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Monday, June 30, 2003
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Salon.com | Why the U.S. must invade Canada -- now
some political satire
Salon.com | Why the U.S. must invade Canada -- now:Excerpt: "Why the U.S. must invade Canada -- now
It didn't support the war, it's soft on pot and gays, its economy is rolling and U.S. troops are bored. Anyway, reasons to invade countries are no longer needed!"
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Oblivious in D.C.
Bob Herbert cites growing crises in the states, hurt by growing deficits and budget cuts, while getting less from federal programs, people hurting as Bush races around gaining record contributions; Bush and the Republicans are oblivious, Herbert argues, to the growing misery in the country
Oblivious in D.C.
Meanwhile the great state of California is near financial disaster
Howard Kurtz assembles press quotes and material on
Republicans Rule
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Sunday, June 29, 2003
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Podvin on the Media 6/29/03
Here's a hardhitting article that argues that the reason the mainstream corporate media has been so easy on Bush from the 2000 election campaign to the present is that they sought further media deregulation that would increase their power and profits-- deregulation provided by Powell Jr and the FCC on June 2. I might add that Michael Wolff, a New York media critic, recently stated that the reason why the US media "kissed ass" during the Iraq war was that they sought deregulation. This suggests incredible cravenness on behalf of the corporate media and further blows away the myth of the "liberal media."
Podvin on the Media 6/29/03
Also stepping to the plate to criticize media deregulation and media merger mania is... Bill Clinton
Out of Control. If It's allowed to stand an FCC ruling will feed media merger mania
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TIME.com: TIME Magazine -- Who Lost the WMD?
Congress will investigate intelligence on WMD including Cheney's role. Remember that Cheney was pushing for the war harder than anyone, desperate for contracts [already pulling in a cool $800 million] for Halliburton. Excerpt: "What Was Cheney's Role?
Lawmakers who once saluted every Bush claim and command are beginning to express doubts. Two congressional panels are opening new rounds of investigations into the Administration's prewar claims about WMD. One of their immediate inquiries, sources tell Time, involves Vice President Dick Cheney's role in reviewing the intelligence before the bombing started. Cheney made repeated visits to the CIA in the prelude to the war, going over intelligence assessments with the analysts who produced them. Some Democrats say Cheney's visits may have amounted to pressure on the normally cautious agency. Cheney's defenders insist that his visits merely showed the importance of the issue and that an honest analyst wouldn't feel pressure to twist intelligence. The House intelligence committee (and possibly its Senate counterpart, sources say) plans to question the CIA analysts who briefed Cheney, and that could lead to calling Cheney's hard-line aides and perhaps the Veep himself to testify"
TIME.com: TIME Magazine -- Who Lost the WMD?
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Arabs Seen as New Hollywood Villains
Excerpt: "Hollywood has a new top villain, who has taken over from those old foes, red Indians and Communists.
Now the Apache have become respected native Americans, the Iron Curtain gone, and Russia almost an ally, Arabs are pretty much the only villains in town. According to a new report, they are portrayed in a derogatory way 96 per cent of the time.
Usually typecast as nasty bombers or evil billionaires, or at best, evil belly dancers, Arab characters have been the baddies in more than 20 big films in the past 10 years, including Death Before Dishonor, Navy SEALs, Patriot Games, The American President, Delta Force 3 and Executive Decision."
News
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"Ministers knew war papers were forged, says diplomat
News
Former US ambassador asked to do intelligence analysis says that both US and UK must have known that key Iraqi weapons documents were fakes in story that claims: "US official who identified documents incriminating Iraq as fakes says Britain must have been aware of findings"
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Saturday, June 28, 2003
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Bush Raising Millions in Quick Trip to California
Bush rakes in the bucks in quick rush to California, is met by protestors. Excerpt: "Hundreds of anti-Bush demonstrators lined up behind barricades at the entrance to the Marriott, but the crowds around the hotel, where the roads had been barricaded for hours, did not approach the large sizes that had been predicted by the White House and local authorities. Still, a long cordon of police in riot gear guarded the hotel from protesters who waved signs that said 'Bush lies, Iraqi people and G.I.'s die!' and 'Leave No Millionaire Behind.'"
Bush Raising Millions in Quick Trip to California
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National Do-Not-Call Registry Overwhelmed by Eager Public
Join the campaign against telemarketing and google over to National Do Not Call Registry; I got on and registered not to receive telemarketing calls but have not yet received email confirmation [PS Two days after registering I received confirmation that I was on the list, now we'll see if this helps block telemarketers....]
National Do-Not-Call Registry Overwhelmed by Eager Public
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Friday, June 27, 2003
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Iraqi Saboteurs' Goal: Disrupt the Occupation
Someone has finally figured out that the iraqis had a plan to fight the US after Saddam and company split the country, and now the US is stuck in a big mess
Iraqi Saboteurs' Goal: Disrupt the Occupation
Excerpt: "Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency devised a plan to challenge the allied occupation of Iraq: sabotage its own country.
The targets have included oil pipelines, the Baghdad electrical system, a liquid natural gas plant and other crucial installations. With each attack, life for Iraq's roughly 24 million people has become more onerous and the mission of allied forces more complex.
It is difficult to say how much of the economic sabotage is coordinated. But there are new indications that at least some of it may have been planned before allied forces crossed into Iraq. "
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Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US proposes world peacekeeping force
It appears that someone in the Bush administration has figured out that unilateralism doesn't work and that the US cannot police the world; or Rummy is just off on another whim, invade Iraq one day, set up a world police force the next....
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US proposes world peacekeeping force
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Toward One-Party Rule
Paul Krugman sees one-party rule emerging in US as Republicans consolidate their hold on government and produce alliances with corporations, lobbyists and media all of which promote their rightwing agenda; will the American public wake up and drift into Republican fascism or see what's going on and organize to take back democracy?Toward One-Party Rule
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Thursday, June 26, 2003
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washingtonpost.com: Iraqi Ambushes Beset Troops
It just gets uglier and uglier everyday.... A new Iraqi group The Return is threatening and killing Iraqis who are working with US forces; sweltering in 115 degrees of heat there is continued sabotage of electricity intensifying power outtages; tempers are flaring and there is a rash of shootings of US and British troops and possible abduction of two US troops
washingtonpost.com: Iraqi Ambushes Beset Troops
**** And now Washington Experts Question depth of Victory recognizing that the war is far from over and things keep getting worse
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The invisible
strong critique of Bush Terror War policies: "The human cost of the 21st century's first war is already enormous. In addition to those who have died, staggering numbers have been detained around the world in violation of their human rights and international law. Paul Vallely investigates their fate, and asks whether this suspension of due process in the name of defending democracy can ever be justified"
News
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Weapons Searches May Have Sparked Attack
The US and Britain are in a double-bind: If they search houses for weapons they receive angry, perhaps murderous responses; if they allow weapons to stockpile they face guerilla assaults and armed insurrection; its a no-win, no way situation.
