Musharraf.

This is coolbert:

The guy on the evening news today makes a big mistake. The type of mistake that really does make one wonder if he said what he said on purpose or not? To deceive folks listening?? I just cannot be sure.

The announcer is commenting on the pronouncements of President Musharraf of Pakistan on the hunt going on for Al Qaeda members in Pakistani mountainous regions.

Musharraf says that hundreds, up to seven hundred Al Qaeda terrorists have been captured by the Pakistani. And that the bases for adherents to bin Laden are being raided to the point where, "previously there were groupings of hundreds, now there groupings of dozens".

Well, to me, this is clear. Whereas before the villains could congregate in groups of hundreds of terrorists at a time, they have now had to disperse into groupings of dozens.

But what does the announcer say?

Something to the effect that Musharraf is wrong, that the total of terrorists is not in the dozens!!

Well, Musharraf DID NOT SAY THAT! He said the terrorists now existed in groupings of dozens, NOT DOZENS OF TERRORISTS!! Groupings of dozens, NOT SEVERAL DOZENS OF TERRORISTS.

I am sure some gadfly unknowledgable person will at some later point make a stink and say that Musharraf lied, that he said "only a few dozens of terrorists were left", when in actuality the total number is much more.

This is how words get twisted in a fashion all out of whack from what was intended.

coolbert.