Official US gov't historical document: Iraq reconstruction a $117 BILLION failure

More of the Bush legacy...

A 513 page federal history on the Iraq reconstruction was compiled by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, led by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., a Republican lawyer who regularly travels to Iraq and has a staff of engineers and auditors based here. Here are some of the accounts in this first official federal historical document on the Iraq reconstruction entitled “Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience" -

• Ignorance: Pentagon planners efforts were crippled by spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.


• Lies: when the reconstruction began to lag — particularly in the critical area of rebuilding the Iraqi police and army — the Pentagon simply put out inflated measures of progress to cover up the failures. Colin Powell said the Defense Department “kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week"


• Incompetence: The Bush Administration has in place neither the policies and technical capacity nor the organizational structure that would be needed to undertake such a program on anything approaching this scale.


• Politics over planning: Republicans put a greater priority on making things "look good" for Bush because of the 2004 election instead of efficient and competent use of money. Office of Management and Budget balked at the American occupation authority’s abrupt request for about $20 billion in new reconstruction money in August 2003, a veteran Republican lobbyist working for the authority made a bluntly partisan appeal to Joshua B. Bolten, then the O.M.B. director and now the White House chief of staff. “To delay getting our funds would be a political disaster for the President,” wrote the lobbyist, Tom C. Korologos. “His election will hang for a large part on show of progress in Iraq and without the funding this year, progress will grind to a halt.” With administration backing, Congress allocated the money later that year.


• Poor planning: As an example of the haphazard planning, a civilian official at the United States Agency for International Development was at one point given four hours to determine how many miles of Iraqi roads would need to be reopened and repaired. The official searched through the agency’s reference library, and his estimate went directly into a master plan.


• Early miscalculations: The history records how Jay Garner, Chief of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, presented Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld with several rebuilding plans, including one that would include projects across Iraq. “What do you think that’ll cost?” Mr. Rumsfeld asked of the more expansive plan.“I think it’s going to cost billions of dollars,” Mr. Garner said.“My friend,” Mr. Rumsfeld replied, “if you think we’re going to spend a billion dollars of our money over there, you are sadly mistaken.”

Conclusions:

"...the government as a whole has never developed a legislatively sanctioned doctrine or framework for planning, preparing and executing contingency operations in which diplomacy, development and military action all figure.”

And to think in the midst of this recession in America, billions of dollars are flying out of America every week to try to repair the damage of the Bush legacy.

Nashville Scene: Don’t Trust a Politician Who Hasn’t Tried Drugs

Gotta love the Scene - our hometown Nashville weekly.

This article in the Scene: Don’t Trust a Politician Who Hasn’t Tried Drugs, begs the question…

Have you smoked marijuana?

Answers:

G.W. Bush - no comment

Bill Clinton - “I didn’t like it and didn’t inhale.”

Barack Obama - “I inhaled, frequently. That was the point.”

OK now, question: based on these answers, which politician would you find as the the most honest and trustworthy?

Check out what the top question for Obama was in an online poll.

Bush plays the fear card, sets up political stunt for McCain

Well you heard it... Bush using words like "crisis" ... "collapse" ... "recession" ... "economy in danger," be afraid of an imminent collapse, we must take urgent measures. Call off the debate! This meeting with McCain and Obama can't wait til Saturday.

Something is rotten in DC

I'd bet my bottom dollar that this scenario was a complete set up staged by McCain and Bush. Look at what McCain has done. He has pulled political stunts for effect during his whole campaign, not for America's well-being, but calculated risky maneuvers that may help him get elected... like getting an inexperienced good looking female governor as running mate, like calling for a gas tax holiday, like canceling the first night of the RNC because of a hurricane, like calling for the firing of Cox, and now McCain to the rescue of America's economic crisis ... postpone the debate!!!??? Even suggesting the postponement of the VP debate!!! Smoke and mirrors.

McCain is about as far away as any Senator from doing his job. He hasn't voted since April 8. He doesn't even know what his own Senate Commerce Committee does.

I am sorry, this is not about America's economic rescue, this is about saving McCain's ass from sinking poll numbers. McCain is a fake - a liar and a manipulator. It doesn't take a genius to see through this bullshit.

