Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann really likes George Bush. Moments after he defied the American people and proposed to send more of their sons and daughters to Iraq, she kissed him right on the mouth and held onto him for dear life.
Look at it this way. 33% of Americans believe the President is doing a fantastic job as a leader.
President George W. Bush's approval ratings are now the lowest for any president the day before a State of the Union speech since Richard Nixon in 1974, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president while 33 percent approve. The rating matches Bush's career low in a May 2006 poll.
Seventy-one percent of Americans said the country is on the wrong track, up from 46 percent in an April 2003 poll, the month after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. A majority of those polled this month don't approve of how Bush is handling the Iraq war, terrorism or the economy. [Bush Poll Ratings Before Speech Fall to Nixon's Level - Bloomberg - 01-22-07]
There were two descriptions of Saddam Hussein's execution. One was the government's account scrubbed for mainstream media, and the other was what really happened.
Which ever you believe should be history's account of the brutal dictator's last minutes, the now infamous cell phone video of Saddam Hussein's execution is a powerful peice of citizen media.
The clandestine video portrayed a much different scene than the official tape of the execution, which was muted and did not show Saddam dropping to his death.
Al-Maliki adviser Sadiq al-Rikabi told the U.S.-financed Al-Hurra television that he does not know who leaked the video and that such an act "is wrong and should be investigated, and I agree that cellular telephones were taken from witnesses before they boarded the helicopter" for the execution site.
"I am full of hope that the results of the investigation will be announced, and the person who did this act should pay a price," he said. [Iraq to probe leaked Hussein execution video - AP - 01-02-07]
Saddam Hussein Execution Video Captured on Cell Phone
December 31, 2006
Since posting the .WMV file yesterday of Saddam Hussein's execution captured on a cell phone by a witness, I've had to keep a close eye on my bandwidth. I hoped I could use YouTube as a remedy. For some reason, YouTube didn't accept the video (still "processing"), so I posted it to Google.
I'll leave the .WMV file available for download in the the post below until I have to remove it. This video deserves the light of day. It is not only an example of the power of citizen media getting around the limitation of mainstream media, but also an example to the world's dictators of their historic fate in the hands of that same power.
Hussein Execution Video Captured on Cell Phone- GRAPHIC
December 30, 2006
Here is graphic Hussein execution video captured on a cell phone by a witness. I just uploaded it to YouTube, so it might take a minute to appear.
UPDATE 8:39PM: Usually, my videos post to YouTube in a matter of a couple of minutes. It has been over 2 hours since posting this video, and it still shows as "Uploaded (processing, please wait)." Curious.
Until it's approved on YouTube, here it is. You'll need QuickTime.
UPDATE 10:35PM: It's been hours since posting this to YouTube. It's hard to say why the video is still "processing." I've taken down the QuickTime version posted above due to traffic and bandwidth issues. I'll try reposting the video later.
UPDATE 12/31/06 8:31AM: Over 12 hours later, my submission to YouTube still doesn't work. I re-submitted it this morning. It looks like YouTube approved posts that occured after my submission, most of which inaccurately label the video as having been filmed on December 29th (Saddam was executed 12-30-06 @ 6A.M.). So, I'm not sure what happened.
Until my own is approved, here is the .WMV version you can freely download (warning, it's branded) for as long as my bandwidth can handle it. Share it widely. Upload it to free video services yourself.
UPDATE 12/31/06 11:54AM: .WMV file removed due to bandwidth limits. If you would like a copy, I can email it to you, or you can view the Google Video version
Saddam Hussein Execution Video - Unedited Uncensored
December 30, 2006
"One of the guards pulled a lever and he dropped half a meter into a trap door. We heard his neck snap instantly and we even saw a small amount of blood around the rope," Askari said.
"They left him hanging for around 10 minutes before a doctor confirmed his death and they untied him and placed him in a white bodybag," he added. [At least 68 Iraqis killed in wake of Saddam Hussein execution - Ha'aretz - 12-30-06]
UPDATE 12/31/06 11:52AM - Due to bandwidth, I had to remove the post's original .WMV file version and replace it with a Google Video version. If you want the .WMV file, I can email it to you.
Minority Believes Bush Is Leading America in the Right Direction
May 12, 2006
These numbers should get a lot better among the President's right-wing base as the Republican controlled Congress and White House address corruption, ethics scandals, record deficit spending, gas prices and the war in Iraq by trying to ban abortion and deny gay families constitutional rights this summer.
President Bush’s job-approval rating has fallen to its lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. Of 1,003 U.S. adults surveyed in a telephone poll, 29% think Mr. Bush is doing an “excellent or pretty good” job as president, down from 35% in April and significantly lower than 43% in January. Approval ratings for Congress overall also sank, and now stand at 18%.
Roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults say “things in the country are going in the right direction,” while 69% say “things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track.” This has been the trend since January, when 33% said the nation was heading in the right direction. Iraq remains a key concern for the general public, as 28% of Americans said they consider Iraq to be one of the top two most important issues the government should address, up from 23% in April. The immigration debate also prompted 16% of Americans to consider it a top issue, down from 19% last month, but still sharply higher from 4% in March. [Bush Dips Into the 20s - Wall Street Journal - 05-11-06]
Yet another poll confirms that there are still some Americans that support our President's decision to committ our nation to war in Iraq. One third believe our President is doing an amazing job. They are called Republicans, and they might even live a couple of houses away from you and I.
Personal evaluations of Mr. Bush are the lowest they've ever been during his presidency. On the public's confidence in Bush's ability to handle a crisis, 51% had been the previous low in September 2005. That figure is now at 50%. The President's handling of the Hurricane Katrina crisis is tied to that decrease.
There is also concern that Mr. Bush is spending too much time on foreign policy issues: 55% think so. Also, on the issues that are most important to Americans, Iraq and gas prices, Bush's ratings have dropped.
On handling the issue of rising gas prices, Bush's performance rating dropped four percentage points from what it was a month ago (from 17% to 13%).