Weapons Searches May Have Sparked Attack
In the light of the increasingly dangerous and unsavory Iraq situation, there are emerging calls in Britain and elsewhere to bring home the troops [another Vietnam resonance]; see article in today's Guardian=
Bring the British troops home
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Weapons Reports Called Lacking
New US commanding general admits that Iraqi weapons intelligence was defective. Excerpt: "U.S. intelligence on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction was "perplexingly incomplete," Gen. John P. Abizaid, President Bush's nominee to head the U.S. Central Command, told a Senate committee Wednesday.
"Intelligence was the most accurate that I've ever seen on the tactical level, probably the best I've ever seen on the operational level, and perplexingly incomplete on the strategic level with regard to weapons of mass destruction," Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee."
Weapons Reports Called Lacking
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Agency Disputes C.I.A. View of Trailers as Iraqi Weapons Labs
There's now a dispute between the CIA and State over whether the Iraqi trailer labs that Bush insisted were the WMD really are, at stake Bush's word [not worth too much in fact after 1001 mistatements on Iraq]
Agency Disputes C.I.A. View of Trailers as Iraqi Weapons Labs
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Big Media's Silence
Bill Safire keeps after Big Media and FCC, criticizing the media for failing to discuss the implications of FCC policy and praising Congress for going forward with bill that would override FCC give-away
Big Media's Silence
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Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US 'unprepared for postwar Iraq'
Critiques are starting to emerge of how woefully unprepared US was for Iraq postwar occupation; yesterday from Tom Friedman, today from former US ambassador who had been overseeing Iraq's industry ministry; it was the same problem in Afghanistan, the military dominated the postwar phase and reconstruction took a second seat, indeed there were no real plans for the latter
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US 'unprepared for postwar Iraq'
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Wednesday, June 25, 2003
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Vietnam War Terms Make a Comeback
we're back to Vietnam with Iraqi guerrilla war against the US, counterinsurgency plans, search and destroy missions, a growing "credibility gap" and, yes, a big messy quagmire
Vietnam War Terms Make a Comeback
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High Security
There's been a lot of reporting on Iraqi sabotoging of oil, power plant and other facilities that US corporations like halliburton are supposed to rebuild. This article notes that Bechtal has subcontracted about one security employee for every two they have in the field, so that expenses to the US taxpayer are funding an explosion of security firms; in other words, a tremendous amount of reconstruction money goes to security personnel and corporations like Halliburton that one report this week claims have already scammed a cool $800 million for the debacle. As this article reports, some US Congressmen are starting to looking into this scandal
High Security
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Tuesday, June 24, 2003
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washingtonpost.com: Inexperienced Hands Guide Iraq Rebuilding
The Blame Game is off and running as Bush administration officials attack Pentagon incompetency for Iraq debacle, in fact neither Bushies or Pentagon had a viable plan for governing Iraq so blamed should be shared
washingtonpost.com: Inexperienced Hands Guide Iraq Rebuilding
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washingtonpost.com: Embedded Reporter's Role In Army Unit's Actions Questioned by Military
Another big New York Times scandal, its reporter Judith Miller allegedly played go-between between neocon darling Chalabi and Pentagon and evidently overstepped her boundaries in involving herself in military affairs to get scoops. What the article doesn't spell out is the real scandal, i.e. that Miller for years has been a propaganda source for Chalabi and the INC and one of the sources for the now dicey claims concerning Iraq's WMD threats to US. Miller has constantly hyped these threats and been mouthpiece for INC and Bush neocons, this is really a scandal for the Times!
washingtonpost.com: Embedded Reporter's Role In Army Unit's Actions Questioned by Military
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Bad Planning
We often critique Tom Friedman on blogleft but this time he is right, the scandal of Iraq is not so much not finding WMD but not having a plan to govern postwar Iraq. Friedman, however, like the WP article we cite above, blames the Pentagon for the "bad planning" but obviously the Bush neocons are just as guilty. Actually the whole Iraq misadventure is a scandal, something Tom probably cannot yet admit....
Bad Planning
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6 British Soldiers Are Killed in Southern Iraq
Another disaster for Brit soldiers in southern Iraq
6 British Soldiers Are Killed in Southern Iraq: Excerpt: "Six British soldiers who died in southern Iraq on Tuesday were killed by ``hostile'' fire, a British military spokesman said.
The six were killed in the first of two separate attacks in which eight other British soldiers were wounded, three of them seriously, said British Army Capt. Dennis Abbott."
And a Nick Kristoff commentary from Basra in southern Iraq makes it appear that Shiite Islamicists have taken over in the south
See "Cover your hair"
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The Money Magnet
Bush campaign contributers know that Bush will steal from federal coffers to pay them back. Here's the scam: big contributers give money to Bush, he pays back with corporate favors and tax cuts, we get screwed, in effect paying for his scams....[in multiple ways...]. Bob Herbert points out how Bush is attracting the money but doesn't describe the whole system
The Money Magnet
Excerpt: "I'm sure there's no connection between fat-cat fund-raising and, say, federal tax policy. But there was some particularly interesting information about the Bush tax cuts in an article yesterday by The Times's David E. Rosenbaum. Citing data from a study by Citizens for Tax Justice, Mr. Rosenbaum pointed out that the richest 1 percent of Americans will get an average tax reduction of nearly $100,000 a year, while 'the tax relief most people will receive is quite meager.'
Half of all taxpayers will get a cut of less than $100 this year. By 2005, three-quarters will get less than $100."
Here's a more humorous way to make the same point=
http://www.incontemptcomics.com/061603.html
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Denial and Deception
Paul Krugman keeps up the fierce attack on Bush lies and deception and media silence and public apathy in the face thereof in commentary on
Denial and Deception
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washingtonpost.com: Syrian Border Guards Hurt in Convoy Attack
Now it turns out that in the raid to attack the supposed Saddam and Sons convoy last week the US fought with Syrian border guards. And the convoy occupants could have been thieves the US is now conceding; last night, ABC news said that locals were claiming they were sheep thieves not Saddam and Baath party officials, another blunder it appears for the occupying troops...
washingtonpost.com: Syrian Border Guards Hurt in Convoy Attack
Here's another article on how the
Attack of Iraqi convoy and homes breeds anger
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Eight British soldiers injured in Iraqi gun attack
It's messy and dangerous for Brits too in Iraq
News
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Monday, June 23, 2003
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The Mideast: Neocons on the Line
There are growing criticisms of the neocons even in the mainstream media; Wolfowitz's has looked especially bad on TV over the past couple of weeks but this "critique" is generally sympathetic to him. While the author refers to a Bush group of "the Brightest and the Best" (referring back to JFK's Harvard boys) I prefer to see the Bush neocons as the Stupidest and the Worst
The Mideast: Neocons on the Line
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Sunday, June 22, 2003
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Observer | Dangerous liasons
It's dangerous for reporters in Iraq. A UK journalist tells of confrontation with US troops last week; see
Observer | Dangerous liasons
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President's tumble off a Segway seems a tiny bit suspicious
 Funny piece on the Bush "conspiracy" to block new electronic transport for unsustainable oil profits -- the punchline: he just couldn't be this bumbling and dumb...