Look at what is happening - HuffPost gives us the McCain scenario:

• Sunday: McCain endorses $700B Wall Street bailout.
• Tuesday: McCain says he hasn't even read the bailout proposal and is undecided on whether to support it.
• Tuesday night: Washington Post poll shows big Obama lead.
• Wednesday morning: Obama calls McCain about issuing joint statement on Wall St. crisis, McCain isn't available. McCain finds time for meeting with ex-Clinton supporter Lady Lynn de Rothschild.
• Wednesday afternoon: McCain "suspends" campaign, demands debate be postponed. Decides to appear for interview with CBS's Katie Couric.
• Wednesday Night: Dems say they've already reached deal on bailout
• Wednesday Night: Bush plays fear card in speech, McCain-Bush summon Obama to DC
  

McCain, off to DC - the big hero to the rescue. Political theater at it's most absurd and disingenuous.

More Bush lies revealed - push for war preceded intel findings

The National Security Archive has released a report based on White House documents showing the Bush administration pressured the CIA and other intelligence agencies to tailor their reports to back-up Bush's desire to invade and that the Bush administration doctored the intelligence "white paper" - making a case for war before the National Intelligence Estimate was even requested.

According to the report, the CIA was under enormous pressure, which resulted in its July 2002 draft of a "White Paper" that did not conform to the facts. This "White Paper" - drafted in July - supposedly summarized the NIE which wasn't even requested by Congress until Sept 2002. Clearly this exposes a systemic practice of lying and manipulation by the Bush Administration. Other accounts by Bush insiders including former CIA employees (Tyler Drumheller, Michael Scheuer, Richard Clarke) square with this account. The picture of these lies are becoming clearer and more complete. So far, over 30 documentaries on Iraq have exposed Bush's lies, corruption and incompetence ... Bush's War - being one of the best.

All the while, during this manipulation of intel and a push for war, Bush was making statements like:

“We are doing everything we can to avoid war in Iraq.” - George W. Bush, Mar. 8, 2003

“I think that that presumes there's some kind of imminent war plan. As I said, I have no timetable.” - George W. Bush, Aug. 10, 2002

"I've not made up our mind about military action. Hopefully, this can be done peacefully...”- George W. Bush, Mar. 6, 2003

Not lying? Then what would you call it?

Top CIA official confesses order to forge Iraq-9/11 letter came on White House stationery

Central Intelligence Agency's former Deputy Chief of Clandestine Operations Robert Richer says a forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks was ordered on White House stationery and probably came from the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a new transcript.

"I would probably stand on my, basically, my reputation and say it came from the vice president." --Robert Richer

Breaking a 25 year code of journalistic principles and practices, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ron Suskind that broke this story has named his sources and posted the transcript of the interview of his sources.

American Conservative Magazine has investigated the forgery story and acknowledged it is correct but blames the forgery on Bush staffer, Doug Feith.

"An extremely reliable and well placed source in the intelligence community has informed me that Ron Suskind’s revelation that the White House ordered the preparation of a forged letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda and also to attempts made to obtain yellowcake uranium is correct... "

The level of lies, corruption and shear dishonesty of the Bush Administration is stunning... how can any principled American condone this?

Federal Judges rule against Bush Administration - executive privilege claims for Bolton and Miers bogus; must turn over missing emails

The rule of law is a noose that is beginning to tighten around the neck of the Bush Administration - the most corrupt Executive branch in American history.

Bush appointed US District Judge has ruled that the Bush Administration's claims of executive privilege for former staffers Josh Bolton and Harriet Miers are bogus - they must comply with subpoenas about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. Bolten and Miers must give Congress all documents related to the firings.

"The Executive's current claim of absolute immunity from compelled congressional process for senior presidential aides is without any support in the case law." - Judge U.S. District Judge John Bates

What makes this remarkable is that Judge Bates was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2001 and appointed to the FISA court by Justice John Roberts in 2006. On many previous occasions, his rulings have helped cover-up for the administration's wrongdoings.