With the Iraq war, Bush's approval rating dropped one percentage point (from 30% to 29%) since last month. Similarly, only 30% of poll respondents said they have some degree of confidence Bush will be able to end the war successfully. The poll also reveals that 56% of those polled said that United States should have stayed out of Iraq; this number is the highest it's been since the start of the war. [Poll: Dim View Of Bush, GOP - CBSnews.com - 05-09-06]
If you can't be the head of the CIA under George W. Bush and not be able to do defense deals with friends over poker and hookers, what good is it being a Republican?
"It's all about the Duke Cunningham scandal," a senior law enforcement official told the Daily News in reference to Goss' resignation. Duke, a California Republican, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison after pleading guilty in November to taking $2.4 million in homes, yachts and other bribes in exchange for steering government contracts.
Goss' inability to handle the allegations swirling around Foggo prompted John Negroponte, the director of National Intelligence, who oversees all of the nation's spy agencies, to press for the CIA chief's ouster, the senior official said. The official said Goss is not an FBI target but "there is an impending indictment" of Foggo for steering defense contracts to his poker buddies. [CIA boss Goss is cooked - NY Daily News - 05-06-06]
"Enemy at the Gates. Dick Cheney made a Fulton speech in Vilnius," said business daily Kommersant's front page headline.
"Vice President Dick Cheney made a keynote speech on relations between the West and Russia in which he practically established the start of the second Cold War ... The Cold War has restarted, only now the front lines have shifted," it said. [Cheney speech spurs new Cold War: Russian press - Rueters - 05-05-06]
Rewind...
Since the mid-1990s, U.S.and Russian interests have clashed over Iraq. Russia strongly opposed military action against Iraq in connection with the U.N. inspection regime. Virtuallyall segments of the Russian political spectrum protested vehemently against the U.S.-led missile and air strikes against Iraq in December 1998. Russia supported Iraq’s call for an end to economic sanctions and limiting U.N. weapons inspections. It also sought to expand economic relations with Iraq and secure repayment of $7 billion of loans owed from the Soviet period.
After September 11, Moscow moved away from blanket support of Iraq. Some Russian officials suggested that under certain circumstances, U.S. military action against Iraq might not seriously strain U.S.-Russian relations — provided it was not unilateral and Russia’s economic interests in Iraq were protected.
Nevertheless, on August 16, 2002, Iraqi and Russian officials announced a long-term agreement worth $40 billion for Russian firms to modernize Iraq’s oil, electrical, chemical, agricultural, and transport sectors. [Russia - Foreign Affiars, Defense and Trade Division - Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress - Page 17 IB9208901-05-05CRS-14]
As Karl Rove would tell you, it's not technically lying when you simply don't share all the facts.
Protesters repeatedly interrupted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld during a speech Thursday and one man, a former CIA analyst, accused him of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence in an unusually vociferous display of anti-war sentiment.
"Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?" asked Ray McGovern, the former analyst, during a question-and-answer session.
"I did not lie," shot back Rumsfeld, who waved off security guards ready to remove McGovern from the hall at the Southern Center for International Studies.
With Iraq war support remaining low, it is not unusual for top Bush administration officials to encounter protests and hostile questions. But the outbursts Rumsfeld confronted on Thursday seemed beyond the usual. [Rumsfeld Heckled by Former CIA Analyst - AP - 05-04-06]
"The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said as two more retired generals called for the secretary's resignation Thursday, bringing the number this month to six. [Ex-General: Rumsfeld Deserves Criticism - AP - 04-14-06]
... must be President Bush's Orwellian way of saying "a very fine mess."
"Again, I want to thank you all for -- and, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." [President Arrives in Alabama, Briefed on Hurricane Katrina - White House - 09-02-05]
I think I prefer the straight forward assessments of people who know much better and tell the truth.
One thing you won't find Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) doing this year is siding with recent Pentagon brass calling for Rumsfeld's resignation and a rethinking of our failed strategy in Iraq. In Frist's world view, Tennesseans making the ultimate sacrifice simply don't deserve that kind of leadership.
Enter Harold Ford Jr.
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation and urged President Bush to replace him with former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell.
Ford said if he were President Bush, "I would do whatever I could to persuade Powell to take the (position)." [Ford wants Rumsfeld to quit - Leaf-Chronicle - 04-14-06]
The statement from The Ford Report:
“For the sake of our country and the safety of our troops, President Bush should accept the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has lost the confidence of his peers, subordinates and the thousands of men and women who bravely and selflessly serve this country.” [Ford: Rumsfeld Should Resign - The Ford Report - 04-14-06]
In case Rumsfeld didn't get it in 2002, this is what they meant by "overwhelming force."
Today, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., who led troops on the ground in Iraq as recently as 2004 as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, became the fifth retired senior general in recent days to issue a public call for Mr. Rumsfeld's ouster.
"We need to continue to fight the global war on terror and keep it off our shores," General Swannack said in an interview. "But I do not believe Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to fight that war based on his absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq." [Rumsfeld Faces Growing Revolt by Retired Generals - NY Times - 04-13-06]
It's a matter of time before the conservative fringe proclaims those who serve our country to be living in an "Orwellian world," "drinking the kool-aid," or whatever conservatives' latest rhetorical cliche is to explain their drunken defiance of the facts.
The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized the defense secretary's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult.
"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."
Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN.
Batiste's comments resonate especially within the Army: It is widely known there that he was offered a promotion to three-star rank to return to Iraq and be the No. 2 U.S. military officer there but he declined because he no longer wished to serve under Rumsfeld. Also, before going to Iraq, he worked at the highest level of the Pentagon, serving as the senior military assistant to Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy secretary of defense. [Rumsfeld Rebuked By Retired Generals - Washington Post - 04-13-06]
Lawrence T. Di Rita, a counselor to the Defense Department, disagreed with the retired generals' characterizations of Rumsfeld's style. "People are entitled to their opinions. What they are not entitled to is their own facts
As Fred Kapln writes in Slate, the officer corps is getting restless. Take a look at the latest admission of regret in the pages of the latest edition of TIME, then ask yourself who you believe: the people who were asked to fight the war in Iraq or the selective reality of drunken, fawning partisans.