Via: USA Today
Over the weekend, while on vacation, Bush looked like Chevy Chase doing a Gerald Ford imitation as he stepped onto the platform of a Segway personal transportation scooter and went flying right off.
The first U.S. president to try a Segway supposedly forgot to turn it on, so the gyroscopic stabilizers couldn't automatically balance him.
But maybe Bush wanted to fall. Maybe he understands in a way few do that society is on the verge of a debate that could mold the future of transportation, much like the debate 100 years ago when cars first suggested that horses weren't the only way to travel....The conspiracy theory is bolstered by this: It's nearly impossible to fall off a Segway....
The Segway is powered by a rechargeable electric motor. A Seattle owner who commutes on his Segway and keeps a Web journal (www.bookofseg.com) says it costs him $1 a month to charge.
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The Washington Post has published a large number of critical articles on Iraq the past couple of days when the blog was down; here are some samples from their Iraq page. I note increasingly critical articles on every aspect of Bush's Iraq occupation in major newspapers. Here is source of stories below=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/world/mideast/gulf/iraq/
Pipeline Explodes West of Baghdad
An oil pipeline exploded and caught fire west of Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military said, and flames were seen reaching high into the sky.
Where's Saddam?
The whereabouts of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein are the subject of intense discussion, gossip and rumor among his former citizens.
----------
From The Post
Report Cast Doubt on Iraq-Al Qaeda Connection (Post, June 22, 2003)
Democratic Party Is in Search/Replace Mode: Unified Message, Strong Nominee Are Elusive (Post, June 22, 2003)
We're Getting In Our Own Way (Post, June 22, 2003)
Blix Downgrades Prewar Assessment of Iraqi Weapons (Post, June 22, 2003)
Policing of Iraq to Stay U.S. Job (Post, June 22, 2003)
Attacks In Iraq Traced to Network: Resistance to U.S. Is Loosely Organized (Post, June 22, 2003)
Bush Blames Recent Deaths in Iraq on 'Old Regime' (Post, June 22, 2003)
Aide Says Hussein, Sons Survived War (Post, June 21, 2003)
Soldier Recalled for His Smile: Kensington High Graduate Killed in Explosion in Iraq (Post, June 21, 2003)
Looters Stole 6,000 Artifacts: Number Expected to Rise as Officials Take Inventory in Iraq (Post, June 21, 2003)
Uranium at Iraqi Plant Is Secured, Diplomats Say (Post, June 21, 2003)
Rocket-Propelled Grenade Injures Two Soldiers: Destroys Power Transformer in Fallujah (AP, June 20, 2003; 12:48 PM)
Rumsfeld Comments Inspire District's Ire (Post, June 20, 2003)
Rising U.S. Death Toll In Iraq Spurs Concern: 9 Soldiers Killed in Attacks This Month (Post, June 20, 2003)
Family Mourns Young Marine: Arlington Buries Teen Casualty Of War in Iraq (Post, June 20, 2003)
U.S. Troops Frustrated in Iraq: Soldiers Say They Are Ill-Prepared For Peacekeeping (Post, June 20, 2003)
An Ace and Real Diamonds, Too: Tips Led U.S. Soldiers To Hussein Aide, Cache Of $8 Million and Jewels (Post, June 20, 2003)
Thefts Plague U.S. Contractors' Efforts in Iraq: Security Issues Delay Rebuilding (Post, June 20, 2003)
U.S. Soldier Killed in Rocket-Propelled Grenade Attack in Iraq (AP, June 19, 2003; 6:10 PM)
Mortar Hits Coalition Office in Iraq: 1 Iraqi Killed, 12 Injured in Samarra (AP, June 19, 2003; 6:53 AM)
Lawmakers Begin Iraq Intelligence Hearings: White House Continues To Defend War Decision (Post, June 19, 2003)
Frustration and Foreboding in Fallujah: For Men at Mosque, U.S. Occupation Is Focus of Anger and Reflection of Unmet Expectations (Post, June 19, 2003)
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New Documents Reveal Bush was cooking information in Speeches
Another report exposes specious claims that Bush made about Iraq/al Qaeda connections. This is a growing genre, well-developing in the UK, starting up here; I predict a major journalist and blogging growth industry in exposing Bush lies=
Report Cast Doubt on Iraq-Al Qaeda Connection
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Iraq is a growing mess
Since the blogger went down yesterday as BloggerPro introduced a new system, Iraq has just gotten messier and messier. Here's the latest=
US Soldier Dies in Grenade attack; Pipeline explodes
Powerless Iraqis rail against ignorant, air-conditioned US occupation force
Over the last couple of days, the New York Times has had especially strong coverage, here are some examples from their iraq section=
Foreign Fighters Add to Resistance in Iraq, U.S. Says
By MICHAEL R. GORDON with DOUGLAS JEHL
Militants from abroad are being actively recruited to join the resistance against American forces in Iraq, posing a new challenge to efforts to stabilize the country.
• Oil Pipeline Explodes West of Baghdad
• U.S. Soldier Is Killed South of Baghdad (9:47 AM ET)
• Complete Coverage: After the War
Bush Says Hussein Loyalists Cause Soldier Deaths
By THOM SHANKER and DAVID E. SANGER
President Bush said that remnants of the ousted government were trying to "kill and intimidate" American soldiers in Iraq.
• Balancing Duty to Family and Nation
• Dark Shadow of Hussein Still Looms Large
2,000 at Rally Demand Islamic Supervision of Elections
By PATRICK TYLER
Shiite demonstrators called for American and British occupation authorities to allow elections under Islamic supervision for the formation of a national government
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Friday, June 20, 2003
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Thursday, June 19, 2003
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Hussein Is Probably Alive in Iraq, U.S. Experts Say, Citing Intercepts
Few commentators have made the obvious point that US security is endangered by having Saddam Hussein and his boys and inner circle alive, with billions of dollars, and big-time revenge on their minds, and it appears that US is conceding that Saddam is alive and plotting...
Hussein Is Probably Alive in Iraq, U.S. Experts Say, Citing Intercepts
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The Selling of the Iraq War
New Republic cover story on The First Casuality, the Selling of the Iraq War
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Excellent Year for Executives (washingtonpost.com)
As job loss under Bush passes 2.5 million and many suffer, CEO compensation shoots up, this is life under Bush and Cheney, the rich get richer and the rest get shafted
Excellent Year for Executives (washingtonpost.com)
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Lawmakers Begin Iraq Intelligence Hearings
Will this be new Watergate? Excerpt: "The House and Senate intelligence committees began closed-door hearings yesterday on the intelligence that provided the basis for the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, as President Bush and his top policymakers continued to defend their decision to go to war despite the continuing failure to find chemical or biological weapons or indications of a reconstituted nuclear arms program in Iraq.
Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House panel, said after yesterday's session that "the credibility of the intelligence community is at issue here" because the public has raised questions "about whether the [Bush] administration accurately portrayed the intelligence case regarding Iraq's WMD [weapons of mass destruction] and ties to al Qaeda and other non-indigenous terrorist groups."
The House panel heard several intelligence officers provide background on the October 2002 national intelligence estimate on Iraq's weapons programs and answer questions about how certain conclusions in that estimate were reached, administration and congressional sources said. Today the panel will hear from intelligence operations officers on the search for weapons, the sources said.
The Senate committee spent its session trying to work out details of how it will proceed. Both committees' hearings may continue through the summer."
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Report by the E.P.A. Leaves Out Data on Climate Change
The Bush administration follows procedures of Orwell's 1984 in rewriting history and science to meet their political agenda, in this case wiping out information on climate change
Report by the E.P.A. Leaves Out Data on Climate Change
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Wednesday, June 18, 2003
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Salon.com News | The hyping of Saddam's WMD and Campaign for Congressional Investigation of Bush Iraq policy
Jake Tapper keeps after Bush's prevaracations on WMD
Salon.com News | The hyping of Saddam's WMD
There has also been a move for Activist groups to step up the heat on WMD
Apart from MoveOn, other groups like TrueMajority.org and Win Without War are also redoubling efforts to pressure Congress to hold an inquiry in to the so-called evidence that constituted Bush's case for war. Thanks to their efforts, Congress has reportedly received nearly 100,000 emails within 24 hours. You can find more info about their campaigns on their respective websites.
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Salon.com News | Bush's 9/11 coverup?
Relatives of 9/11 tragedy accuse Bush administration of coverup, of failure to investigate what actually happened
Salon.com News | Bush's 9/11 coverup?
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US troops 'used excessive force' at Fallujah protest
US troops in a double bind: If they don't maintain forceful law and order, anarchy reigns; if they are too forceful they breed resentment and retaliation; US occupation of Iraq is a difiicult if not impossible project under current conditions
News
And More shootings of US troops
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Tuesday, June 17, 2003
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Exposed: Blair, Iraq and the great deception
Blair's Great Iraq Deception is attacked by British MPs there are several other good stories and commentaries on Bush, Blair and CIA Iraq deception in today's London Independent
News
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Dereliction of Duty
Paul Krugman again hits Bush administration on security policy, a big vulnerability that most Dems refuse to critique; the fact is Bush makes us more insecure in every way and has been ineffective and reckless on terrorism; cynics claim, in fact, that Bush needs terror and fear so that people do not look at his pathetic record as president and utter inadequacy
Dereliction of Duty
Excerpt: "Last Thursday a House subcommittee met to finalize next year's homeland security appropriation. The ranking Democrat announced that he would introduce an amendment adding roughly $1 billion for areas like port security and border security that, according to just about every expert, have been severely neglected since Sept. 11. He proposed to pay for the additions by slightly scaling back tax cuts for people making more than $1 million per year.
The subcommittee's chairman promptly closed the meeting to the public, citing national security — though no classified material was under discussion. And the bill that emerged from the closed meeting did not contain the extra funding.
It was a perfect symbol of the reality of the Bush administration's "war on terror." Behind the rhetoric — and behind the veil of secrecy, invoked in the name of national security but actually used to prevent public scrutiny — lies a pattern of neglect, of refusal to take crucial actions to protect us from terrorists. Actual counterterrorism, it seems, doesn't fit the administration's agenda."
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A Broken Body, a Broken Story, Pieced Together
Jessica Lynch story, one of the Pentagon's great propaganda spectaculars during the Iraq war, continues: "Investigation Reveals Lynch -- Still in Hospital After 67 Days -- Suffered Bone-Crushing Injuries in Crash During Ambush"
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Monday, June 16, 2003
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Regulate the F.C.C.
William Safire tells Congress to step up to the plate and block the horrendous FCC deregulation give-away to the big media conglomerates brought to you by Michael Powell and the rightwing FCC commissioners who are in the pockets of the big media companies
Regulate the F.C.C.
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To Interview Former P.O.W., CBS Dangles Stardom
This is an interesting story about how media conglomerates like CBS/Viacom use their full aresneal of media outlets to entice people like Jessica Lynch into doing a news story; it also shows blurring of lines between entertainment and news in today's media culture; the article does not, however, mention how the Pentagon itself produced the Jessica Lynch spectacle, will CBS deconstruct it?
To Interview Former P.O.W., CBS Dangles Stardom
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Sunday, June 15, 2003
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Iraq 'has three weeks to avoid falling into chaos'
Prominent Iraqi politician criticizes US occupation policy and worries that Iraq is falling into chaos
News
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Former Aide Takes Aim at War on Terror
More defectors from Bush administration, this an NSC aide protesting Bush terror war policy, arguing that Bush is making us more unsafe
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62941-2003Jun15.html?nav=hptop_tb&nav=hptop_ts
Intelligence veteran Rand Beers quit Bush administration in protest against its policies and has joined the Kerry campaign as security advisor. In this excerpt he criticizes poor policies of Bush administration on terrorism and the mistake of an Iraq focus away from terror: "
In a series of interviews, Beers, 60, critiqued Bush's war on terrorism. He is a man in transition, alternately reluctant about and empowered by his criticism of the government. After 35 years of issuing measured statements from inside intelligence circles, he speaks more like a public servant than a public figure. Much of what he knows is classified and cannot be discussed. Nevertheless, Beers will say that the administration is "underestimating the enemy." It has failed to address the root causes of terror, he said. "The difficult, long-term issues both at home and abroad have been avoided, neglected or shortchanged and generally underfunded."
The focus on Iraq has robbed domestic security of manpower, brainpower and money, he said. The Iraq war created fissures in the United States' counterterrorism alliances, he said, and could breed a new generation of al Qaeda recruits. Many of his government colleagues, he said, thought Iraq was an "ill-conceived and poorly executed strategy."
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Villagers enraged and baffled by American show of force
Another account of botched US operation and growing Iraqi anger; see
News
Excerpt: "US troops accused of indiscriminate use of firepower in countering guerrilla attacks." See also the report near the bottome of Nasiriyah slaughter: "At least 1,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah during the US invasion, according to new estimates by doctors and human rights groups.
Although Nasiriyah saw the heaviest fighting of the war, such high figures from this one city suggest the civilian toll throughout Iraq - estimated by the Associated Press agency as at least 3,240 - could prove to be much higher than was thought.
Nasiriyah's largest hospital recorded more than 600 deaths directly related to the fighting and treated over 3,000 people for injuries. "Most of them were civilians," said the hospital director, Dr Kamal Ali, but he did not deny some military personnel had been treated there.
