_story_alleging_plan_0602.html

[Thoth]

ABC's rank cowardice in pulling the story and then re-posting an edited version.

WTF happened to the concept of a free and independent press?

[Jon Miller]

umm, could it just be that you guys are misreading it?

and that ABC realised they misworded it, so changed it?

I know that I say how I expect projects to be all the time, doesn't mean that the projects go that way, or that I lie about them later

for example, we had desired to replay a set of data using calibration that I am partly responsible, I said I expected 5 weeks, then 2 weeks later I had to change what my expected date was

JM

[chequita guevara]

I don't know how they could expect to report any progress without falsifying, since violence in Iraq has only gone up the whole time of the surge. There was less in Baghdad, but it exploded everywhere else, and is now creeping back up in Baghdad. The only way they could make this look good is to lie.

[Japher]

And we know the Bush administration won't lie
so, obviously, ABC was just correcting a mastake

[DinoDoc]

You people are wierd.

[Japher]

"You people"?!

I'm offended, I'm reporting your post!

[bipolarbear]

As bad as it may sound, this isn't THAT surprising, especially given everything that has happened with the Bush Administration.

[chequita guevara]

There are a quarter million coalition soldiers in Iraq, not including Iraqis, but including mercs. If we include the Iraqis, that's almost 400,000 soldiers and mercs. When they begin rotating new troops in, there will be almost half a million soldiers in Iraq, assuming they don't delay rotating current troops out, but we know they've been extended at least three months.

And violence will still increase. As long as there are occupying troops, the Iraqi factions have no need to compromise, and will continue fighting and slaughtering each other.

[Zkribbler]

Officials told ABC's Martha Raddatz that the senior commanders in Iraq -- Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno and Gen. David Petraeus -- want the surge to continue until at least December and expect to report enough progress by September to justify the extension.

There's a couple of ways to read this paragraph.

1) These generals "expect to report enough progress" because they plan to lie.

2) These general "expect to report enough progress" because they believe in what they're doing and are optimistic about how things will turn out.

Unless ABC has evidence that the first interpretation has factual support, then it was correct in pulling the story and re-editting it.

For the records: I do not expect the report, if honest, to be of enough progress to justify the extension. The purpose of the surge was to gain enough time so that the Iraqi government could work through its own internal squabbles and become a real goverment. I haven't heard anything to indicate this is happening.

[DaShi]

But Slaughtermeyer posted this. I don't know what to believe anymore.

[Drake Tungsten]

I don't know how they could expect to report any progress without falsifying, since violence in Iraq has only gone up the whole time of the surge. There was less in Baghdad, but it exploded everywhere else, and is now creeping back up in Baghdad.

Violence has fallen dramatically in Anbar. Not really a result of the surge, but to say that violence has "exploded everywhere else" in Iraq is false.

[snoopy369]

Erm, what's exactly wrong with them saying they expect enough progress to justify the extension? They better expect enough progress to justify the extension (unless they expect to have accomplished the mission entirely); if they don't expect that much progress, perhaps they should stop now

"Expect progress" is different from lying. It's believing in your theory, which is, well, expected. If they don't believe their own theories we're really in trouble...

[Solly]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
You people are wierd.

qft

[PLATO]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Erm, what's exactly wrong with them saying they expect enough progress to justify the extension? They better expect enough progress to justify the extension (unless they expect to have accomplished the mission entirely); if they don't expect that much progress, perhaps they should stop now

"Expect progress" is different from lying. It's believing in your theory, which is, well, expected. If they don't believe their own theories we're really in trouble...

A voice of reason!

Originally posted by DinoDoc
You people are wierd.

QFT