I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat—al-Qaeda. … [T]he Pentagon's military leaders … with few exceptions, acted timidly when their voices urgently needed to be heard. When they knew the plan was flawed, saw intelligence distorted to justify a rationale for war, or witnessed arrogant micromanagement that at times crippled the military's effectiveness, many leaders who wore the uniform chose inaction. … It is time for senior military leaders to discard caution in expressing their views and ensure that the President hears them clearly. And that we won't be fooled again.
[Why Iraq Was a Mistake - TIME - 04-17-06]
When it came to intelligence on WMD, newly revealed information shows President Bush preferred his own version of facts and preferred leaking only intelligence that helped him dupe the American people into making the ultimate sacrifice.
On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."
The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.
A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.
The three-page field report and a 122-page final report three weeks later were stamped "secret" and shelved. Meanwhile, for nearly a year, administration and intelligence officials continued to publicly assert that the trailers were weapons factories. [Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case for War - Washington Post - 04-12-06]
Why doesn't President Bush declassify the currently classified report "Final Technical Engineering Exploitation Report on Iraqi Suspected Biological Weapons-Associated Trailers?" Why does the President only chose to declassify discredited intelligence that makes his case for war in Iraq while keeping the facts and the truth classified and away from the American people?
"Mistakes" is the conservative theme these days for those brave enough to admit it. Yesterday, at USD, the father of the "Republican Revolution," Newt Gingrich, honored the "father of modern conservatism," Edmund Burke, by echoing the theme.
Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave a small force there, just as it did post-war in Korea and Germany.
"It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003," Gingrich said during a question-and-answer session at the school. "We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it."
Gingrich was at USD for the inaugural Edmund Burke Lecture, named after a man who is known as the father of modern conservatism. [Gingrich at USD: Pull out of Iraq - Argus Leader - 04-11-06]
It seems like every time the President tours America making anew the discredited case for justifying war in Iraq, the rhetoric-weary American people place him at all time lows. Maybe, just maybe, it's because the American people are as smart as the very architect of the war in Iraq himself, former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz.
Wolfowitz: -- there have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people.
The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it. [Paul Wolfowitz DoD Press Conference Transcript - 05-09-03]
President Bush's job approval rating is at a career low in this latest ABC News/Washington Post poll amid continued broad public skepticism about the Iraq war.
Just 38 percent of Americans now approve of Bush's overall performance in office; it's the lowest mark of his presidency, albeit by a single point. Sixty percent disapprove of how he's handling his job, matching the highest disapproval of his tenure.
One of the primary drags on the president's job approval rating has been the public's negative assessment of the war in Iraq, and in this poll 58 percent say the war was not worth fighting a majority sentiment for the past 16 months. [Bush Approval Rating at New Career Low - ABC - 04-10-06]
It seems committing American soldiers, their families and the nation to war in Iraq was just a matter of nuance for the Bush Administration. As long as intelligence challenging their discredited case for war was kept from the American people, the American people continued to sacrifice and believe in the cause. Americans no longer believe the President did the right thing for a reason. The American people are weary of hollow rhetoric and are awakening to the facts.
President Bush declassified sensitive intelligence in 2003 and authorized its public disclosure to rebut Iraq war critics, but he did not specifically direct that Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, be the one to disseminate the information, an attorney knowledgeable about the case said Saturday.
Bush merely instructed Cheney to "get it out" and left the details to him, said the lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case for the White House. The vice president chose Libby and communicated the president's wishes to his then-top aide, the lawyer said.
It is not known when the conversation between Bush and Cheney took place. The White House has declined to provide the date when the president used his authority to declassify the portions of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, a classified document that detailed the intelligence community's conclusions about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. [Lawyer: Bush Left Leak Details to Cheney - AP - 04-08-06]
... unless it was authorized by President Bush to smear people telling the truth about the Bush Administration's dishonest mishandling of our nation's intelligence aparatus.
Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide told prosecutors President Bush authorized the leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case.
Before his indictment, I. Lewis Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on information and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. [Papers: Cheney Aide Says Bush OK'd Leak - AP - 04-06-06]
Disgraceful and dishonest...
"If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is," Bush told reporters at an impromptu news conference during a fund-raising stop in Chicago, Illinois. "If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.
"I welcome the investigation. I am absolutely confident the Justice Department will do a good job.
"I want to know the truth," the president continued. "Leaks of classified information are bad things." [Bush welcomes probe of CIA leak - CNN - 02-11-04]
American hostage Tom Fox is dead, and part of Rush Limbaugh really likes this.
Yeah, all right. Now, let's take this at face value just for a moment. This could all be BS. I mean, we've never heard of the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. This could all be a stunt, but let's take it -- well, let's take it both ways. We'll take it face value at first, then we'll look at it as a stunt second. I said at the conclusion of previous hours -- part of me that likes this. And some of you might say, "Rush, that's horrible. Peace activists taken hostage." Well, here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality. [Rush Limbaugh - Media Matters Transcript - 11-29-05]
What more can be expected from theocrats and religious fanatics that view democratic rule of law and balance of power as a threat to their spiritual supremacy?
In four separate areas around Baghdad, authorities found the bodies of 40 men shot dead, an interior ministry spokesman said Thursday.
In Baqubah, gunmen in several vehicles killed at least three dozen people in buses who were heading to a protest of the mosque bombing, said Gen. Amir Al-Jubouri, Diyala deputy police chief. The riders, Sunnis and Shiites, were stopped by the gunmen who set up their own checkpoint. Their bodies were found in a creek.
Also in Baqubah, a suicide bomber blew up himself amid a group of Iraqi army soldiers in a public market, killing 9 soldiers and two civilians and wounded 19 others, said Ali Al-Khayyam, a spokesmen for the JCC, the Joint Coordination Center.
In the same city, 20 miles north of Baghdad, a muezzin at a Sunni mosque was killed and two of his bodyguards were wounded Wednesday when four armed men attacked the mosque, eyewitnesses said. The four men, dressed in black and wearing masks, entered the mosque just when preachers were getting ready to hold the morning prayers, said Ali Kadhum, 32, who is one of the two bodyguards wounded in the attack. "When they first came in shooting, we hid in the preachers room," Kadhum said, "then they through hand grenades inside the room."