For the whole city, with a population of about 350,000, the death toll could be well over 1,000, Dr Ali said. Other smaller hospitals were similarly inundated with casualties, he explained, and many of those killed would have been quickly buried, in accordance with Muslim tradition.
An Iraqi group called the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (Civic), which is trying to compile a total for the entire country, has come up with similar figures. Its researchers believe 1,117 people died in Nasiriyah as a result of the fighting, the vast majority civilians. This compares to an AP estimate of 1,896 civilian deaths in Baghdad - a city some 14 times larger.
More than 30 American troops were killed during the battle for Nasiriyah."
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If Bush Is Lying, He's Not the First (washingtonpost.com)
David Wise, author of "The Politics of Lying" contextualizes Bush administration lies in the context of recent presidential lying. While he documents a series of Bush whoppers, he fails to make the point that Bush is the most mendacious president in modern times and that his administration systematically uses lying as public discourse, as in their selling their give-away to the rich tax policies and Iraq war. For instance, Bush mendaciously calls his "Windfall for the Wealthy" tax cuts a "Jobs and Growth" act which it is not; as for Iraq lies, we've documented these daily but the cockiness with which Bush claimed that "we've found the weapons" in his Polish TV interview when in fact no one was sure what the mobile labs in question were used for shows Bush's propensity to shoot off the hip, and shoot himself in the foot; it is amazing he gets away with this so often....
If Bush Is Lying, He's Not the First (washingtonpost.com)
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Tehran rocked by protests as students take to the streets
Students on the move in Iraq as repression mounts
News Excerpt: "Iran's clerical leaders are facing pressure from both inside and outside the country after days of increasingly violent student protests on the streets of Tehran and a growing campaign by Washington to destabilise and possibly even overthrow the government."
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Clare Short: Acting as Mr BushBlair's support for America on the Iraq war has left us marginalised where it m's figleaf has been a tragedy for Britain
Short sticks it to Blair again, saying that Blair's support for America on the Iraq war has left us marginalised where it matters
Argument
French defense minister attacks Rumsfeld accusing him of economic and military imperialism
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Saturday, June 14, 2003
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Nasa gives go-ahead for nuclear mission to outer planets
Part of Rumsfeld's (mad) vision is for the US to achieve ultimate surpremecy through nuclear weapons and now we see nuclear-propelled spacecraft in outer space. Sane people see putting nukes in space as lunacy, consider a nuclear-saturated Columbia and Challenger exploding on take-off or entry.
Excerpt: "An ambitious and controversial mission to explore the other planets of the solar system using nuclear-powered spacecraft has come a step closer after Nasa gave a giant aerospace company the go-ahead to develop revolutionary new engines".
News
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As U.S. Fans Out in Iraq, Violence and Death on Rise
Fighting in Iraq turns bloody and vicious, Bush said the war is over, once again he's dead wrong. Excerpt: "Tonight, an official with the United States military command in Iraq said the report of the attack was wrong, and that seven people died. There was no elaboration of what happened in the village, where residents say five family members were killed by "indiscriminate" fire.
"This is our fortune," said Mr. Jassim. "First we were persecuted by Saddam Hussein, and now by the Americans."
Military officials in Baghdad and at the United State Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla., said they had no additional information on the attack. A spokesman said "sometimes the numbers do vary" in reports of military action from the field, and he added that counting up Iraqi casualties in such an operation is "just not significant information."
In London today, a British-American research group said that estimates of civilian deaths in Iraq since the war began were from 5,534 to 7,207.
Ten miles north of here in Balad, 4,000 soldiers"
As U.S. Fans Out in Iraq, Violence and Death on Rise
And here's another good NYT article on The Next War
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/13/international/middleeast/13CND-GORD.html
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Democrats Split on Challenging Iraq Arms Hunt
The Dems cannot get it together to take on Bush administration for their botched and fradulent Iraq policy, this is really a disgrace. Last night I saw a hardhitting Bill Moyers PBS Now! show with quote after quote from Bush, Cheney, Rice, et al making totally specious allegations about Iraqi weapons programs that Moyers and his guests then demolished; there has never been more fradulent and mendacious political discourse in the US in modern times and if the Dems cannot take this on they should retire
Democrats Split on Challenging Iraq Arms Hunt
Hillary Clinton, however, calls for a Congressional Inquiry into Iraq
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Friday, June 13, 2003
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Covert Unit Hunted for Iraqi Arms (washingtonpost.com)
Interesting story that tells how Delta Force went into Iraq before war started to look for arms and carry out other missions and so far has found nothing; evidently, they thought they were on the trail of big arms finds, fuelling Bush optimism that smoking guns would be found; though they have come up empty some are claiming that possible computer and other evidence of big arms program may come to light; it is important to argue, however, that Iraq war was wrong not just because they didn't find WMD (they may) but for many, many other reasons
Covert Unit Hunted for Iraqi Arms (washingtonpost.com)
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Dozens of Iraqis killed in battles with US forces
Fighting heats up in Iraq as US troops again face organized resistance
News
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Blair ignored CIA warning over forged documents on Saddam's nuclear capability
Although the CIA warned the Brits about forged Iraqi arms documents, the Government still used intelligence months later to justify action against Iraq, another scandal for Blair leaks out
News
And Nicholas Kristoff gives a detailed account of extensive CIA knowledge of forged documents concerning Iraq nuclear program and apparently CIA chief never told the White House, or someone is lying;
White House in Denial
Conclusion: "It was well known throughout the intelligence community that it was a forgery," said Melvin Goodman, a former C.I.A. analyst who is now at the Center for International Policy.
Still, Mr. Tenet and the intelligence agencies were under intense pressure to come up with evidence against Iraq. Ambiguities were lost, and doubters were discouraged from speaking up.
"It was a foregone conclusion that every photo of a trailer truck would be a `mobile bioweapons lab' and every tanker truck would be `filled with weaponized anthrax,' " a former military intelligence officer said. "None of the analysts in military uniform had the option to debate the vice president, secretary of defense and the secretary of state."
I don't believe that the president deliberately lied to the public in an attempt to scare Americans into supporting his war. But it does look as if ideologues in the administration deceived themselves about Iraq's nuclear programs — and then deceived the American public as well."
