2wolves

Considering that I know the guy who does the site, and he was career combat military, and just because you do not care for one quote does not invalidate the documentation provided.

Opinion is noted and segregated from fact.

If you'd care to post the quote in it's fullness we could compare it with what's posted.

2Wolves

nirol

Below is the story that led to the Nethercutt controversy:

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...hercutt14.html

Nethercutt hails Iraq's recovery
'It is a better ... story than losing a couple of soldiers every day'

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

By WYATT BUCHANAN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Rep. George Nethercutt said yesterday that Iraq's reconstruction is going better than is portrayed by the news media, citing his recent four-day trip to the country.

"The story of what we've done in the postwar period is remarkable," Nethercutt, R-Wash., told an audience of 65 at a noon meeting at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs.

"It is a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day."

He added that he did not want any more soldiers to be killed.

Nethercutt is a member of the House Appropriations Committee that approved President Bush's $87 billion request for military and reconstruction expenses in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dan Senor, an adviser to U.S. administrator for Iraq L. Paul Bremer, also spoke to the UW audience -- by phone. A traffic accident kept him from catching a plane in Washington, D.C.

Nethercutt and Senor highlighted the return of electricity to Iraq, which now has a higher megawatt output than it did before the war. Reconstruction has targeted schools and hospitals, and the Americans are spending 3,500 percent more on health care than Saddam Hussein did, Senor said.

He said the Iraq effort needs the financial support Bush has asked for from Congress.

"It gives us the tools to finish the job here," Senor said.

Nethercutt said the faster infrastructure rebuilding is completed, the faster the country can take care of itself and the United States can leave.

"So in five years or less, we're out of there," said Nethercutt, who plans to challenge Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., for her seat. "I'm as fiscally conservative as anyone can be ... but I think it is a smart investment for this country to make."

He said he has no doubt that weapons of mass destruction are in Iraq, have been in Iraq or that there was a program there to produce them. Many potential weapons sites are awaiting inspection from Americans, he said.

"That's not an excuse, just a reason. It's not surprising that we haven't found huge supplies of weapons," Nethercutt said, adding that what inspectors are looking for could fit in a space the size of a two-car garage.

During a question-and-answer session, some in the audience questioned the need for the United States to deal with the United Nations.

"I've had my moments where I felt the United Nations was counterproductive to its charter," Nethercutt said.

Aida Kouyoumjian, who grew up and attended school in Baghdad, told Nethercutt she was glad the United States did not rely totally on the U.N. for approval.

Another audience member, Dan Goldhaber, a professor in the public affairs school at the UW, asked Nethercutt for clear criteria for when the United States should get involved in other countries.

Nethercutt said Saddam Hussein provided a good model for threats the nation should confront with its pre-emptive policy. Terrorism attacks that can kill large numbers of people have made pre-emptive action necessary, he said.

"We can't counterpunch anymore," Nethercutt said.

The ensuing story on the controversy: (relevent parts)

The story, paraphrasing Nethercutt's next words, said the congressman "added that he did not want any more soldiers to be killed."

Nethercutt criticized the P-I for not quoting his remarks fully. He said his full remarks that the paper partly quoted and partly paraphrased were these: "So the story is better than we might be led to believe in the news. I'm just indicting the news people, but it's, it's a bigger and better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day which, which heaven forbid is awful."

P-I Managing Editor David McCumber said the newspaper stood by its story.

"Congressman Nethercutt was quoted accurately and within context by the P-I, and that's sort of the beginning and the end of it, as far as I'm concerned," McCumber said.

Nethercutt's ad accuses the P-I of "trying to make me seem indifferent to the loss of American soldiers."

He said the P-I "took out the first part of my sentence. They took out the third part of my sentence. They removed the context of what I was saying. They changed the punctuation." He also said the P-I refused to "correct the record" or to run his full quote.

McCumber said: "Obviously, we wouldn't quote his entire speech. We paraphrased part of it and we did so accurately, and we provided the full context for his remarks."

The Post-Intelligencer refused to acknowledge their error, forcing Nethercutt to buy advertising space to respond to their slanting of his words.

I dont doubt the integrity or patriotism of you or the owner of the site. I just feel that he is only looking at the small details, and lacks perspective on the larger objectives. I despair that we are losing our best and brightest, I sometimes wish we would not tolerate killing of our people and just pave the place, but I know that is not "prudent" in todays environment.

I am sorry if my first statement was overreaching, but you could post car accident deaths and pictures of the maimed victims and try to make the conclusion that all roads should be closed.

__________________
'Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

2wolves

"I am sorry if my first statement was overreaching, but you could post car accident deaths and pictures of the maimed victims and try to make the conclusion that all roads should be closed."

Drive every day on the D.C. beltway and you don't have to post pictures to have that opinion.

Not quoted out of context. The backfilling was not quoted, merely ascribed.

2Wolves