In Samarra, armed men kidnapped and killed a reporter of al-Arabiya, a Dubai-based news channel, along with two of her crew. Atwar Bahjat, 26, was shot dead in northern Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, the channel reported.
All told, Interior Ministry officials said more than 100 people were killed.
And all told, the Muslim Scholars Association in Iraq said 168 Sunni mosques were attacked in the last 24 hours. [Sectarian Violence Surges After Shrine Bombing - Washington Post - 02-23-06]
More theocratic thuggery...
Christian youths burned the corpses of Muslims on Thursday on the streets of Onitsha in southeastern Nigeria, the city worst hit by religious riots that have killed at least 146 people across the country in five days.
Christian mobs, seeking revenge for the killings of Christians in the north, attacked Muslims with machetes, set fire to them, destroyed their houses and torched mosques in two days of violence in Onitsha, where 93 people died.
"We are very happy that this thing is happening so that the north will learn their lesson," said Anthony Umai, a motorcycle taxi rider, standing close to where Christian youths had piled up the corpses of 10 Muslims and were burning them. [Bodies burned in open after Nigeria riots kill 146 - Reuters - 02-23-06]
While we're focused on how the Vice President operates within the White House, an interesting question arose in an interview between FOX News and the Vice President today. Did the Vice President exercise unilateral power to declassify national intelligence? The Vice President won't tell FOX News.
Question: Let me ask you another question. Is it your view that a vice president has the authority to declassify information?
Cheney: There is an executive order to that effect.
Question: There is.
Cheney: Yes.
Question: Have you done it?
Cheney: Well, I've certainly advocated declassification and participated in declassification decisions. The executive order --
Question: You ever done it unilaterally?
Cheney: I don't want to get into that. There is an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously focuses first and foremost on the president, but also includes the vice president. [Cheney Interview with FOX News - 02-15-06]
A subject for the federal grand jury, no doubt. But if the Vice President unilaterally declassified national intelligence without telling the President of the United States and authorized Libby to leak the identity of a CIA operative, that might account for why President Bush so eagerly asserted he'd fire anyone who leaked the operative's name.
QUESTION: Given -- given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?
THE PRESIDENT: That's up to --
QUESTION: And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts. [President Bush Holds Press Conference Following the G8 Summit - White House - 06-10-04]
Ooops. Something happened in the White House between June 2004 and July 2005 that made the President revise his statement. No longer will he fire anyone who merely "leaked" the name. Now he will fire anyone who did it illegally.
"I think it's best if people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions," Bush said at a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts. And if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration," Bush said. [President vows to fire anyone who committed a crime - CNN - 07-19-05]
Did the Vice President unilaterally declassify intelligence without telling the President of the United States until much later, engaging in a pattern of calling his own shots? Unilateral declassification by the Vice President might explain why the special prosecutor is not pursuing charges in the leaking of the identity of a CIA operative, but it doesn't explain why this administration has not been forth-coming with the American people on how they went about creating legal parameters for smearing people who challenged their misleading use of America's national intelligence to sell the case for war with Iraq.
"I don't think you can win it," Bush said in the interview on NBC's Today show. "But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." [Bush: 'I don't think you can win' war on terror - St. Petersberg Times - 08-31-04]
Jim Dean, Howard Dean's brother and head of Democracy For America, is disturbed.
"It is disturbing enough that Senator Lieberman remains one of the president's biggest cheerleaders. But his call for opponents of the president's failed policy to keep quiet is outrageous." [Let Joe Know: Sign the Letter - Jim Dean email - 12-8-05]
Senator Lieberman: As a member of the "world's greatest deliberative body," it's time you stopped trying to stifle debate and instead become part of the solution by joining the majority of Americans in questioning President Bush's foreign policy. [Tell Sen. Joe Lieberman:Debate Is Patriotic - letter to Joe Lieberman - DFA]
Meanwhile ...
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is urging Democrats to limit their comments on the future of the Iraq war to areas where there is broad agreement within the party in an effort to quell increasing concerns both within the Democratic Caucus and the minds of the public that the ongoing conflict has caused deep intra-party divisions. [Reid Seeks to Keep Caucus on Same Page - Roll Call - 12-08-05]
Back in August of 2004, President Bush had a moment of clarity when speaking about the war on terror.
"I don't think you can win it," Bush said in the interview on NBC's Today show. "But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." [Bush: 'I don't think you can win' war on terror - St. Petersberg Times - 08-31-04]
Sounds familiar.
"There is going to be no peace treaty on the battleship Missouri in the war on terrorism, but we can break its back so that it is a horrible nuisance and not a paralyzing influence on our societies," Scowcroft told the U.S. Institute of Peace. [Bush, Kerry Campaign in West Before Debate - AP - 10-11-04]
Not a single Republican charged President Bush, or his father's advisor, with defeatism, but when Howard Dean recently repeated the assertion, Republicans went fruit loops.
"In predicting that America will lose the war in Iraq, Howard Dean is the latest national Democrat leader to embrace retreat and defeat in the central front in the War on Terror. His outrageous prediction sends the wrong message to our troops, the enemy, and the Iraqi people just 10 days before historic elections. Democrats across the nation should stand up and reject the pessimism of their chairman and strategy of defeat by their Congressional leaders." [Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman - Press Release - 12-05-05]
OK, maybe Bolton has a point. It is unfair not to focus on countries whose violations of human rights are more egregious than ours. But what does it say about America to find ourselves placed on the same list as those who torture? (via TMP and Andrew Sullivan)
John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, criticized Arbour, calling it "inappropriate" for her to choose a Human Rights Day celebration to criticize the United States instead of such rights abusers as Burma, Cuba and Zimbabwe. He also warned that it would undercut his efforts to negotiate formation of a new human rights council that would exclude countries with bad rights records.
"Today is Human Rights Day. It would be appropriate, I think, for the U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights to talk about the serious human rights problems that exist in the world today," Bolton told reporters. "It is disappointing that she has chosen to talk about press commentary about alleged American conduct. I think the secretary of state has fully and completely addressed the substance of the allegations, so I won't go back into that again other than to reaffirm that the United States does not engage in torture."
