United Press International: Senate: Iraq intelligence was faulty
Now questions are being asked about why Senate democrats were so eager to endorse the intelligence report when it did not deal with the pressure issue from the White House.
I think I know why.
Here's the key quote -- "'We in Congress would not have authorized that war ... if we knew what we know now,' said Sen. John Rockefeller, democrat, to the news conference.
Basically, the Senate democrats could hardly wait to endorse a report which took them off the hook for their pro-war votes. In the end, it did not matter to Congress whether the Bush administration pressured the CIA to inflate intelligence; this is an issue which would only affect whether voters support Bush or not in November. No, what mattered to the Senate democrats was finding their own political cover for their own reelection campaigns.
*one of my favourite lines from Blazing Saddles
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Nice reach, George
Bush skips NAACP meet due to hostile comments So Bush wants to "reach out" to African-Americans -- but won't speak at their convention because they have said mean things about him.
Another president, you know, might actually respect an organization like the NAACP, and might decide to explain his point of view and maybe win them over. But not Good Ole Gutless George -- reading My Pet Goat to grade schoolers is about as hostile an audience as he ever wants to deal with.
Another president, you know, might actually respect an organization like the NAACP, and might decide to explain his point of view and maybe win them over. But not Good Ole Gutless George -- reading My Pet Goat to grade schoolers is about as hostile an audience as he ever wants to deal with.
Friday, July 09, 2004
A "reality show" I like
Now, we almost never watch all of the reality shows on TV these days -- which relegates us to reruns of CSI and Law & Order this summer. But here is a reality show I could like.
The best ball player in the world today
is Derek Jeter.
He's what my daughter's softball coach described as an "impact" player -- someone who, when the chips are down, can be counted on to come through. He doesn't always hit or field perfectly, of course, but when his team needs him he creates the opportunity for the team to win. Derek Jeter's top 10 clutch moments Its a joy to read, just to relive all those great baseball moments.
He's what my daughter's softball coach described as an "impact" player -- someone who, when the chips are down, can be counted on to come through. He doesn't always hit or field perfectly, of course, but when his team needs him he creates the opportunity for the team to win. Derek Jeter's top 10 clutch moments Its a joy to read, just to relive all those great baseball moments.
It's ALWAYS the staff's fault
Report: CIA Gave False Info on Iraq
Poor Bush and poor Cheney, just a couple of good ole boys, poor country bumpkins really, so badly misled by their staff. Why, don't you remember all those speeches from Tenent and his analysts promoting the war? All that terrible pressure they were bringing onto Bush and Cheney and Rice in 2002 and 2003 to be more agressive against Iraq, saying all the time that containment wouldn't work, that war was the only answer? Don 't you remember all that?
One thing that staff in a government bureaucracy must remember at all times -- whenever anything goes wrong, its ALWAYS the staff's fault in the end. And when it goes spectacularly wrong, as it has in Iraq, then the blame is spectacular, too.
Politicians almost always try to save themselves by blaming their staff. No matter that Cheney and Gingrich made innumerable trips to Langley to yell at the analysts who didn't evaluate intelligence to their liking -- no matter that Rumsfeld set up his own baby CIA "Office of Special Plans" to stovepipe defector stories directly to the President, no matter that the CIA and State analysts said over and over and over that Iraq could be handled by containment, that the tubes were for industry, that there was no evidence that Iraq was trying to import yellowcake. Nope, before the war, the analysts were all wet.
So, to save their miserable jobs, the analysts finally caved -- well OK, maybe you're right, I guess maybe the intelligence could be interpreted that way. . . -- and now, kaboom, the whole war is their fault, and their careers are over anyway.
Well, those who live by the sword die by the sword.
There will be a lot of lessons learned from the Iraq war, many unintentional.
And not the least will be, by bureaucrats, that they MUST NOT give in to political pressure to distort their results. If they lose their backbone, as the CIA analysts did, then they have failed the public which pays their salaries. Politicians come and go, but the staff stays. They work for the pubic, not for the politicians, so their public trust is to maintain the standards of their profession. So, in that sense at least, they actually were to blame.
Poor Bush and poor Cheney, just a couple of good ole boys, poor country bumpkins really, so badly misled by their staff. Why, don't you remember all those speeches from Tenent and his analysts promoting the war? All that terrible pressure they were bringing onto Bush and Cheney and Rice in 2002 and 2003 to be more agressive against Iraq, saying all the time that containment wouldn't work, that war was the only answer? Don 't you remember all that?
