MSNBC's Jonathan Alter: Bush 'Signing the Death Warrants' of US Troops

On Friday's Countdown on MSNBC, Newsweek senior editor/MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Alter charged that, in signing the compromise bill on Iraq War funding, President Bush is "signing the death warrants of young men and women." After host Keith Olbermann covered the news that Bush had signed the bill, he brought aboard Alter for further discussion. Olbermann started by asking why the President did the signing "out of the public eye." Alter began his response with an inflammatory choice of words: "Well, on some level, I think he knows that he's signing the death warrants of young men and women."

Below is a complete transcript of the exchange from the Friday May 25 Countdown show:

Keith Olbermann: "Why such secrecy -- or, at least, out of the public eye -- for the signing of this war funding bill? One would think maybe Mr. Bush would have held a parade for it."

Jonathan Alter: "Well, on some level, I think he knows that he's signing the death warrants of young men and women. This war is going to continue, the policy has failed, he knows it's failing, he's taking one last stab at it with this surge, and he's doubling down, and I think he recognizes that it's deeply unpopular with the American people."