JOHN HAWKINS WRITES that people are rewriting history to attack Bush on Iraq.

UPDATE: C.D. Harris points out more problems with the “Bush lied” claims.

I probably should take these more seriously, just because the mainstream media are pretending to. But it’s hard to take it seriously when it looks like the same bogus crap from the same desperate people, who — as Randy Barnett notes here — want to blur the line between “mistakes” and “lies” in a way that they certainly never did during the Clinton Administration.

It’s partisan backstabbing, pure and simple, and it doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously.

ANOTHER UPDATE: But Pejman Yousefzadeh, who is more patient than I, has something worth reading on the absurdity of these claims. Bush lied, and then was surprised his lies weren’t true? Eh?

Wishful thinking? Maybe. But that’s not the same thing as lying, and the people pushing the “Bush lied” meme know that, and don’t care.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: This is worth reading, too:

Take the Axis of Evil, for example. When Bush linked Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, the response from the left was “What? Those are totally unrelated evils. You obviously are an idiot.” Even from many of us on the right, the response was, “Obviously this is the scoring of a rhetorical point rather than a literal axis, since Iran and Iraq hate each other, and North Korea is on the other side of the world.”

But ever since then it’s proven out that Bush was just telling us, as straight as he could, what the intelligence showed. North Korean missiles have been sold to Iran, aiding the development of Iran’s own weapons program, including the missile that can hit Israel. The DPRK and Iran have openly coordinated their nuclear programs. The Iran/Iraq frontier appears to have been far more porous that most of us believed, with groups like Ansar al-Islam operating on both sides and giving aid to al Qaeda. The smuggling of Iraqi oil out through Iran appears to have opened secret, but real, ties between those governments. We’ve recently uncovered a huge cache of documents belonging to the Mukhabarat, Iraqi intelligence, and I expect them to demonstrate far more serious and numerous ties than have heretofore emerged.

So, this claim that Bush lied about Iraq has to be put into a fence. Based on what is now open source, we can say that Bush’s claims about Iraq have all borne out except the WMD claims. Those claims were beliefs shared by the United Nations, which had 18 Security Council resolutions on the subject and which wasted years and fortunes begging Hussein to let them inspect. The nations on the Security Council have some of the best intelligence services in the world, so we have to assume that the evidence on WMD was pretty emphatic. All intelligence is speculative, but the degree of unity of opinion here is remarkable.

So if it wasn’t WMD as a whole that Bush lied about, then we have to limit ourselves to nuclear weapons. But here again, Bush’s claims were only that he believed Hussein was preparing to reconstitute his nuclear program, not that there was a reconstituted nuclear program. That is the kind of thing intelligence can simply be wrong about. So we must draw the fence tighter and tighter to find an area in which we can clearly say that Bush lied.

And at last, I can’t find one. The area that the left has focused upon is the Niger uranium. But Bush’s claim in the State of the Union address was that the British had warned him of the purchase. While the CIA’s document has been demonstrated to be a forgery, the British sources–we still don’t know exactly what they were–are still supported by their government. Tony Blair, while playing down WMD generally, spoke to the Niger issue yesterday.

Read the whole thing. And remember that even if Bush turns out to have been wrong — something not yet proven — it’s only a lie if he knew he was wrong when he said it, something not in evidence at all. It’s not surprising that some people want to keep that particular point off the table, but it’s dishonest of them to do so.

LAST UPDATE, REALLY: This says it all:

But if it’s all about oil, why are so many Democrats supporting it?

Because Bush lied to them of course. They may hate him and do their best to undermine anything he does, but they actually believe everything he says!

Now if things go wrong in Liberia, they can claim they were fooled by Bush again.

That Bush — a complete moron, and yet, somehow, an utterly compelling mastermind!

ACIDMAN ROB SMITH is out of the hospital and blogging about his surgery. Drop by and wish him a speedy recovery and, er, a successful deployment when the time comes.