One thing that staff in a government bureaucracy must remember at all times -- whenever anything goes wrong, its ALWAYS the staff's fault in the end. And when it goes spectacularly wrong, as it has in Iraq, then the blame is spectacular, too.
Politicians almost always try to save themselves by blaming their staff. No matter that Cheney and Gingrich made innumerable trips to Langley to yell at the analysts who didn't evaluate intelligence to their liking -- no matter that Rumsfeld set up his own baby CIA "Office of Special Plans" to stovepipe defector stories directly to the President, no matter that the CIA and State analysts said over and over and over that Iraq could be handled by containment, that the tubes were for industry, that there was no evidence that Iraq was trying to import yellowcake. Nope, before the war, the analysts were all wet.
So, to save their miserable jobs, the analysts finally caved -- well OK, maybe you're right, I guess maybe the intelligence could be interpreted that way. . . -- and now, kaboom, the whole war is their fault, and their careers are over anyway.
Well, those who live by the sword die by the sword.
There will be a lot of lessons learned from the Iraq war, many unintentional.
And not the least will be, by bureaucrats, that they MUST NOT give in to political pressure to distort their results. If they lose their backbone, as the CIA analysts did, then they have failed the public which pays their salaries. Politicians come and go, but the staff stays. They work for the pubic, not for the politicians, so their public trust is to maintain the standards of their profession. So, in that sense at least, they actually were to blame.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
No wonder
Pentagon Says Bush Records of Service Were Destroyed
No wonder the world is full of conspiracy theories these days.
Now, the particular set of destroyed records, according to the story, only cover payroll records for three of the eight to 12 months for which Bush's service records are in question.
But when records disappear, its no wonder there are theories about why.
No wonder the world is full of conspiracy theories these days.
Now, the particular set of destroyed records, according to the story, only cover payroll records for three of the eight to 12 months for which Bush's service records are in question.
But when records disappear, its no wonder there are theories about why.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Well, its over
U.S. Pilot Fined for Killing Canadian Soldiers
But this leaves a sour taste -- so at least he won't be flying again, and at least the general said he "acted shamefully on April 17, 2002 over Tarnak Farms, Afghanistan, exhibiting arrogance and a lack of flight discipline" but four Canadian boys are still dead and he's paying a fine of $1,418 per.
I guess what galls is that he is STILL whining -- he has never shown remorse, and acknowledged that his cowboy attitude was wrong - at least the other pilot resigned voluntarily.
But this leaves a sour taste -- so at least he won't be flying again, and at least the general said he "acted shamefully on April 17, 2002 over Tarnak Farms, Afghanistan, exhibiting arrogance and a lack of flight discipline" but four Canadian boys are still dead and he's paying a fine of $1,418 per.
I guess what galls is that he is STILL whining -- he has never shown remorse, and acknowledged that his cowboy attitude was wrong - at least the other pilot resigned voluntarily.
It's John-John
Kerry picks Edwards as VP candidate
This is great news -- Edwards brings his youth and energy to the ticket.
And it carries on with the subtle reincarnation theme -- first we have JFK (now standing for John F. Kerry), who is married to a glamorous, aristocratic Terry (its not quite "Jackie" but the stylish similarities are there). And now we have "John-John" again. And Edwards has a son named Jack.
This is great news -- Edwards brings his youth and energy to the ticket.
And it carries on with the subtle reincarnation theme -- first we have JFK (now standing for John F. Kerry), who is married to a glamorous, aristocratic Terry (its not quite "Jackie" but the stylish similarities are there). And now we have "John-John" again. And Edwards has a son named Jack.
Monday, July 05, 2004
Oh, sure
C.I.A. Held Back Iraqi Arms Data, U.S. Officials Say Another headline for The Project.
But, you know, it occured to me that the one positive thing resulting from the whole flap over WMD intelligence is that nobody has to take John Bolton seriously anymore.
But, you know, it occured to me that the one positive thing resulting from the whole flap over WMD intelligence is that nobody has to take John Bolton seriously anymore.
Clean sweep
Sorry for the lack of new posts -- we've been doing one of those once-a-decade projects of cleaning everything out of the laundry room and the storage room, repainting, repacking everything into plastic storage bins, plus throwing tons of stuff out. My goal was a 50 per cent reduction -- we didn't quite achieve that, but it's close!
This is the kind of exciting holiday event that you, too, can look forward to when you've been married for 30+ years!
This is the kind of exciting holiday event that you, too, can look forward to when you've been married for 30+ years!
