--- It's not often you hear someone in the government talking about long drops from very short ropes.
The blunt remarks by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to a
House subcommittee were the strongest comments the Bush administration
has made since accusations surfaced in January that Saddam Hussein
ripped off $10 billion from the program. But questioned by Rep. Jerry
Lewis (R-Calif.) about the United Nations' role in the scandal - and
whether the State Department did enough to stop the wholesale graft
from taking place - the tough-talking Armitage said the department is
taking the allegations seriously. He noted that the department has
taken what he called the "extraordinary" step of turning over sensitive
documents to investigators on the matter, "because we want to get to
the bottom of it as much as you do." "And if someone is found guilty they ought to hang," Armitage said.
{emphasis mine...all mine}
I can hear the soundbite on CNN already, can't you?
A prominent Bush Administration official threatened the use of the
death penalty on UN officials during a Congressional Hearing on
Thursday. Citing concerns over human rights,
the UN filed a diplomatic protest with the State Department and
released a strongly worded statement condeming Armitage's lack of
concern over the millions of people worldwide who unjustly face the
death penalty every year with little to no recourse. {cut to Kofi Annan
press conference}
"...Mr. Armitage is someone for whom we have a great deal of respect.
His words, however, are not very nice and we insist that he take them
back. Or we'll triple dog dare him to lick a metal pole in January. In
Canada. The Canadian Mission to the United Nations has agreed to find
the best locale for said licking and we strongly recommend that Mr.
Armitage take up this challenge on behalf of the millions of unjustly
accused individuals who face the death penalty every
year---particularly in his home country..."
{cut back to bubbleheadedbleachblondewhocomesonatfive}
"No word from the State Department as to whether or not Mr. Armitage
will indeed take his words back or
if he will respond to the triple dog dare. To further assess the
seriousness of the dreaded triple dog dare, we have renowned expert,
Billy Jackson, a seventh grader from St. Margaret Mary Grade School in
Omaha, Nebraska, on the line...Billy, can you hear me? "Uh, yes ma'am."
"Good, what exactly is a triple dog dare and what does it mean for Mr.
Armitage in practical terms?"
I think you get the gist.
Posted by Kathy at April 1, 2004 01:13 PM | TrackBack