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Thursday, June 12, 2003
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'Some Crazy Guy'
Paul Krugman goes after the Exterminator, Tom Delay; the fact that this nutcase is main man of the House shows how far right and dangerous the Bush administration is
'Some Crazy Guy'
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US threatens to boycott Belgium over war crimes law
The shameless Rumsfeld threatened the Belgians today, drop your war crimes lawsuits or US will not send officials to Belgium or support institutions like NATO; France and Germany justly criticized Bush administration today for staying out of International Criminal Court, Bush policy are a global disgrace and national embarassment
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US threatens to boycott Belgium over war crimes law
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The plot to kill Social Security
Ultimate aim of Bushonomics: kill social security. Salon article claims: "Bush's tax cuts won't do much to create jobs or boost economic growth, but they will bankrupt the nation's retirement program. That's the plan, anyway"
Salon.com Technology | The plot to kill Social Security
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CIA Did Not Share Doubt on Iraq Data
scandal over Bush use of bogus intelligence in State of the Union speech, did he know that day after day he was using shaky information or did he even care as long as he got his war?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/?LOAD_PAGE&reload=true
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Wednesday, June 11, 2003
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Dubya's Dayly Diary is back
From MadKane:
"Dubya's Dayly Diary is back. Here's an excerpt from my comeback entry:
Dubya's Dayly Diary
http://www.madkane.com/bush.html
June 9, 2003
Dear Diary -- I've been too busy wagin war, ta write here fer a real long time. But I'm in between wars right now, so I'll try ta catch up.
I'm just back from tourin too many countries ta count. And none of em compares ta the ranch -- which Chirac isn't gettin invited ta.
But I gave Vlad Putin a ranch invite, just ta rub that Frenchy's nose in it. Even though I'm none too pleased these days with Pootie Poot neither. But Condy said punishin Chirac'd work a whole lot better if I pretended ta forgive one of them old Europe types. And no way was I gonna pretend ta forgive Schroeder.
The rest is here:
http://www.madkane.com/bush.html
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The Return of Class War - Bush and the new tyranny of the rich. By Michael Kinsley
Good article on Bush's class war and how capitalism always trumps democracy under Bush [in fact, I would add that although Bush administration neocons claimed that Iraq adventure was to bring democracy to Iraq it was really to bring oil control to US and fat contracts for Halliburton and other Bush-Cheney connected corporations]
The Return of Class War - Bush and the new tyranny of the rich. By Michael Kinsley
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Report attacks Blair over Iraq intelligence
Another attack on Blair's manipulation of intelligence on Iraq, would such a hardhitting report ever appear in the US? Excerpt: "The Parliamentary watchdog responsible for security accused the Government yesterday of manipulating intelligence on Iraq while failing to provide political leadership for the war on terror.
In a hard-hitting annual report, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) censured Downing Street for publishing a dossier on Iraq's weapons in which security information was combined with a student's thesis that was taken from the internet."
News
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Tuesday, June 10, 2003
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Saddam is alive and offering bounty for US soldiers, says Chalabi
Obviously, the Bush administration had no plan to take out Saddam and may have even bargined for his escape, as many Iraqis believe, and US soldiers pay the price
News
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Yahoo! News - British Scientist Puts Odds for Apocalypse at 50-50
This study puts a frightening aura on biotechn and nanotech development, confirming positions of those like Bill Joy who argue that their developments must be carefully regulated and some things relinguished
Yahoo! News - British Scientist Puts Odds for Apocalypse at 50-50
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washingtonpost.com: AP Tallies 3,240 Civilian Deaths in Iraq
I've been on panels with UCLA professors and other academics who have stressed the low level of deaths in the Iraq invasion and here is another report that 1000s of civilians were killed; when you consider that US officials admitted that 1,000-2,000 Iraqi troops were killed in the initial foray into Baghdad and that the US dropped tons of bombs on Iraqis this was a vicious and bloody war, or rather high-tech massacre
washingtonpost.com: AP Tallies 3,240 Civilian Deaths in Iraq
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Report on 'unimposing' Saddam was suppressed
More headaches for Blair: "Downing Street is to come under fresh pressure this week to explain why an intelligence report, which said there was no proof that deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein posed a growing threat to the West, was suppressed."
Report on 'unimposing' Saddam was suppressed
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Who's Accountable?
Krugman hits the target once again. Excerpt: "The Bush and Blair administrations are trying to silence critics — many of them current or former intelligence analysts — who say that they exaggerated the threat from Iraq. Last week a Blair official accused Britain's intelligence agencies of plotting against the government. (Tony Blair's government has since apologized for January's "dodgy dossier.") In this country, Colin Powell has declared that questions about the justification for war are "outrageous."
Yet dishonest salesmanship has been the hallmark of the Bush administration's approach to domestic policy. And it has become increasingly clear that the selling of the war with Iraq was no different." Quite so.
Who's Accountable?
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Monday, June 09, 2003
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Spinning Iraq in Pictures
The link I posted earlier to this picture was apparently not working. This is from a Russian site that says the two photos claim to be in different towns. It's obviously the same Iraqi kissing the Americans. Even if its the same photo shoot, it goes to highlight how the media construct hegemonic images that can be taken as representative of reality.
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Opposition research seen as key by presidential rivals
Republican sharks circulating the waters to attack Dem candidates; can the Dems get it together to go after Bush gang?
Boston Globe Online: Print it!
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Sunday, June 08, 2003
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New Leak Casts Fresh Doubt on US Stand
Via: The Age
The Bush Administration pushed for war against Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction despite a secret Pentagon report that it did not have enough "reliable information" Iraq was amassing chemical weapons, a defence official said on Friday. A classified report by the Defence Intelligence Agency, leaked on Friday, said the agency did not have enough "reliable information" that Iraq had chemical weapons. News of the report adds to claims that the White House and the Pentagon slanted intelligence on Baghdad's weapons program to justify the war. No such weapons have been found since Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was ousted in April.
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Saturday, June 07, 2003
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washingtonpost.com: U.S. Sidelines Exiles Who Were To Govern Iraq
US is apparently dumping Chalabi and the Pentagon-backed Iraqi National Front which Rumsfeld et al were priming to govern Iraq; what few are saying is that precisely this group was heavily responsible for false information on Iraqi WMD
washingtonpost.com: U.S. Sidelines Exiles Who Were To Govern Iraq
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Wheels fall off the 'mobile labs' as doubts grow over evidence
The Independent continues to hammer Blair-Bush about their Iraq fraud. Excerpt: "This paper has, from the outset, consistently questioned the legality, morality and necessity of war with Iraq and has repeatedly called for firm evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. In this special report we examine the growing doubts over their existence:
Britain and America's case for war on Iraq - that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat to the world - came close to unravelling last week.
The claims of Tony Blair, George Bush and other senior British and American figures, powerfully made in numerous speeches and several dossiers, including the February presentation to the UN Security Council by Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, were undermined by a stream of contradictory evidence. This included the leak of a classified document in the US, the public comments of former intelligence officials, endorsed in private by their still-serving colleagues - and the testimony of Hans Blix, outgoing head of the UN weapons inspectors"
News
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Spies threaten Blair with 'smoking gun' over Iraq
The Brit story gets better and better, according to this story British "Intelligence officers are holding a 'smoking gun' which proves that they were subjected to a series of demands by Tony Blair's staff in the run-up to the Iraq war.
The officers are furious about the accusation levelled by the Leader of the Commons, John Reid, that "rogue elements" are at work in the security services. They fear they are being lined up to take the blame for faulty intelligence used to justify the Iraq war."