HESIOD EMAILS that I should be embarrassed that the BBC is covering protests in Hong Kong. Huh? I’m criticizing them below (here and here) for downplaying protests in Iran (note to Hesiod: that’s a different country, and is not part of China).

And if the BBC did start giving Iranian freedom marchers the attention they deserve, I wouldn’t be embarrassed. I’d be pleased.

Meanwhile, this from Cox & Forkum seems to sum up the way Big Media have been covering Iran lately. And Andrew Sullivan has more about what happened to Iranian students.

If U.S.-hired thugs were doing this to anti-American protesters in Iraq, it would be all over the BBC, 24/7.

UPDATE: Hesiod emails back that the Beeb has covered this on TV, even if not on the web, and suggests that I’m too “web-centric.”

That’s probably a fair criticism (though this is a weblog) but I don’t get the Beeb. Other accounts, however, reflect poorly on the BBC’s broadcast coverage.

No doubt we’ll be hearing that Liberia is all about oil, soon.

UPDATE: InstaPundit gets results! Now Liberia is all about oil! Just ask Time’s Tony Karon!

Prediction: If we don’t wind up sending troops to Liberia, this story will do a 180-degree reversal, and be used as proof that Iraq was all about oil.

BEWARE: Somebody has signed my name to a Petition Online petition that I do not endorse. No, I’m not linking to it — they don’t deserve the publicity.

DELAYED-ACTION FISKING: Cathy Seipp has a column on Bill O’Reilly and the Internet:

How disappointing to see O’Reilly, who so constantly touts his maverick independence, assuming the same teacher’s pet, finger-wagging tone towards blogging as the American Prospect and the Nation: Miss Jones! Miss Jones! Johnny’s reading ahead again – without permission!

Heh.

NOT MUCH BIG-MEDIA ATTENTION FOR THE IRANIAN PROTESTS: Nothing on the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post (the web editions, anyway), though they do have stories inside here (Times) and here (Post). Nothing on the BBC homepage, either, though there is a front-page story on the funeral arrangements for the conjoined twins. (Inside, there’s a story on how the Iranian press has “reluctantly complied” with the Mullarchy’s demands to downplay the story. What’s everybody else’s excuse?)

The Los Angeles Times does link, though not headline, this story on its web edition’s front page.

Question: If there were protests against the United States of this size in Iraq, would they get bigger play? If the United States repressed them with equivalent violence and “disappeared” the leaders, would it get more attention?

Some questions answer themselves.

I THINK I MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, but in case I didn’t, Iain Murray’s blog is here, now.

HMM. THIS “BUSH LIED” STORY HAS NOW BEEN RETRACTED AS FRAUDULENT. Interesting story about the bogus source, one that leaves quite a few more questions open.

UPDATE: Checking the Technorati Link Cosmos for the retraction, I see that many bloggers who ran with the original story have noted it, including quite a few lefty bloggers who clearly wanted to believe it. They deserve credit — as does Capitol Hill Blue — for the retraction.

JEFF JARVIS:

The blogosphere’s news judgment is evident on Blogdex and it’s not the news judgment you’ll see on major news sites. On Blogdex right now, the top two stories are about Iran. Elsewhere (on the BBC or on Google News, for example), you won’t find Iran on the front page.

Blogdex reflects the news judgment of the audience. It reflects the news the audience cares about. The two should not disagree. But they do.

Somebody’s overpaying those guys.

UPDATE: But Asparagirl has a report from the NYC Iranian Freedom protests, complete with pictures and some thoughts on who didn’t show up. Read it.

MORE PROTESTS, this time in Hong Kong:

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered this evening before the legislature building here to call for free elections and the resignation of Hong Kong’s leader.

I think Hong Kong should petition for decolonization and independence.

UPDATE: Here’s a news analysis piece from The New York Times, which is doing a better job of covering this subject than it is of covering Iran, not that that’s hard.

