BushBlog Brands Cheney A Liar

From Bush Blog, quoting a WSJ ed.:

As to Saddam�s nuclear program, the report says that �the testimony we have obtained from Iraqi scientists and senior government officials� makes clear that �Saddam Hussein remained firmly committed to acquiring nuclear weapons. These officials assert that Saddam would have resumed nuclear weapons development at some future point.�

From Meet the Press, September 15:

[Russert:]....Documents that purportedly showed Iraqi officials shopping for uranium in Africa two years ago were deemed �not authentic� after carefully scrutiny by U.N. and independent experts, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the U.N. Security Council. Also, ElBaradei reported finding no evidence of banned weapons or nuclear material in an extensive sweep of Iraq using advanced radiation detectors. �There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities,� ElBaradei said.�

Eight days after that, you were on MEET THE PRESS, and we...

VICE PRES. CHENEY: Right.

MR. RUSSERT: ...talked about that specifically. Let�s watch:

(Videotape, March 16, 2003):

MR. RUSSERT: And even though the International Atomic Energy Agency said he does not have a nuclear program, we disagree.

VICE PRES. CHENEY: I disagree, yes. And you�ll find the CIA, for example, and other key parts of our intelligence community, disagree.

And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. I think Mr. ElBaradei, frankly, is wrong. And I think if you look at the track record of the International Atomic Energy Agency and this kind of issue, especially where Iraq is concerned, they have consistently underestimated or missed what it was Saddam Hussein was doing. I don�t have any reason to believe they�re any more valid this time than they�ve been in the past.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Reconstituted nuclear weapons. You misspoke.

VICE PRES. CHENEY: Yeah. I did misspeak. I said repeatedly during the show weapons capability. We never had any evidence that he had acquired a nuclear weapon.

Even with Pumpkinhead Russert spoon-feeding Cheney his "correction," Cheney still asserted that Saddam had a "reconstituted nuclear weapons capability." According to the BushBlog, Saddam "would have" attempted to develop nuclear weapons "at some future point," presumably right after he cleaned out the garage and alphabetized his CD collection.

Cheney's office might want a little more input in the BushBlog in the future.