News
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British regret on war dossier
The Brits are about to admit, according to Observer story, "fundamental flaws" in their Iraqi WMD dossier and that it "undermined public trust" in government information. I doubt that the Bush administration would ever make such an admission, Bush himself is utterly incapable of self-critique
Observer | No 10 regret on war dossier
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An apparent crude attempt to bribe the GOP House leadership by a crumbling utility firm is exposed. Will the House investigate?
Here's a potential scandal described in Salon.com | Joe Conason's Journal
Excerpt: " How the Hammer's world really works
Today's Washington Post fronts a revealing story from the heartland that must be giving Republican leaders severe heartburn. Overshadowed until now by larger corporate scandals, the troubles of Westar Energy, largest electric utility in Kansas, have been largely ignored by the national media. In the Kansas City Star, however, the thieving executives of the state's largest electric utility have been making big headlines like this and that.
Much of the self-dealing by the Westar management will be all too familiar to anyone who has read about Enron, Tyco, and the other sinkholes of business morality. These Midwestern fatcats reportedly awarded themselves gigantic bonuses, built themselves a $6.6 million executive suite, flew themselves and their families around the country in the corporate jet without reimbursement, falsified records to cover their tracks. And if their own notations are to be believed, several of them participated in a scheme to bribe House Majority Leader Tom "the Hammer" DeLay and other prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The payoffs are described in e-mails from a Westar vice president to his associates that were discovered during an internal investigation of corporate wrongdoing by the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. The firm's voluminous report is now sitting on the desk of the United States Attorney in Wichita. (The e-mails are exhibits 236 and 237 on the page linked above.)
According to the e-mails, the Westar executives were seeking a special exemption from regulation under the Public Utility Holding Company Act regulation a year ago, when the House and Senate were marking up the Bush administration's energy bill. In order to get a "seat at the table" during the deliberations, the company would have to fork over $56,500 to several GOP campaign committees, including several linked to DeLay, his fellow Texan Joe Barton, House Energy Committee chairman Billy Tauzin of Louisiana and Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. The e-mail said that Tauzin, Barton and Shelby had all "requested" the contributions, but did not mention a specific request by DeLay. All of them insist – of course! -- that such donations had nothing to do with their actions on behalf of Westar."
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Missing Weapons Of Mass Destruction:Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense?
The Honorable John Dean weighs in on Iraqi WMD scandal; his conclusion is hard-hitting but he is somewhat naive not to grasp that lying has long been Bush's defining mode of discourse. Anyway, here's Dean's conclusion: "To put it bluntly, if Bush has taken Congress and the nation into war based on bogus information, he is cooked. Manipulation or deliberate misuse of national security intelligence data, if proven, could be "a high crime" under the Constitution's impeachment clause. It would also be a violation of federal criminal law, including the broad federal anti-conspiracy statute, which renders it a felony "to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose."
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030606.html
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Bush Certainty On Iraq Arms Went Beyond Analysts' Views (washingtonpost.com)
Bush himself probably was certain that Iraq had WMD during the lead-up period to the Iraq war; this points to dangers of a narcissist living in an ideological fantasy world in the presidency. Excerpt: "During the weeks last fall before critical votes in Congress and the United Nations on going to war in Iraq, senior administration officials, including President Bush, expressed certainty in public that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, even though U.S. intelligence agencies were reporting they had no direct evidence that such weapons existed.
In an example of the tenor of the administration's statements at the time, the president said in the Rose Garden on Sept. 26 that "the Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons. The Iraqi regime is building the facilities necessary to make more biological and chemical weapons."
But a Defense Intelligence Agency report on chemical weapons, widely distributed to administration policymakers around the time of the president's speech, stated there was "no reliable information on whether Iraq is producing or stockpiling chemical weapons or whether Iraq has or will establish its chemical agent production facilities."
Bush Certainty On Iraq Arms Went Beyond Analysts' Views (washingtonpost.com)
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Friday, June 06, 2003
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British Military resists sending more troops to Iraq 'quagmire'
the British military is having second thoughts about Blair's folly and worries rightly about getting caught up in Iraq "quagmire"; the request by US for British reinforcements to Baghdad is a sign of desperation as US military realizes it has pursued a totally botched unilateralist project and is stuck with the mess
News
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Some Analysts of Iraq Trailers Reject Germ Use
Another report exposes Bush mendacity: remember last week in the TV interview where Bush smirked and said that the WMD had been found with the discovery of the mobile trailers? well, another Bush lie is exposed, will this get media play or can Bush lie and lie and lie and no one cares?
Some Analysts of Iraq Trailers Reject Germ Use
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Health crisis looms over looted Iraqi nuclear plant
The US which was seemingly so concerned with Iraqi nuclear sites took weeks to inspect known sites which were looted and circulated dangerous material
News
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U.S. Secret Report Raises Questions Over Iraqi Weapons (washingtonpost.com)
Now the DIA is claiming that Bush administration and Pentagon slanted intelligence: "News of the classified September 2002 report by the Defense Intelligence Agency has added to claims the White House and Pentagon slanted U.S. intelligence on Baghdad's alleged weapons program to justify the war against Iraq."
U.S. Secret Report Raises Questions Over Iraqi Weapons (washingtonpost.com)
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Cloaks and Daggers
The War between the Spooks and Bush neocons heats up
Cloaks and Daggers
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Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly to 9-Year High
Unemployment continues to rise under Bushonomics: "-- The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 6.1 percent in May, the highest level in nine years, as businesses cut 17,000 jobs in a weak economy struggling toward recovery."
Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly to 9-Year High
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Top Intellectuals Try to Get EU organized to fight US Hegemony
Ronan Lynch sends from Ireland:
Hi Doug, this is an excerpt from the Irish Times, June 03, 2003: it's "premium
content" and inaccessible, but you might be able to follow it up through the
German/French papers. The article is by Denis Staunton, context is the meeting
earlier this week of the G8 crew.
"In a series of articles published simultaneously across the continent, such
figures as Jurgen Habermas, Jacques Derrida and Umberto Eco called on the EU
to establish a fully integrated foreign and security policy which would act as
a brake on American power.
Writing jointly in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine and the French daily
Liberation on Saturday, Habermas and Derrida suggested that the anti-war
demonstrations across Europe on February 15th marked an important moment in
the development of a European public consciousness. They interpret the
demonstrations - the largest Europe has seen since the end of the second World
War - as a popular response to the "declaration of loyalty" to Washington by
eight European leaders two weeks previously.
"There is no doubt that the power of feeling brought European citizens to
their feet. But the war also made Europeans aware of the failure of their
common policy, which had been ignored for so long," they wrote.
[....] For Habermas and Derrida, a European foreign policy should articulate
an alternative vision of co-operation and social justice. They believe that
February's anti-war demonstrations showed the potential for creating a
European public life and a political debate which can cross national
boundaries.