Friday, July 02, 2004
It's a beginning
Ted Rall often strikes me as a bit of a left-wing nutcase, but I can appreciate the feeling behind his latest screed
We are at war, but the terrorists aren't foreigners. We are fighting for our nation's soul. The right-wing Republicans who control the government and the media have no intention of sharing their power. Thus they present themselves and their ideas--that we should spend our national treasury on invading oil-producing nations but not on national healthcare, that it's acceptable to throw people into concentration camps--as the living embodiment of what it means to be American. Meanwhile the neofascist bullies slime everybody else--the majority--as 'anti-American.' The United States is living under ideological apartheid. There are a many more of us than there are corporatist neofascists, but as any prison inmate can attest, numerical superiority does not assure victory. Excluded from access to mainstream politics and media, measured and even-toned opponents are ignored and marginalized. The current situation calls for radical, loud, even ugly, tactics. Nelson Mandela, fighting the racist white minority government of South Africa, resorted to building bombs to loosen the grip of apartheid. Here in America, one unfair, dissembling movie by a liberal loudmouth like Michael Moore, no matter how successful, could never be powerful enough to counter the millions of conservative lies disseminated by thousands of talk radio stations and newspapers every minute of every day of every year. But it's a beginning.
We are at war, but the terrorists aren't foreigners. We are fighting for our nation's soul. The right-wing Republicans who control the government and the media have no intention of sharing their power. Thus they present themselves and their ideas--that we should spend our national treasury on invading oil-producing nations but not on national healthcare, that it's acceptable to throw people into concentration camps--as the living embodiment of what it means to be American. Meanwhile the neofascist bullies slime everybody else--the majority--as 'anti-American.' The United States is living under ideological apartheid. There are a many more of us than there are corporatist neofascists, but as any prison inmate can attest, numerical superiority does not assure victory. Excluded from access to mainstream politics and media, measured and even-toned opponents are ignored and marginalized. The current situation calls for radical, loud, even ugly, tactics. Nelson Mandela, fighting the racist white minority government of South Africa, resorted to building bombs to loosen the grip of apartheid. Here in America, one unfair, dissembling movie by a liberal loudmouth like Michael Moore, no matter how successful, could never be powerful enough to counter the millions of conservative lies disseminated by thousands of talk radio stations and newspapers every minute of every day of every year. But it's a beginning.
You Know you're Canadian If....
1. You've frozen your tongue to something metal and lived to tell about it.
2. You're not offended by the term "Homo Milk"
3. You drink pop, not soda
4. You understand the sentence "Could you please pass me a
serviette, I spilled my poutine"
5. You know that a mickey and a 2-4 means "Party at the camp eh!"
6. You talk about the weather with friends and strangers alike
7. When there is a social problem, you turn to your government to fix it instead of telling them to stay out of it.
8. You're not sure if the leader of your nation has EVER had sex and you don't want to find out!
9. You dismiss all beers under 6% as "for children or the elderly"
10. You know that Casey and Finnegan aren't a Celtic music group
11. You participated in "Participaction"
12. You are excited whenever an American tv show mentions Canada
13. Back bacon and Kraft dinner are two of your favourite food
groups
14. You wear socks with our sandals
15. You know all the words to "If I had a million dollars" by The Barenaked Ladies, including the inter-stanza banter between Steven and Ed.
16. You think Ed the Sock is funny.
17. You wonder why there isn't a 5 dollar coin.
16. You have memorized the Heritage Foundation's Heritage Moments, including your favourites, "You know I canna read a word...", "Come on, Vince" and "Kanata".
17. You can sing "O' Canada" in French and actually know what the words mean!
18. You send angry letters to the CBC demanding the return of the Hinterland Who's Who so you can finally find out what happens to the arctic ptarmigan in winter.
19. You think Great Big Sea isn't Maritime-centric enough.
20. Your backpack has more than one Canadian flag iron-on.
21. You have been on Speaker's Corner.
22. You know the French equivalents of ``free,'' ``prize'' and ``no sugar added,'' thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
23. You know who said "Now I'll call Rusty".
24. You had a crush on Joey Jeremiah from Degrassi Junior High.
25. You think -10 C is mild weather.
26. You have twins named Donovan and Bailey.
27. You have twins named Wayne and Gretzky (alternatively Gordie and Howe).
28. Thinking of Johnny Wayne causes gales of laughter. I told him, Julie, don't go.
29. You're proud that Captain Kirk came from Montreal.
30. You read rather than scanned this list.
(Thanks to various other Canadian websites, from which I stole some of these items.)