In a separate case, U.S. District Court Judge John M. Facciola ordered the Bush administration to locate the missing emails on laptops, portable media devices, and individual workstations. Emails from Vice President Dick Cheney's office went missing during a crucial period of time when he and aides were involved in stemming the tide of the Valerie Plame scandal.

It's official: US Army official historical document details gross incompetence of Bush Administration Iraq policy

The history of the Iraq War is now being documented. Over 35 documentaries have already been filmed. One of the best: Frontline - Bush's War is extremely well written and sourced.

But now, its time for the military official historians to write the official history of the Iraq War.

Before the Iraq invasion, Bush surrounded himself with "yes men" like Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Tommy Franks. He got rid of those like Gen. Shinseki who warned that we needed many more troops than Rumsfeld proposed to secure Iraq in the aftermath. He ignored Col. Kevin Benson, a planner at the land war command, who developed a plan that called for using about 300,000 soldiers to secure postwar Iraq, about twice as many as were deployed. Colin Powell tried to dissuade Bush from the invasion. He told Bush, "you break it, you own it." In essence - if you invade Iraq, the US will be responsible for the welfare of the country and it's citizens. So what happened? Tommy Franks turned out to be a failure. According to the report, he assumed the fighting was over and put the military effort in the hands of a short-staffed headquarters over the objections of the Army’s vice chief of staff. “The move was sudden and caught most of the senior commanders in Iraq unaware,” states the history, which adds that the staff for the new headquarters was not initially “configured for the types of responsibilities it received.” Franks blamed the Defense Dept and the Pentagon leadership.

Bush failed miserably and now it is officially documented. Here we are today, an unstable Iraq where there is war with no end in sight, the US is still unilaterally paying the cost, Americans dying everyday, millions of Iraqis dead, maimed and/or displaced. The report has vindicated Gen. Shinseki whom the Bush administration marginalized and all the other Generals that came forward with complaints of incompetent leadership of the Bush Administration.

CNN Story

NYT Story

PDF Report

MASS SCHOOL OF LAW TO HOLD CONFERENCE ON BUSH WAR CRIMES

Remember Saddam's punishment?
If the Dean of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover has his way, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Yoo are going to swing. That is hang by the neck until dead - the death penalty - an appropriate punishment for war crimes.

Press release:

On September 13-14, 2008, Lawrence Velvel, the dean of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, plans to convene a 'convention' at the school's facilities; the attendees of which will plan strategies to prosecute members of the Bush administration for war crimes.

"This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred," said convener Lawrence Velvel, dean and cofounder of the school. "It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth."

"We must try to hold Bush administration leaders accountable in courts of justice," Velvel said. "And we must insist on appropriate punishments, including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war-criminals in the 1940s. For Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and John Yoo to spend years in jail or go to the gallows for their crimes would be a powerful lesson to future American leaders," Velvel said.

Bush - one of the world's least trusted leaders

WPO: "A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 20 nations around the world finds that none of the national leaders on the world stage inspire wide confidence. US President George W. Bush is one of the least trusted leaders..."

Is anyone surprised?

WorldPublicOpinion.org conducted the poll of 19,751 respondents in nations that comprise 60 percent of the world's population. This includes most of the largest nations--China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Russia--as well as Mexico, Argentina, Britain, France, Spain, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, the Palestinian territories, South Korea and Thailand. Fielding was conducted between January 10 and May 6. The margins of error range from +/-2 to 4 percent.

Oversight Committee subpoenas FBI transcripts of Bush, Cheney interviews on Plame leak

This, combined with the Scott McClellan testimony coming up on Friday, should serve to document yet another impeachable offense (Article XIV) committed by Bush.

Below, GHW Bush describes the crime that his son's administration committed:

"I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who expose the names of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors."

-- GHW Bush

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Wouldn't it be great if the impeachment of GW Bush could be decided by a national referendum? Nevertheless, these Articles of Impeachment are now permanent part of the Congressional Record and Congressman Dennis Kucinich is an American Hero for presenting them. These 35 Articles make Clinton's Impeachment look like a parking ticket. They are simply too numerous and too well documented to ignore.

It is my pleasure, duty and honor to submit to you:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

INDEX

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.