He added: "I think it is inappropriate and illegitimate for an international civil servant to second-guess the conduct that we're engaged in in the war on terror, with nothing more as evidence than what she reads in the newspapers." [U.N. Official Faults U.S. Detentions - Washignton Post - 12-08-05]
So says Murtha today in response to President Bush's speech. Murtha is on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
MURTHA: Twenty years it’s going to take to settle this thing. The American people is not going to put up with it; can’t afford it. We have spent $277 billion. That’s what’s been appropriated for this operation. We have $50 billion sitting on the table right now in our supplemental, or bridge fund we call it, in the Appropriations Committee. They’re going to ask for another $100 billion next year.
…
QUESTION: Can we come back to the $100 billion? You said that you expect the military to ask for $100 billion. Where are you getting that figure?
MURTHA: Where I get all my figures: the military. [BREAKING: Military Will Request $100B For Iraq Next Year, Murtha Reveals - Think Progress - 12-07-05]
RUSH: (laughing) Iraqis ought to be terrorizing Iraqi women and children! He (interruption). Yes he did. Yes he did just say it. Cue it back up, Mike. Yes, he did. He said, "...and there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of customs, the historical customs, religious customs, whether you like it or not. Iraqis ought to be doing that." Here, listen to it again. If you didn't believe it the first time you heard it, listen to it again. [John Kerry Calls American Troops Terrorists - Rush Limaugh - 12-05-05]
What a pair Limbaugh and Kerry make. Yes, that's the same Rush Limbaugh who said last week that he "loves" the fact that an American hostage in Iraq may be executed in two days.
Yeah, all right. Now, let's take this at face value just for a moment. This could all be BS. I mean, we've never heard of the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. This could all be a stunt, but let's take it -- well, let's take it both ways. We'll take it face value at first, then we'll look at it as a stunt second. I said at the conclusion of previous hours -- part of me that likes this. And some of you might say, "Rush, that's horrible. Peace activists taken hostage." Well, here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality. [Rush Limbaugh - Media Matters Transcript - 11-29-05]
Yes he did. Yes he did just say it. Cue it back up, Mike. Yes, he did. He said, "here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality." Maybe it was the Oxycontin talking, but Limbaugh just said there is a "part of me that likes this" whole American-hostage-getting-executed thingy in Iraq. Limbaugh said a good execution is the best dose of reality a leftist can get these days. Here, listen to it again. If you didn't believe it the first time you heard it, listen to it again. There is a part of Rush Limbaugh that REALLY gets a kick out of watching webcasts of American hostages getting their heads cut off. What a stunt!
Something tells me Bush's role as an elder statesman won't exactly follow his self-styled label as "the War President." There are a lot of things he can do, and today might be a glimpse at one possibility.
President Bush, tractor salesman.
While the President was at the Deere Hitachi plant in Kernersville, NC talking about the economy, the war president talked about plows. And he didn't so much just talk about them as much as he marketted them. Productive societies are John Deere societies. Interesting, It'n it?
"This company is a good example of how trade has transformed American businesses. In 1837, an Illinois blacksmith named John Deere fashioned a steel plow that let pioneer farmers cut through prairie soil. Today, the company that this guy started ships products, ships combines made in Illinois to Russia. Interesting, It'n it? A lot of the Deere business is done overseas because the product is good. People want the Deere product. People realize that their society can become more productive if they use products made by John Deere." [President Bush speech on economy - Grantham transcript - 12-05-05]
Members of the Rendition Group follow a simple but standard procedure: Dressed head to toe in black, including masks, they blindfold and cut the clothes off their new captives, then administer an enema and sleeping drugs. They outfit detainees in a diaper and jumpsuit for what can be a day-long trip. Their destinations: either a detention facility operated by cooperative countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, or one of the CIA's own covert prisons -- referred to in classified documents as "black sites," which at various times have been operated in eight countries, including several in Eastern Europe.
[Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake - Washington Post - 12-04-05]
The funny thing is, you don't even have to be President to have to take responsibility for our nation's war in Iraq. You can also be a Senator.
Clinton, who is running for re-election next year and is considered a possible presidential candidate in 2008, targeted the president's handling of the war for some of her sharpest criticism.
"The time has come for the administration to stop serving up platitudes and present a plan for finishing this war with success and honor," she said. "I reject a rigid timetable that the terrorists can exploit, and I reject an open timetable that has no ending attached to it.
"Instead, I think we need a plan for winning and concluding this war, and the president can begin by taking responsibilities for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of this war." [Clinton Tells Ky. Dems Bush Mismanaged War - Washington Post - 12-03-05]
The Pentagon has to pay Iraqi journalists to tell the story of those sacrificing their lives for Iraqi freedom? What an impression.
Lincoln Group officials would not discuss specifics of the contract. Laurie Adler, a spokeswoman for the company, said yesterday that Lincoln Group has been promoting truthful reporting across Iraq.
"We counter the lies, intimidation, and pure evil of terror with factual stories that highlight the heroism and sacrifice of the Iraqi people and their struggle for freedom and security," Adler said in a written statement. "We are encouraged by their sacrifice and proud to help them tell their side of the story." [Military Says It Paid Iraq Papers for News - Washington Post - 12-03-05]
Sen. John Warner (R-VA) left the Pentagon Friday a "building" without all the facts on their own operations.
Now, the building, as of an hour ago when I was there, is still trying to obtain the facts. They do not have all the facts at this time. But I was assured that General Casey, hopefully within the 24- or 48-hour period, would be putting out another body of fact to give further clarification of what did go contrary, should we say, to the traditions of journalism and what didn't. [Transcript: Sen. John Warner's Press Conference on Iraqi Media - Washington Post - 12-02-05]
"Besides, since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years ... kind of like Dad." [2004 RNC remarks by Barbara and Jenna Bush - 08-31-04]
CafePolitico says the Bush twins still haven't answered their nation's call to service in Iraq.