2. You're not offended by the term "Homo Milk"
3. You drink pop, not soda
4. You understand the sentence "Could you please pass me a
serviette, I spilled my poutine"
5. You know that a mickey and a 2-4 means "Party at the camp eh!"
6. You talk about the weather with friends and strangers alike
7. When there is a social problem, you turn to your government to fix it instead of telling them to stay out of it.
8. You're not sure if the leader of your nation has EVER had sex and you don't want to find out!
9. You dismiss all beers under 6% as "for children or the elderly"
10. You know that Casey and Finnegan aren't a Celtic music group
11. You participated in "Participaction"
12. You are excited whenever an American tv show mentions Canada
13. Back bacon and Kraft dinner are two of your favourite food
groups
14. You wear socks with our sandals
15. You know all the words to "If I had a million dollars" by The Barenaked Ladies, including the inter-stanza banter between Steven and Ed.
16. You think Ed the Sock is funny.
17. You wonder why there isn't a 5 dollar coin.
16. You have memorized the Heritage Foundation's Heritage Moments, including your favourites, "You know I canna read a word...", "Come on, Vince" and "Kanata".
17. You can sing "O' Canada" in French and actually know what the words mean!
18. You send angry letters to the CBC demanding the return of the Hinterland Who's Who so you can finally find out what happens to the arctic ptarmigan in winter.
19. You think Great Big Sea isn't Maritime-centric enough.
20. Your backpack has more than one Canadian flag iron-on.
21. You have been on Speaker's Corner.
22. You know the French equivalents of ``free,'' ``prize'' and ``no sugar added,'' thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
23. You know who said "Now I'll call Rusty".
24. You had a crush on Joey Jeremiah from Degrassi Junior High.
25. You think -10 C is mild weather.
26. You have twins named Donovan and Bailey.
27. You have twins named Wayne and Gretzky (alternatively Gordie and Howe).
28. Thinking of Johnny Wayne causes gales of laughter. I told him, Julie, don't go.
29. You're proud that Captain Kirk came from Montreal.
30. You read rather than scanned this list.
(Thanks to various other Canadian websites, from which I stole some of these items.)
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Right-wing crazy
Framing Michael Moore -- In These Times
So the right wing is going crazy about Fahrenheit 9/11, trying to blanket the airwaves with all sorts of accusations about how the film is "lying" about this, that and the other. They seem to be focusing on three things -- first, flying the saudis out of the country acutally happened September 14, not 13. Second, that the Carlyle Group isn't really such a big deal, links to the Carlyle Group -- well, the CG isn't really as big a deal as it seems to be. And third, that James Bath wasn't as much of a Bush frield as Moore says he is.
Well, pardon me, but so what?
Eric Alterman, in Michael Moore, Cause for War? - asks why journalists are hysterical about Moore's film when they did not subject Bush evidence for war to any examination at all -- "Perhaps not all of Moore's contentions are equally valid; perhaps some are even wrong. But his record so far looks awfully good compared to those of Mssrs. Bush and Cheney. If only the media that enabled those two had taken their contentions remotely as seriously..."
And the one big scene in F9/11 which no one can rebut is the seven minutes that Bush spent reading My Pet Goat, while thousands were burning and jumping and dying in the World Trade Centre. Why did Bush do nothing? Because he's a coward. When faced with the need for decisive action, he froze.
And there is no way that all the journalists and right-wing crazies in the world can get around that fact.
So the right wing is going crazy about Fahrenheit 9/11, trying to blanket the airwaves with all sorts of accusations about how the film is "lying" about this, that and the other. They seem to be focusing on three things -- first, flying the saudis out of the country acutally happened September 14, not 13. Second, that the Carlyle Group isn't really such a big deal, links to the Carlyle Group -- well, the CG isn't really as big a deal as it seems to be. And third, that James Bath wasn't as much of a Bush frield as Moore says he is.
Well, pardon me, but so what?
Eric Alterman, in Michael Moore, Cause for War? - asks why journalists are hysterical about Moore's film when they did not subject Bush evidence for war to any examination at all -- "Perhaps not all of Moore's contentions are equally valid; perhaps some are even wrong. But his record so far looks awfully good compared to those of Mssrs. Bush and Cheney. If only the media that enabled those two had taken their contentions remotely as seriously..."
And the one big scene in F9/11 which no one can rebut is the seven minutes that Bush spent reading My Pet Goat, while thousands were burning and jumping and dying in the World Trade Centre. Why did Bush do nothing? Because he's a coward. When faced with the need for decisive action, he froze.