____________

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Bush Impeachment Resolution introduced in House

AP Story:
Rep. Kucinich introduces Bush impeachment resolution

You wonder why Congress approval rating is so low? Because they have refused to hold the criminal Bush Administration accountable.

We can change that now.

Contact your Representative and endorse the Bush Impeachment Resolution. If you believe in justice, accountability, the rule of law, and our Constitution, it is the American thing to do.

TN Congressmen:
Representative Lincoln Davis (D - 04) 202-225-6831
Representative Jim Cooper (D - 05) 202-225-4311
Representative Bart Gordon (D - 06) 202-225-4231
Representative John S. Tanner (D - 08) 202-225-4714
Representative Steve Ira Cohen (D - 09) 202-225-3265

Who are you going to believe, someone who testifies under oath, or Bushies who run and hide when subpoenaed?

Scott McClellan will testify under oath June 20,
-- unlike the subpoenaed Bushies like Karl Rove, Josh Bolten, or Harriet Miers.

What does that tell you?

Who are you going to believe, someone who puts his hand on the Bible and testifies under oath, or someone like Karl Rove and the other Bushies who run from accountability like cockroaches from the light?

The Bush Administration has proven that lying is an 'Executive Privilege'

AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush's former spokesman, Scott McClellan, will testify before a House committee next week about whether Vice President Dick Cheney ordered him to make misleading public statements about the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.

McClellan's lawyers said he has accepted House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers' invitation to testify June 20. The attorneys said McClellan will appear and be sworn during the proceedings.

Bush says about Abramoff: "I don't know him" - although investigation documented Bush met with Abramoff SIX times.

Oversight committee report: White House LIED about Abramoff influence

Bush says about Abramoff: "I don't know him" although the committee documented Bush met with convicted felon Jack Abramoff at least SIX times.

From the report:

Mr. Abramoff’s Contact with President Bush and Other White House Officials: The documents provided to the Committee include six photographs of Mr. Abramoff and members of his family meeting with President Bush, each taken on different occasions.

Isn't it amazing that with Bush administration lies documented almost daily, that authoritarians will tell you "Bush never lied" ? It really verifies everything I've said about authoritarians.

A House Oversight Committee report contradicts White House claims that convicted felon, Jack Abamoff had access to the highest reaches of the Bush administration and influenced numerous decisions within the executive branch.

From the report:

"The testimony and documents obtained by the Committee following the September 2006 Committee staff report confirm that Mr. Abramoff had access to the White House. Further, the record before the Committee contradicts White House claims that with respect to his White House contacts, Mr. Abramoff got “nothing out of it.” Not only did Mr. Abramoff achieve some positive results from his White House lobbying, but White House officials sought out the views of Mr. Abramoff and his colleagues on matters of official business."

Report titles of a few sections:

The White House Communicated with the Abramoff Team in Considering Candidates for Political Positions in the Administration (page 19)

Mr. Abramoff Influenced Decisions about Presidential Political Endorsements (page 21)

On page 32 - the Bush Administration lies are documented and summarized with this conclusion:

The White House Failed to Provide Public Accountability Regarding its Relationship with Jack Abramoff

You have to wonder what lies beneath the tip of the iceberg in this Republican Culture of Corruption.

The authoritarian conservative war on America

They say, if you don't support Bush, you're a Democrat who is giving "aid to the enemy," "invested in defeat," and "not supporting our troops." It is a partisan attack, 'us and them', where all Democrats are the enemy and in support of 'surrender.'

Did it ever occur to these authoritarians that lifelong Republicans - like military generals who'd seen a lifetime of military service have called the Iraq venture "a night mare without end" (Gen. R. Sanchez), and "the war in Iraq has fueled recruitment of violent Islamic extremists" (Gen. John Batiste). They also said about Bush: "there has been a glaring, unfortunate, display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders" - Sanchez; and Bush has run a "failed strategy that is breaking our great Army" - Batiste.

Do these career Generals want to lose? Do they want to help the enemy? I can quote many more high ranking military that have spoken out. Included on this list are Generals Newbold, Eaton, Odom, Swannack, Zinni, Riggs, Clark and others. Many are life long Republicans. Below is a photo of General Charles Swannack, an Iraq vet and 30 year career soldier who spoke out against the incompetence of the Bush war plan. Does he look like a 'candy-ass liberal' invested in aiding the enemy?