Although Habermas and Derrida are critical of US foreign policy, their
language is more restrained than that of the American philosopher Richard
Rorty. Writing in the Suddendeutsche Zeitung, he describes US policy as "a
disaster" and says that Europe must "save the world" by developing a new world
order.
"The EU will have to show the world a vision for the future that Washington
will respond to with scorn. It will have to make proposals for the reform of
the UN charter and the leading role of the UN in a worldwide nuclear
disarmament programme. It will have to dream dreams that will seem absurd to
the advocates of realpolitik (italicized)," he writes.
Check www.ireland.com for archives.
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Duped and Betrayed
Betrayals in the Bush tax bill; Paul Krugman commentary:
Duped and Betrayed
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Wednesday, June 04, 2003
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washingtonpost.com: Analysts Cite Pressure on Iraq Judgments
Cheney made multiple visits to CIA headquarters, pressuring analysts to slant intelligence; the background story is that Cheney was desperate for a war to get Halliburton contracts to keep its stock up as his CEO incompetency created major stock decline, stockholders lawsuits etc. This is one of the most shameful episodes in recent US history and the media have avoided the story like poison, maybe this is a start
washingtonpost.com: Analysts Cite Pressure on Iraq Judgments
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Times Online:The imams have replaced Saddam in stifling basic freedoms, residents claim
The Shia are on the move in Iraq as Radical Islam starts to fill iraq's power vaccuum; see Times Online
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Tuesday, June 03, 2003
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Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | A bold stride along the road to peace - or a footnote in history?
Naive George swaggers and smirks into the Middle East
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | A bold stride along the road to peace - or a footnote in history?
And the unscripted Bush tells off Israel, really. Excerpt: "George Bush served notice on Israel yesterday that it must evacuate Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The US President gave the warning at a gathering with Arab leaders in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh.
"Israel has got responsibilities. Israel must deal with the settlements. Israel must make sure there is a continuous territory that the Palestinians can call home," Mr Bush said"
Bush tells Israel to abandon West Bank settlements
Let's hope that Sharon kowtows to Boss Bush. But don't hold your breath.
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Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Evian summit proves increasingly flat
Yesterday I posted a New York Times report on the anti-G8 demos that basically described acts of violence without noting who was demonstrating against what and why; this account, by contrast, provides a sympathetic account of anti-G8 protests, noting large variety of issues and demonstrators and that most were peaceful and serious
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Evian summit proves increasingly flat
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Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iraq memorial
The New York Times won kudos and prizes for its memorials to those who died in the 9/11 terror acts; The British Guardian is noblely providing memorials to those who died in the Iraq war
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iraq memorial
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Standard Operating Procedure
Here's a hardhitting and spot-on Op Ed piece by Paul Krugman arguing that lying is "SOP" for Bush administration. Excerpt: "In Britain, the news media have not been shy about drawing the obvious implications, and the outrage has not been limited to war opponents. The Times of London was ardently pro-war; nonetheless, it ran an analysis under the headline "Lie Another Day." The paper drew parallels between the selling of the war and other misleading claims: "The government is seen as having `spun' the threat from Saddam's weapons just as it spins everything else."
Yet few have made the same argument in this country, even though "spin" is far too mild a word for what the Bush administration does, all the time. Suggestions that the public was manipulated into supporting an Iraq war gain credibility from the fact that misrepresentation and deception are standard operating procedure for this administration, which — to an extent never before seen in U.S. history — systematically and brazenly distorts the facts.
Am I exaggerating? Even as George Bush stunned reporters by declaring that we have "found the weapons of mass destruction," the Republican National Committee declared that the latest tax cut benefits "everyone who pays taxes." That is simply a lie. You've heard about those eight million children denied any tax break by a last-minute switcheroo. In total, 50 million American households — including a majority of those with members over 65 — get nothing; another 20 million receive less than $100 each. And a great majority of those left behind do pay taxes.
And the bald-faced misrepresentation of an elitist tax cut offering little or nothing to most Americans is only the latest in a long string of blatant misstatements. Misleading the public has been a consistent strategy for the Bush team on issues ranging from tax policy and Social Security reform to energy and the environment. So why should we give the administration the benefit of the doubt on foreign policy?
It's long past time for this administration to be held accountable. Over the last two years we've become accustomed to the pattern. Each time the administration comes up with another whopper, partisan supporters — a group that includes a large segment of the news media — obediently insist that black is white and up is down. Meanwhile the "liberal" media report only that some people say that black is black and up is up. And some Democratic politicians offer the administration invaluable cover by making excuses and playing down the extent of the lies.
If this same lack of accountability extends to matters of war and peace, we're in very deep trouble. The British seem to understand this: Max Hastings, the veteran war correspondent — who supported Britain's participation in the war — writes that "the prime minister committed British troops and sacrificed British lives on the basis of a deceit, and it stinks."
Standard Operating Procedure
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Bush Sticks to the Broad Strokes
Bush is basically detached from complex Middle East issues: "he has shown little interest in the details of the complex disputes in the region and remains skeptical of intervening deeply in the negotiating process." Probably another chance for peace between Israel and Palestine will be blown....
washingtonpost.com: Bush Sticks to the Broad Strokes
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Monday, June 02, 2003
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Sunday, June 01, 2003
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Bush: 'We Found' Banned Weapons ; Blair has "secret proof" of Weapons
The brazen Bush in full smirk mode tells interviewers that "we found 'em," that the alleged portable weapons labs [with no trace of weapons] ARE the WMD!
Bush: 'We Found' Banned Weapons (washingtonpost.com)
Blair, meanwhile claims he has "secret proof of weapons, setting him up for further embarassment if he doesn't produce and soon as growing pressure mounts on him to deliver; documented in today's Sunday Observer= The WMD debate
"Weapons: a question of trust
Leader: The PM must justify the faith that so many had in him. (1 June 2003)
"Blair: I have secret proof of weapons
Prime Minister Tony Blair last night insisted he had secret proof that weapons of mass destruction will be found in Iraq.(1 June 2003)
"When spies meet spin...
Focus: Claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction are at the heart of a ferocious political debate. Were we misled? (1 June 2003)
What the experts say now
Will the weapons be found? Did they exist? (1 June 2003)
These stories are available at http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/0,12239,753696,00.html
It is interesting that there is a hot debate in England and throughout the world concerning whether the WMD exist or whether the whole war was a fraud while this story has not really broken in US, although Saturday CBS News had a report on the story and controversy. See also today's London Independent story "Revealed: How Blair used discredited WMD 'evidence'"
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Observer | Revealed: the cluster bombs that litter Iraq
The extent of cluster bomb use by UK and US, even in civilian areas where they are supposed to be banned, is being revealed; the war on Iraq is revealed daily as ever more dirty and embarassing for the occupiers
Observer | Revealed: the cluster bombs that litter Iraq
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