And there is no way that all the journalists and right-wing crazies in the world can get around that fact.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Yesterday's news
I always think the catch-phrases that media outlets use for their continuing stories are instructive. For example, during the Iraq war, we're seen phrases like 'America at War' and then 'America in Iraq'. Now, we're seeing a definite tone-down, reflecting the idea that as far as the American media is concerned, they want to treat Iraq as yesterday's news:
MSNBC now uses "Iraq: Transfer of Power". CNN calls their section "The Struggle for Iraq". The New York Times section head is incomprehensible: "The Reach of War", while CBSjust uses "Iraq: After Saddam". The word "America" has disappeared, in spite of the fact that not a single American soldier is coming home because of the so-called transfer -- in fact, another 6,000 are being drafted. Happy July 4th to them and their families!
MSNBC now uses "Iraq: Transfer of Power". CNN calls their section "The Struggle for Iraq". The New York Times section head is incomprehensible: "The Reach of War", while CBSjust uses "Iraq: After Saddam". The word "America" has disappeared, in spite of the fact that not a single American soldier is coming home because of the so-called transfer -- in fact, another 6,000 are being drafted. Happy July 4th to them and their families!
The GOP headline project
Josh Marshall writes about the recent Financial Times story about how there really was uranium evidence after all.
What is happening here is this: Rove and the GOP are getting their ducks in a row. One by one, they're getting SOMEONE to publish refutations of all of their problem areas -- no WDM, no uranium, no links between Hussein and 9-11 -- as news stories. Many of these have been in the New York Times, but some are being slipped in elsewhere.
Now, it doesn't matter to Rove or the GOP that these stories make no sense -- as Marshall points out about the uranium story, don't you think that if the Bush administration had had any evidence whatsoever of Iraq yellowcake interest, they would have used it a year ago when Wilson hit the news? And it doesn't matter whether the stories are actually proven wrong the next day -- remember the one where Putin supposedly told Washington a year ago that Hussein was behind 9/11, and the State Department replied "Huh?" And it doesn't matter whether there is any follow-up on the stories, or whether any other media print or broadcast them. The Putin story, for example, was widely seen as a joke two days after it appeared.
The point is only to make sure that one story gets published.
So now, when Bush is asked on the campaign trail about all these probems, he can state, truthfully, that major media outlets have published stories confirming the truth of his claims. And they can use the headlines in their ads, too.
Watch for more of these types of stories in the coming months. You will recognize them by how conveniently their headlines dovetail with the Bush reelection slogans.
So now I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more foreign affairs headlines coming soon, perhaps about how grateful the former soviet satellite states are for Bush's strong leadership. I predict we will also be seeing headlines aimed to the domestic agenda -- how well the No Child Left Behind act is going, how grateful seniors are for their drug benefit, and how any day now there will be a ton of new jobs for everyone.
It doesn't matter what the truth is, just what the headlines are.
What is happening here is this: Rove and the GOP are getting their ducks in a row. One by one, they're getting SOMEONE to publish refutations of all of their problem areas -- no WDM, no uranium, no links between Hussein and 9-11 -- as news stories. Many of these have been in the New York Times, but some are being slipped in elsewhere.
Now, it doesn't matter to Rove or the GOP that these stories make no sense -- as Marshall points out about the uranium story, don't you think that if the Bush administration had had any evidence whatsoever of Iraq yellowcake interest, they would have used it a year ago when Wilson hit the news? And it doesn't matter whether the stories are actually proven wrong the next day -- remember the one where Putin supposedly told Washington a year ago that Hussein was behind 9/11, and the State Department replied "Huh?" And it doesn't matter whether there is any follow-up on the stories, or whether any other media print or broadcast them. The Putin story, for example, was widely seen as a joke two days after it appeared.
The point is only to make sure that one story gets published.
So now, when Bush is asked on the campaign trail about all these probems, he can state, truthfully, that major media outlets have published stories confirming the truth of his claims. And they can use the headlines in their ads, too.
Watch for more of these types of stories in the coming months. You will recognize them by how conveniently their headlines dovetail with the Bush reelection slogans.
So now I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more foreign affairs headlines coming soon, perhaps about how grateful the former soviet satellite states are for Bush's strong leadership. I predict we will also be seeing headlines aimed to the domestic agenda -- how well the No Child Left Behind act is going, how grateful seniors are for their drug benefit, and how any day now there will be a ton of new jobs for everyone.
It doesn't matter what the truth is, just what the headlines are.
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