HERE’S A REPORT from the Washington, DC pro-Iranian-freedom protest:

Amid reports that hundreds of Iranian pro-democracy protesters clashed with Islamic vigilantes and police in Tehran, hundreds gathered in Washington D.C. in a show of support for democratic change in Iran. The demonstrations in both capitals were called to mark the fourth anniversary of violent student protests in Tehran. A sea of red, white and green Iranian flags waved over the front lawn of the U.S. Capitol, as the message of pro-democracy demonstrators was heard loud and clear.

Read the rest. (Via Pejman Yousefzadeh, who has lots more on this subject).

UPDATE: Reader Richard Gardner emails this firsthand report:

I haven’t seen any blog report of the DC protest, and I don’t have a blog, so I’m sending this out FYI.

I swung by the rally On the Capitol’s West-side today, on the grass just below the steps. I’d guess 300-500 participants, almost all Iranian (99%), all ages. Lots of families. There were lots of banners and Iranian flags. The participants were well dressed and focused on their issue, unlike the “anti-war” protests this past winter. But there were few non-Iranian participants (under 10) in the audience. This event was totally different from other protests I’ve seen in this town. (No stilts or funny costumes either!)

The VOA was there, conducting TV interviews in Farsi. I did see some TV broadcast equipment being taken away, but I couldn’t tell if it was there for the protest. I only noticed one probable print journalist. I saw a couple of people that looked like they could be bloggers, taking notes. So don’t expect much press coverage.

Between speakers, there was chanting of slogans in English and Farsi, “Go, go, go, the Islamic regime of Iran must go;” “We want democracy for Iran, freedom for Iran;” “Down with the mullahs, down with Hezbollah;” “Down with the Islamic regime;” “Freedom, freedom for Iran.” (I now know that “down with” in Farsi sounds something like “mag bye.”). Periodic music too.

Several members of Congress came out and gave short speeches of support, including Senators Coleman (R-MN) and Brownback (R-KS), Congressman Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Lots of speeches in English and Farsi (50-50). The Iranian speakers stressed freeing the political prisoners, getting rid of corrupt mullahs and Hezbollah, supporting the student protests, and bringing freedom and democracy to Iran. There was no mention of the monarchy.

The only anti-West theme I saw was on signs against British Petroleum’s activities in Iran, supporting the regime. And only two women had their heads covered with non-Western headgear (lots of regular hats on a very hot day). The only theme I heard that I disagreed with was a chant for the UN to help Iran. My thought was, be careful what you wish for.

In addition to the ever present large Iranian flags being waved about on long PVC staffs, there were quite a few posters with photos of men and women being hung from cranes, the results of whippings and torture, and what seems to be the symbol of the resistance to the mullahs, a young man holding up a bloody T-shirt. (A drawing of it can be seen here http://www.cafeshops.com/activistchat)

On the sidewalk outside the protest, two Americans were holding a big banner stating “US Hands off Iran.” Some Iranians then stationed themselves in front of these counter-protesters with their own banners, obscuring it. The counter-protesters then relocated across the street. But where were the non-Iranian protesters showing support for democracy in Iran? Nowhere to be found.

The Free Iran, anti-mullah groups have a website, http://www.activistchat.com.

“Hands off Iran.” How typically amoral, yet schoolmarmish.

AN IMPORTANT POINT FROM CHARLES PAUL FREUND:

One question about Iran’s student movement keeps coming up: How much real activist support does it enjoy in the general population? You don’t have to ask that question about the ruling mullahs: Their activist support has been reduced to the goons they control, and their relationship with the populace has been reduced to the threat of violence.

And a lot of the goons are imported Arabs.

HEY, KEN MACLEOD HAS A BLOG! I’m reading The Cassini Division right now.

IT’S NOT JUST IRAN: Here are more people protesting against superstitious tyranny.

HERE’S MORE ON THE IRAN PROTESTS:

Shrugging off death threats by government paramilitary forces, tens thousands of Iranian students took to the streets Wednesday night, burning at least three government banks, calling for the country’s democratization and the death to its extremist leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini.