So, Barbara and Jenna have graduated (about a year ago), so what are they up to? A google search told me little, other than they hob-knob with the rich and famous, drink a lot and claim to have humanitarian interests, minus the follow-through. [Quick Bush Twins, your country needs you! - Cafepolitio - 11-28-05]
After Bailey's latest $100 million dollar defense contract to place paid news stories in Iraqi media, he might be right. The question is, how was this defense contract steered to this young Republican fundraiser?
Bailey was a founder and active participant in Lead21, a fund-raising and networking operation for affluent young Republicans, some of whom have gone on to serve in the Bush administration. Click on the links to Lead21's site today and no mention of Bailey is to be found. But on a subscriber business and social networking site, there's an archived e-mail of Bailey discussing setting up a New York branch of Lead21, and his "personal network," which lists a half-dozen members of the organization's current board, including the chairman of the California Republican Party and the senior policy adviser to the Justice Department's chief information officer. "These are going to be the big supporters, the big donors to the Republican Party in five years' time," Bailey told The New York Times in an Aug. 31, 2004, video interview during a Lead21 party at the Republican convention in New York. [What's Lincoln Group? - GOVEXEC.com - 12-01-05]
The first contract for the Lincoln Group, then known as Iraqex, was for PR work that prevented the American people from seeing American soldiers return home in caskets.
"The PR firm must coordinate the movement of the remains back to the U.S., and is responsible for notification of next of kin," the contract states.
Despite the dangers, a PR firm has stepped up to the plate.
"A Washington, D.C.-based entity called Iraqex got the contract," Kevin McCauley, editor of odwyerpr.com, tells The Beltway Beat. "Iraqex says it is wired into the Iraqi media, claiming contacts with 300 to 400 reporters.
"The contract is a blockbuster - in terms of dollars - for PR," he adds. "It is worth $5.5 million for the first year and totals $17.7 million with the three six-month option periods. Those are big numbers, even if one is operating in a war zone." [Inside Track - John McCaslin - 10-08-04]
Being "wired into the Iraqi media" would later pay off with a $100 million dollar deal "to help develop materials for psychological operations in Iraq and elsewhere." Elsewhere?
It looks like Bill O'Reilly was just taking his cues from Rush Limbaugh when it came to attacking the Christian peacekeepers held hostage in Iraq.
Yeah, all right. Now, let's take this at face value just for a moment. This could all be BS. I mean, we've never heard of the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. This could all be a stunt, but let's take it -- well, let's take it both ways. We'll take it face value at first, then we'll look at it as a stunt second. I said at the conclusion of previous hours -- part of me that likes this. And some of you might say, "Rush, that's horrible. Peace activists taken hostage." Well, here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality. [Rush Limbaugh - Media Matters Transcript - 11-29-05]
Listen to the entire audio clip at Media Matters and marvel at the darling of the right-wing talking heads admit "there's a part of me that likes this" and "I don't care anymore."
A Virginia man being held as a hostage in Iraq went there as part of a Christian peace mission, but he anticipated the worst.
As Tom Fox headed toward the end of his first week in captivity in Iraq, friends said the 54-year-old musician and peace activist was well aware of the dangers he faced in the war-ravaged country.
He was so realistic, in fact, that he devised a written plan he distributed to friends and co-workers that they should follow if he were taken hostage. Don't pay ransom for his return, he wrote in an October 2004 e-mail, and reject the use of violence in trying to win his freedom. Don't "vilify" the abductors, he said, but instead "try to understand the motives of their actions." [Va. Man Foresaw Dangers In Iraq - Washington Post - 12-01-05]
Tom Fox's Jesus talk of "understanding motives" doesn't sit well with conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly who argues they need to "get a clue."
NANCY SKINNER: I'll tell you what. They are not there as Christians to support terrorists. It's not "Christians For Terrorism." It's Christians for Peace. Their whole website is dovoted to peace keeping.
BILL O'REILLY: OK, but look, they're for peace but they're not going to criticize the terrorists. No, they criticize the USA and the UK exclusively. But they're for peace, but it's ok, terrorists are OK. Look...
NANCY: You need, you need to then follow up with them, this organization, but I'll tell you what...
BILL: No, this organization needs to go out of business. That's what it needs to do. This organization needs to get a clue and go out of business and get a persepctive, again....
NANCY: They're doing the work of Christ, for Jesus Christ. What's more important than that?
BILL: Trust me. If Jesus were on this Earth, Nancy, he'd be criticizing the terrorists. OK? Got it?
NANCY: Do you think Jesus would be pro-war, Bill?
BILL: He'd be criticizing the terrorists, not sanitizing the situation.
NANCY: Would he have invaded Iraq?
BILL: Come on, this is ridiculous. Alright?
NANCY: Would Jesus have, would Jesus have invaded Iraq?
BILL: It's ridiculous...
NANCY: Of course he would not have.
BILL: If Jesus were around, he wouldn't let Saddam Hussein do what he wanted without saying anything. Period. [O'Reilly Factor - Grantham Transcript - 11-30-05]
National Strategy for Victory in the War On Christmas
November 30, 2005
Not to be out-done by President Bush's unveiling of a National Strategy For Victory in Iraq, Rev. Jerry Falwell launched his own victory strategy in a much more important war where America is divided into friends or foes: The War On Christmas. View the strategy here (pdf).
Furthermore, I am calling on pastors, churches and individuals to join Liberty Counsel’s "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign" by purchasing ads in newspapers across the country.
We need to draw a line in the sand and resist bullying tactics by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the American Atheists and other leftist organizations that intimidate school and government officials by spreading misinformation about Christmas. [Joining The 'Friend Or Foe' Campaign - Jerry Falwell Ministries - 11-29-05]
I generally believe broad assessments of progress with Iraqi security forces, but Rumsfeld continues to peddle half truths to an impatient American people.
Consider the progress of the Iraqi security forces over the past year. In August 2004, five Iraqi army battalions were effectively in the fight. Today the number is 95. In July 2004, there were no ready operational Iraqi army divisions or brigade headquarters. Today there are at least seven operational divisions and 31 operational brigade headquarters.
In July of 2004 there were no ready special police commando, public order or mechanized police battalions under the Ministry of Interior. Today there are 28 such battalions conducting operations.
