Again.
“Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.”
― Criss Jami
I think that definition is too lenient. A lie is any statement or action
intended to deceive. A statement that is factually accurate can still be a lie if its intent is to deceive.
The talking points were doctored to be deceptive in what they brought to the American public. This was done for political reasons at the expense of the country. This can't be defended by expecting to pass on mere portions of the truth (when looked at in isolation from other more important available information) as the paramount altruistic truth to the matter here. It's still deception, clearly so.
But this is where I'm not yet convinced. Be clear, I am NOT asserting the Obama administration did not lie. Rather, I am saying that I don't think we yet have enough evidence to determine if there was an intent to deceive or not.
Ironically, a month ago I was pretty sure the administration had lied. Specifically, I assumed the admin was being intentionally deceptive about the attack's connection to the infamous video. They certainly hedged their statements to make them technically accurate, but it seemed they were intentionally misrepresenting what they knew by the weekend following 9/11.
Seeing the actual first draft of the CIA talking points causes me to question my earlier assumptions. The CIA clearly stated from the beginning that they believed the attack was tied to the other uprisings triggered by the video. It was not something invented by Obama or Rice. It is therefore reasonable,
based on the factual evidence we have, to accept that Rice and Obama were NOT intending to be deceptive by repeating that talking point -- at least until someone produces additional solid evidence showing otherwise.
Also, based on the evidence in the emails, I accept the State Department's reasoning for not naming a specific terrorist organization. It is reasonable to believe such jumping to conclusions could prejudice the investigation, potentially leading investigators to dismiss or downplay evidence pointing in other directions. Best to keep an open mind initially and let the evidence lead where it leads.
That's the good news for the Obama team. There are two other areas where I see stronger cases for claiming an intent to deceive. The first is that the talking points were edited to remove
all references to terrorists. I suppose one could rationalize this with the same "don't taint the investigation" concern, but that stretches credibility in my book. The CIA did state that extremists participated in the attack, and that's pretty significant information to omit.
The second is the State Dept. removing all references to the CIA's prior warnings. It seems to be blatant bureaucratic infighting and butt covering. I'm a bit on the fence as to whether it constitutes an intent to deceive since there was no public insinuation DoS had no warnings. In other words, State wasn't trying to create an impression one way or another. They were just trying to avoid the whole topic. Even if one makes that argument, however, suppressing this relevant information denied the public's right to know and is a valid point for criticism.
It's funny, or not, but you are using the same tactic as the administration.
I believe that's because you tried to read between the lines of my comments instead of considering what I actually said. I try to be pretty precise with my comments. In an earlier post I explained very specifically why I thought the ABC article did not support the hyperbolic accusations of the Obama bashers. I also acknowledged that the Obama administration might have also altered the talking points due to political considerations, but that if so they were savvy enough to keep any incriminating evidence out of the emails that have been released.
In other words, I never said they did not lie. I simply said that ABC article
contained no evidence the admin shaped the talking points with the election in mind. Understand the difference?
basically, "we had conflicting information so we couldn't go out with definitive information, other than that we'll confirm we have every reason to believe this was spontaneous and the result of a youtube video". It was not an arbitrary choice to delete certain information and highlight other information, it was done to deceive. I don't see how that could be any more clear at this point in time given what we know those involved knew from the very earliest time period in this event.
As I've stated at least a couple of times before, if that's the "lie" you see, your issue is with the CIA and not Obama. That claim, right or wrong, came straight from the CIA. Once again, it was in the first draft of the talking points they wrote.