Greenspan also said.....

[PaceAdvantage]

Clarifying a controversial comment in his new memoir, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he told the White House before the Iraq war that removing Saddam Hussein was "essential" to secure world oil supplies, according to an interview published on Monday.

"I was not saying that that's the administration's motive," Greenspan said in the interview conducted on Saturday. "I'm just saying that if somebody asked me, 'Are we fortunate in taking out Saddam?' I would say it was essential."

Given that, "I'm saying taking Saddam out was essential," he said. But he added he was not implying the war was an oil grab, the Post said.

Greenspan told the Journal he was "fairly close" to former President Bill Clinton's economic advisers, but added, "The next administration may have the Clinton administration name, but the Democratic Party ... has moved ... very significantly in the wrong direction." He cited its populist bent, especially its scepticism of free trade. Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, is the Democratic presidential front-runner.

You gets what you gives. If you're going to use Greenspan to make points about Iraq and oil grabs and Republican bashing, you're going to have to stand behind these recent quotes as well.

Full article here:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKN1728646120070917

[hcap]

...But Greenspan's main support for Saddam's ouster was economically motivated, the Post reported.

"My view is that Saddam, looking over his 30-year history, very clearly was giving evidence of moving towards controlling the Straits of Hormuz, where there are 17, 18, 19 million barrels a day" passing through," Greenspan said.

Even a small disruption could drive oil prices as high as $120 a barrel and would mean "chaos" to the global economy, Greenspan told the newspaper.

Given that, "I'm saying taking Saddam out was essential," he said. But he added he was not implying the war was an oil grab, the Post said.
Exactly what is different here.
He is saying "economically motivated"

This is what he wrote."the Iraq War is largely about oil,

For years BOTH parties wanted Saddam out for the same reasons
Bush pulled the trigger.
Misfired and backfired.

But don't tell me we don't march to the drums of Black gold

[hcap]

Oh boy oh boy, I get to use a Clinton didittoo.

"Depends on what the meaning of IS is"

Greenspan says the obvious, gets quoted. Backtracks.
The dress is out there.

In his new book "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World," Greenspan wrote: "I'm saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: The Iraq war is largely about oil."

[hcap]

Cheney’s remarks as CEO of Halliburton in autumn 1999..
“Oil companies are expected to keep developing enough oil to offset oil depletion and also to meet new demand…So where is the oil going to come from? Governments and the national oil companies are obviously in control of 90 percent of the assets. Oil remains fundamentally a government business. The Middle East with two-thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost is still where the prize ultimately lies.”

.................................................. ..........

"Most people forget that the Bush/Cheney administration came in on the heels of severe shortages of oil and natural gas in the U.S., and the passing of a milestone at which the United States had just begun importing more than half of the oil it consumes. One oil executive confided to a New York Times reporter a month before the war: “For any oil company, being in Iraq is like being a kid in F.A.O. Schwarz.”

[DanG]

Regardless of ones affiliation with their political party, it is quite a leap of faith to say this administration has not been fiscally irresponsible.

Please tell me we hold our leadership somewhat responsible regardless of our party allegiance.

[PaceAdvantage]

Regardless of ones affiliation with their political party, it is quite a leap of faith to say this administration has not been fiscally irresponsible.

Please tell me we hold our leadership somewhat responsible regardless of our party allegiance.Have I claimed otherwise somewhere in this thread?

[DanG]

Have I claimed otherwise somewhere in this thread?
I didn’t say you did, although I subconsciously inferred it.

I did notice however you were absent from posting in the thread where Greeny was quoted about irresponsible spending. So; the way my brain works I interpreted this as a slightly defensive partisan approach.

I admit to being OVERLY sensitive to arguing issues along party lines and I’m sure I read too much into people thoughts.

[Maji]

PA,

Why didn't you mention the words of praise that Greenie had for Bubba? ;)

[JustRalph]

PA,

Why didn't you mention the words of praise that Greenie had for Bubba? ;)

yeah mike...... write a damn synopsis for us! :lol:

After watching that 60 minutes interview with Greenie and Andrea Mitchell, I have very little respect left for either one of them. They must be the most boring people on the friggin planet...............and she must be a barren wasteland lacking in any hormonal potential at all........... :lol:

[46zilzal]

In The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, Greenspan takes his party to task for forsaking small government. "My biggest frustration remained the president's unwillingness to wield his veto against out-of-control spending," he wrote. AP

and:"And he weighed in briefly but pointedly on the Iraq war: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

And he charges that Republicans in Congress "swapped principle for power" and "ended up with neither"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6996713.stm

Tell em bubba. You can't add two and two.

[Maji]

Couple of things that I read about Bubba as penned by Greenie that amazed me are:

"The hard truth was that Reagan had borrowed from Clinton, and Clinton was having to pay it back. I was impressed that he did not seem to be trying to fudge reality to the extent politicians ordinarily do."

Dealing with a budget surplus in his second term, Clinton proposed devoting the extra money to "save Social Security first". Greenspan writes: "I played no role in finding the answer, but I had to admire the one Clinton and his policymakers came up with."

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/greenspans-memoirs-clinton-saved-bush-spent/2007/09/17/1189881433621.html?page=2

Looks lik Bubba, inspite of his inability to keep his boxers on, had the mental maturity to do something good for the country... for a change.

[PaceAdvantage]

PA,

Why didn't you mention the words of praise that Greenie had for Bubba? ;)If you'd like to start another thread, that's fine. I'm using this one to post Greenspan's clarifications. You did see where "your hero" Greenspan (I love using that term, as the far left likes to use "your hero" when referring to Bush) condemned the Democratic party, saying they have moved "very significantly in the wrong direction."