And last year there were about 96,000 fully trained and equipped Iraqi security forces. And today there are over 212,000 trained and equipped security forces. [News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace - Transcript - 11-29-05]
Just a couple of months ago (September), General George Casey told Congress the unvarnished truth that there is only one battalion that can stand up without being propped up (emphasis added). In fact, Gen. Casey said the opposite of Rumsfeld, asserting "Level 1" readiness among Iraqi forces had decreased over the past few months.
The number of the Iraqi army's 86 battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals told Congress on Thursday, adding that the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals anytime soon. Gen. George Casey, who oversees U.S. forces in Iraq, said there are fewer Iraqi battalions at "Level 1" readiness than there were a few months ago. [Just 1 Iraqi battalion fit to fight insurgents - Washington Post - 09-30-05]
UPDATE 3:17pm:Andrew Sullivan points to an exchange deeper in the transcript provided above that shows General Pace correcting Rumsfeld on torture while standing at the same podium.
QUESTION: And General Pace, what guidance do you have for your military commanders over there as to what to do if -- like when General Horst found this Interior Ministry jail [where evidenceof toeture was widespread]?
GEN. PACE: It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene to stop it. As an example of how to do it if you don't see it happening but you're told about it is exactly what happened a couple weeks ago. There's a report from an Iraqi to a U.S. commander that there was possibility of inhumane treatment in a particular facility. That U.S. commander got together with his Iraqi counterparts. They went together to the facility, found what they found, reported it to the Iraqi government, and the Iraqi government has taken ownership of that problem and is investigating it. So they did exactly what they should have done.
SEC. RUMSFELD: But I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it.
GEN. PACE: If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it. [News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace - Transcript - 11-29-05]
I'm not sure if Santa Clause can fit all of the following under this year's tree, but when the first lady talks about our national strategy in Iraq between two excessively decorated Christmas trees, some part of you just has to rethink this whole thing.
His wife, Laura, said Wednesday that she "absolutely" would like to see an acceptable resolution there.
"We want our troops to be able to come home as soon as they possibly can," said Mrs. Bush during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" to give a Christmas tour of the White House.
"It's really remarkable how far they've come," she said, "but I really feel very, very encouraged that we're going to see a very great ending when we see a really free Iraq right in the heart of the Middle East." [Bush Unveils New Iraq Strategy Document - Washington Post - 11-30-05]
UPDATE 9:16am - Laura is making the rounds this morning. I just saw her on FOX, giving a White House tour and talking about the decorations. Then, all of a sudden, the reporter asked her about Iraq, got the talking point, and went right back to Santy Clause. Did Scott McClellan come up with today's Christmas Tree Offense rollout of the National Strategy For Victory In Iraq all by himself?
Tomorrow, the White House will release a document called the "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." You can't get any more straight forward than that, can you? Well, there was "Bin Laden determined to strike in US," but as Condi Rice had us wonder, what's in a title?
QUESTION: This document that's coming out, can you just tell us a little bit more about what might be in that, that we haven't seen before?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think just, generally, it'll outline our strategy for victory in Iraq and talk about the three different elements within that strategy that I just mentioned. Beyond that, wait until it comes out.
QUESTION: Who wrote the -
MR. McCLELLAN: Our National Security Council, obviously, has taken a lead in this effort. But, I mean, various people within the White House have been involved in this. The Department of Defense obviously has been very involved in it, as well. As I said, it's an unclassified version of the plan that we have had in place and the plan that we've been pursuing.
QUESTION: Are we going to be shocked by anything in it? I mean, the President has outlined the strategy before, right?
MR. McCLELLAN: What's that?
QUESTION: Are we going -
MR. McCLELLAN: I think one purpose of providing this document is so that the American people can have a clear sense of our strategy for success in Iraq, and so that they can see how we look at the enemy, the nature of the enemy that we're facing and they can see how we define success in Iraq and how we are going about achieving victory in Iraq. And that's an important thing for the American people to be able to look at and understand. [White House Press Briefing - 11-29-05]
Today, Sen. Biden described a plan remarkably similar to the Administration's plan to fight and win the war on terror. We welcome Sen. Biden's voice in the debate. We are pleased he shares our view that the way to a democratic and peaceful Iraq is through aggressively training Iraqi police and soldiers, rebuilding the country's infrastructure and forging political compromises between Iraqi factions." [Setting the Record Straight: Sen. Biden Adopts Key Portions of Administration's Plan for Victory in Iraq - White House - 11-26-05]
The consensus, as stated by Joe Biden, is for a plan the Bush Administration has continued to claim would give terrorists the upper hand. It took consensus in the Republican controlled Senate for the White House to see the writing on the wall.
There is a broad consensus on what must be done to preserve our interests. Recently, 79 Democratic and Republican senators told President Bush we need a detailed, public plan for Iraq, with specific goals and a timetable for achieving each one. [Time for An Iraq Timetable - Washington Post - 11-27-05]
President Bush must tell the American people the truth when it comes to the facts on the ground Generals share with Congress. We may have 90 Iraqi army batallions "fighting the terrorists alongside our forces," but General George Casey told Congress just weeks ago that only one battalion can stand up without being propped up by American forces. If Iraqis are to stand up before we stand down, our troops deserve everything they need to accomplish the mission, including a healthy debate and a more honest Commander-in-Chief.
Here is what the Murtha Resolution, which Republicans refused to bring to a vote, called for.
SECTION 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.
SEC. 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.
SEC. 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy. [House Joint Res. 73]
Here is what the Pentagon has in store "at the earliest practicable date."
Barring any major surprises in Iraq, the Pentagon tentatively plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces there early next year by as many as three combat brigades, from 18 now, but to keep at least one brigade "on call" in Kuwait in case more troops are needed quickly, several senior military officers said.
Pentagon authorities also have set a series of "decision points" during 2006 to consider further force cuts that, under a "moderately optimistic" scenario, would drop the total number of troops from more than 150,000 now to fewer than 100,000, including 10 combat brigades, by the end of the year, the officers said. [3 Brigades May Be Cut in Iraq Early in 2006 - Washignton Post - 11-23-05]
And last, but not least, here is the Republican response, lies and all, to all of you unpatriotic cowards who want to "cut and run."
