Spanish Newspaper Scoops U.S. Press on Pre-War Plans Revelation

The most popular newpaper in Spain, El Pais, has published what they purport to be a transcript of a meeting between President Bush and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar that took place in Crawford, Texas on February 22, 2003. According to Editor and Publisher, who provide a very rough translation of the transcript, the meeting largely concerned the administration's plans to invade Iraq. The big reveal: Bush's admission that he was going to go forward with the invasion "if there was a United Nations Security Council resolution or not...We will be in Baghdad at the end of March."

This would appear to be something of a major scoop for El Pais, but the story has yet to gain traction in the stateside press. Currently, the USA Today is running a brief item on the story in their "On Deadline" blog, and the Washington Post has a wire report from Reuters that leads with, "Saddam Hussein was prepared to take $1 billion and go into exile before the Iraq war, according to a transcript of talks between U.S. President George W. Bush and an ally, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Wednesday."

In fact, even El Pais seems to downplay the revelations. As E&P notes: "The transcript tops its front page today, but the headline focuses on Aznar's claim that he was trying to change 200 years of politics in Spain." They also mention that an exclusive interview with Bruce Springsteen is competing for eyeballs on the El Pais website. Of course, he is The Boss.

A more precise translation is supposedly forthcoming. The quote that we anticipate will be soon reverberating throughout the blogosphere, however, is this summative statement from Aznar to the President: "The only thing which it worries to me about you is your optimism."

Related:
Scoop for Spanish Daily: Transcript of Private 2003 Bush Talk Promising Iraq Invasion [E&P]
Bush avisó a Aznar de que estaría en Bagdad en marzo con o sin resolución de la ONU [El Pais]

Comments

[tj3]

How interesting years and years after the fact. What about this being released at the time?

What about consequences now? Knowledge is not power obviously. Power is power and it does not matter what we know or want.

The war in Iraq is a disaster and there are people actuality trying to paint a picture that it is somehow ok now. It is ok now and we are to dismiss the earlier mistakes and deceptions and secret memos.

The stain of how this Iraq debacle got started cannot be erased unless repudiated. Is the Spanish story true? If it is then is not impeachment the only option? How is this tolerable? Why do we not want to save the US troops? Why do we not care what happens to the Iraq folks?

The underpinning of all this is that killing people in the middle east is a policy no matter what. Just kill people and spend money and ruin our military and go on and on with it. The facts are not important. Being effective is not important. Just keep on so Bush can retire to Crawford without ever being honest and decent for a moment.

The Democratic opposition is not so much opposing Bush as making him impervious to facts. If Bush said to the Spanish leader we are going to war no matter what, then Clinton, Biden and all have a very serious lack of concern for the present circumstances. Today is a continuation not an event safely placed in the past.

[mamacat]

It appears that Bush is no longer afraid of the truth.
He has the war that he wanted, and so far, he has been able to trump with the "traitor" card every time sometime tries to point out his lies.
Until people start realising that the only traitor is Bush and Company, he will continue to live with no fear for the truth.
Part of the problem, obviously, is that his people own so much of the supposedly free media. Thanks be to whatever supernatural beings are protecting us that the Democrats were able to get rid of Gonzales before Bush was able to subvert the legal system, as well!

[larry278]

Regardless of the language-W sodomizes it when he tries to speak it.

[fact finder]

Yes and the American public, in general, do not have the guts to make them go away.Those in power in the U.S is what I meant by them.

[larry278]

Un razon mas a aprendar el Espanol. One more reason to learn Spanish. Bush is a lying moma's boy in any language. Bush es un mentero, nieto de su madre en todos los lengues del mundo.

[springsetter]

I agree with Mencial. If anything, El País is highlighting this story, but probably more for domestic purposes, i.e., portraying Aznar in a better light with respect to support for the war. Probably won´t work though, judging by the "unscientific" poll on the issue....

[stanski22]

Bush & Co. has been spreading the Big Lie so long most people now believe Saddam refused to accept U.N. inspectors. When Bush invaded they'd been crawling all over Iraq for months, and when the administration complained they didn't know how to look for WMD, mission chief Hans Blix responded he would look anywhere the U.S. advised him to look. Bush told the inspectors to leave so he could invade, and he did.

[ApolloSpeaks]

With 250,000 troops amassed on Iraq's southern border and 17 violated UN Resolutions-not to mention the Iraq War Resolution-providing the legal framework for an invasion why is this a revelation? Saddam's stiffnecked defiance of the international community made the invasion a certainty.

[dadw5boys]

The U.S. HAS THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS NEAR THE MEXICAN BORDER WILL THERE BE U.N. SANCTIONS?

[Mencial]

I hope that El Pais publishes the original English version; I guess that Aznar used an interpreter, his English is pretty bad, as any Georgetown student can confirm. Although maybe they only got the Spanish translation.

Good luck with the impeachment. I was so happy when we got rid of Aznar...

It is not true that El Pais is not giving it the importance it merits. It is the "most seen" feature right now, and the headlines are "Bush to Aznar: The moment has arrived to get rid of Saddam" in the home page, and "Bush told Aznar that he would be in Bagdad in March with or without UN resolution". It is the second headline, below Cambodia and (sigh...) football results. The purported "200 years of history" would probably be the printed headline. That would sell a lot of newspapers; we love Aznarisms in Spain as much as you love Bushisms here.

[JeffDeVore]

Like the Downing Street memos, this will get little play in the neo-complacent media.
One billion to be rid of Saddam or 500 billion, 28,000 wounded, 4000 killed, hundreds of thousands of civilian dealths? No wonder Bush got a 'B' in economics.
I guess there is just not enough war profiteering in such a simple solution.

[didereaux]

Well, I agree with your sentiments, but you show a bit of naivite' in accepting the 'B' in economics quote from Bush...someone did a little research and it was fairly widely reported that 'Prince Monkey Boy' actually received a C-, if memory serves, it may have been a D-.

Whatever, it is all irrelevent, in the aggregate Americans very much equal the intelligence of the Chief Chimp

[Ramus]

You've got that right didereaux. Americans have what they deserve. And this war mess is what this administration actually wanted..endless profitable war for themselves and their gang of crooks. The U.S.A. is owned by the military industrial complex. What the citizens "think" is not relevant to the government.

[laocoon]

Exactly. In fact there are multiple sources for the same information and the fact that there are multiple independent witnesses will also not be covered or placed in the context it deserves.