The demonstrations, banned by the Mullarchy, came on the 4th anniversary of 1999 pro-reform protests which triggered a violent regime crackdown, the death of one student and the arrest of thousands.

Opposition group leaders hailed Wednesday’s demonstrations the culmination of month-long anti-government activities as a deadly blow to the repressive regime, saying it edges Iran ever closer to a democratic revolution.

Following and eerily quiet day in Iran, three-sided street battles erupted between pro-reform youth, regime-backed para-military forces, and police outside Tehran University.

As many as 100,000 also gathered around one of Tehran’s main city squares Wednesday night chanting pro-democracy slogans and calling for the death of Khameini, an opposition source said.

The protests also coincide with mounting international pressure on Iran to reveal its secret nuclear reactors, suspected to be developing a nuclear bomb.

On a visit to Iran Wednesday International Atomic Energy Agency’s chief Muhammed ElBaradei, failed to secure Iran’s agreement to immediately conduct more rigorous inspections of its suspected nuclear program. . . .

The Mullahs told reformist parliament deputies to reign in demonstrators or they “would be mercilessly crushed,” according to a Iranian opposition source.

The para-military groups were not armed with batons but with firearms, said the source.

In an open letter sent to U.N. General-Secretary Kofi Anan Iranian student leaders claimed that “a political apartheid has taken all hopes from the Iranian people, because it is denying us self rule and the right of choice, the right to be master of our own destiny, because it has lowered our expectations to the lowest limits possible and also because we are worried to see the experience of our neighbors be repeated here.”

In what experts called a remarkable show of mushrooming anti-government sentiment the signatories represented student associations of thirty universities.

Can you say “regime change?” I want to hear it in Farsi.

FUNNY, THE ARAB NEWS doesn’t seem to have any stories on the protests in Iran. You’d think that massive resistance to a feudal theocratic regime would be of interest to its readers, wouldn’t you? Go figure.

NOW THAT THE DICTATOR IS GONE, the truth about his reign of terror is coming out.

HERE’S A BLOG REPORT from the NYC Iranian freedom demonstration.

ALPHECCA’S WEEKLY MEDIA GUN-BIAS CHART IS UP.

Meanwhile Rand Simberg has a suggestion regarding the Brady Campaign.

THE ANGLOSPHERE AND ECONOMIC FREEDOM: Phil Bradley has looked at the data and has an interesting observation that explains why corrupt elites around the world dislike les anglo-saxons so much.

MITCH BERG IS DOING INVESTIGATIVE BLOGGING. I suspect we’ll see more stuff along those lines.

THERE’S A GREAT IRAN NEWS ROUNDUP over at Winds of Change.

OVER AT THE CORNER, they’re talking about band names.

My favorite: “Courageous Dong.” It was even a good band.

NOT SO PEACEFUL IN IRAN AFTER ALL, it seems:

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Hundreds of Iranian hardline Islamic vigilantes, police and pro-democracy youths fought three-sided running street battles near Tehran University on Wednesday on the anniversary of 1999 student unrest.

A witness said police had fired tear gas at groups of youths near the campus and also fought fist fights with plainclothes Islamic militiamen to prevent them from engaging in further running battles with youths.

Earlier witnesses said armed Iranian Islamic vigilantes seized three student leaders as they left a news conference where they announced they had canceled protests to mark the anniversary of 1999 university unrest.

These people are “vigilantes,” of a sort, I suppose, but they’re really just government thugs and it’s unfortunate that the news stories don’t make this clearer. Here’s what the students say:

Three student activists have been seized in Tehran. The three were seized shortly after they held a news conference to announce the cancellation of protests marking the anniversary of student clashes with security forces.

Members of a pro-reform student umbrella group say the three activists were taken away by men dressed in plainclothes as they left the news conference. One of the witnesses is quoted as saying, “We cannot call it arrest, it was a kidnapping.”

Indeed.