A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. [Schmidt causes ruckus in House debate on Iraq - Cincinnati Enquirer - 11-19-05]
Poor Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH). She was just trying to join the chorus of Republicans defending the President's policy in Iraq. How was she supposed to know Americans don't like politicians labeling a decorated war veteran a "coward" on the House floor?
Rep. Jean Schmidt flung the word "coward" at a decorated war veteran from Pennsylvania last week, but the Ohio Republican's comments landed with a splat in her own Cincinnati district, where some supporters are backing away as she scrambles to explain what she meant.
Judging by her words yesterday -- the first after avoiding the public for three days -- Schmidt doesn't understand what the fuss is about, and sees herself more as victim than villain. "I am amazed at what a national story this has become," she said in a statement. "I have been attacked very personally, continuously since Friday evening."
Many people are unsympathetic. NBC's "Saturday Night Live" lampooned her, the Cincinnati Enquirer's editorial page -- which endorsed her congressional bid -- said she was "way out of line," and the friend she claimed to be quoting on the House floor last week declared yesterday that he had said no such thing. [Freshman Republican Weathers Backlash - Washington Post - 11-23-05]
It looks like Rep. Jean Schmidt just made up that whole thing about another Marine wanting to send a nastygram to John Murtha via the House floor. (via Think Progress, Atrios)
Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, told The Enquirer that he never mentioned Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., by name when talking with Schmidt, and he would never call a fellow Marine a coward.
"The unfortunate thing about all of that is that her choice of words on the floor of the House - I don't know, she's a freshman, she had one minute.
One of the most disgraceful chapters in American foreign policy continues to unfold around the Bush Administration's handling of pre-Iraq war intelligence. With little left to justify our nation's long-term military presence in Iraq, the American public is increasingly skeptical.
The Republican response to overwhelming skepticism of our nation's war in Iraq has been nothing short of McCarthyism, attacking detractors as "cowards" and "un-patriotic" rather than having the courage to debate our nation's foreign policy. Meanwhile, President Bush is touring America with his latest justification for "staying the course" in Iraq: we must continue to commit American soldiers to war in Iraq to honor the war dead.
For many familiar with the decade old intelligence that justified years of diplomatic pressures against Saddam Hussein's regime, the Bush Administration's selective mischaracterizations of this intelligence as posing an imminent threat did not justify committing our nation to war. Nothing had changed about the intelligence leading up to the pre-war saber rattling of 2002 except the Bush Administration's sudden and selective reinterpretation and no will to lead the world in an effective diplomatic offense. War was not only easier for this administration, it scrambled Russia's announced $50,000,000,000 oil deal with Iraq in August 2002 and assured America would retain the sole right to our "national security interests" in a post-war Iraq.
Before President Bush could commit American soldiers to battle, the pesky need to justify war required a creative reinterpretation of the facts by an Administration with a plan for war before a reason to fight it.
Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri - al-Haideri's story of biological weapons hidden in subterranean wells fit the bill. The only problem was he lied. Even though the Bush Administration was told this by intelligence officers, statements like this were re-packaged and sold to the American people as definitive intelligence that justified war.
"Curveball" - German intelligence warned the Bush Administration that the secret source of intelligence, known as "Curveball," provided unsubstantiated claims that Saddam Hussein had mobile labs cooking up enough anthrax to destroy several American cities. That's not the line shared with the American people and the world when the Bush Administration re-packaged it as yet another definitive justification for war.
Cake Walk - Despite being told by our nation's own Central Intelligence Agency of the dubious nature of intelligence around yellow cake purchases by Iraq, the Bush Administration sold this as definitive proof that "mushroom clouds" were on the way if we didn't act now. When these facts were challenged, the Bush Administration exposed a CIA operative in an irresponsible act of vengeance and continued to sell a false nexus between September 11 and Iraq through the office of the Vice President.
America knows when a used car salesman is misleading, manipulating, and maybe even lying when they leave out the fact that the engine will only work as long as it takes to drive it off the lot. But every used car salesman knows it pays to deal with an angry buyer after they close the deal than it is to be honest in the first place.
So much for the tired arguement that Democrats support "cutting and running" when it comes to our nation's war in Iraq. When Republicans put the proposition up for a vote late this evening in a cynical stunt on the House floor, it failed 403-3. Read the transcript of Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt's disgraceful attack of Vietnam veteran and Democratic Representative John Murtha.
Iraq
Protesters repeatedly interrupted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld during a speech Thursday and one man, a former CIA analyst, accused him of lying about Iraq prewar intelligence in an unusually vociferous display of anti-war sentiment.
Wolfowitz: -- there have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people. 
"If there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is," Bush told reporters at an impromptu news conference during a fund-raising stop in Chicago, Illinois. "If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of.
Yeah, all right. Now, let's take this at face value just for a moment. This could all be BS. I mean, we've never heard of the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. This could all be a stunt, but let's take it -- well, let's take it both ways. We'll take it face value at first, then we'll look at it as a stunt second. I said at the conclusion of previous hours -- part of me that likes this. And some of you might say, "Rush, that's horrible. Peace activists taken hostage." Well, here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality.
RUSH: (laughing) Iraqis ought to be terrorizing Iraqi women and children! He (interruption). Yes he did. Yes he did just say it. Cue it back up, Mike. Yes, he did. He said, "...and there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of customs, the historical customs, religious customs, whether you like it or not. Iraqis ought to be doing that." Here, listen to it again. If you didn't believe it the first time you heard it, listen to it again. 
"Besides, since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years ... kind of like Dad."
After Bailey's latest 
"The PR firm must coordinate the movement of the remains back to the U.S., and is responsible for notification of next of kin," the contract states.
Furthermore, I am calling on pastors, churches and individuals to join Liberty Counsel’s "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign" by purchasing ads in newspapers across the country.
Poor Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH). She was just trying to join the chorus of Republicans defending the President's policy in Iraq. How was she supposed to know Americans don't like politicians labeling a decorated war veteran a "coward" on the House floor?