And you Bush supporters have the balls to tell me I "don't support our troops"? If you support Bush, YOU certainly do not support the troops.

1. Bush sent in troops to Iraq with out adequate body armor or vehicle armor resulting in mass casualties including 320,000 brain injuries. A 2006 study showed that 80% of marines killed from upper body wounds would have survived, if they'd had adequate body armor.

2. Bush's "Stop-Loss policy" had prevented at least 50,000 troops from leaving the military when their service was scheduled to end - just since 2006.

3. Bush used National Guard troops for his surge that was overburdening units already stretched to their limits according to both Republican and Democratic governors.

4. Bush is sending troops in without adequate training. Two army brigades had to forgo their desert training to accommodate Bush's escalation schedule. Soldiers who were classified as medically unfit to fight are now being sent to war.

5. Bush has opposed pay raises for military, time and time again.

6. Bush proposed cutting funding for military housing and medical facilities. In the fiscal year 2004 budget the President Bush proposed spending nearly $1.5 billion less on these critical facilities than the previous year. (House Appropriation Committees)

7. Bush proposed rolling back increases for imminent-danger pay. Soldiers on the front lines recieve a small monthly payment as compensation for being placed in imminent danger. Bush proposed cutting this fee from $225 a month to $150 a month. (Army Times)

8. Bush eliminated aid to schools located on military bases. He sliced $125 million in federal subsidies for education children of troops. The cuts affected "about 900,000 children nationwide and 63 percent of children in military families." (Seattle Times)

9. Bush has said he would veto the Webb bill providing troops with increased education benefits. The first president in history to veto a benefits bill for those who served.

And you Bush supporters have the balls to tell me I'm "aiding the enemy"?

When a Government report flatly states that an al Qaeda attack is now likely because the Bush Administration has not met US security goals to destroy the terrorist threat and close the al Qaeda's safe haven. Further, the report states that the Bush Administration has no plans to eliminate this known terrorist threat.

87 months after Richard Clarke first insisted that the Bush Administration develop a strategy to combat Al Qaeda, 62 months after the Bush Administration announced its intention to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries, 45 months after the 9/11 Commission called for the Administration to develop a strategy to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries, 258 days after Congress required the Administration to submit a strategy to combat terrorist safe havens in Pakistan within 90 days, the GAO releases a report (pdf) finding:

No comprehensive plan for meeting U.S. national security goals in the fight against terrorism has been developed, as stipulated by the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism (2003), called for by an independent commission (2004), and mandated by congressional legislation (2007).

Result: al Qaeda is stronger than ever

If you support Bush, you are either a misinformed idiot, you buy the unreasonable fear that is peddled to control you, or you are an authoritarian ass-kisser whose only interests are to yourself and your politics, not to the well being of America or our military - your only interests are to save face because you are not man enough to admit you made a mistake by supporting an incompetent president who has severely damaged America. And all they can talk about is Rev. Wright, Tony Rezko, and the GOP swiftboat du jour... while trying to rationalize any & all failings of the Bush administration while they hide and tap dance - trying every way possible to avoid oversight, investigations, and accountability til time runs out in the term.

We must succeed in Iraq and with new and competent leadership, we can hopefully repair the damage of the Bush years, abandon the isolationist arrogant foreign policy and look to the world to build more partners in the war on terror. Gen Batiste has praised the recent gains in Iraq but notes: "Ultimately, however, these military gains must be cemented with regional and global diplomacy, political reconciliation, and economic recovery...tools yet sufficiently utilized." Without diplomacy, a willingness to reach out and a comprehensive world view, victory will be only temporary. This war should not have lasted this long and should not have been shouldered soley on the backs of our military. We have paid a terrible price due to the policies of GW Bush.

Bush counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke says Bush lied - "these weren't close calls, they made things up"

Former Bush counter-terrorism director, Richard Clark on MSNBC comments on the new Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Iraq pre-war intelligence. Watch it:

"Statements by the president were not substantiated by intelligence ... statements by the president were contradicted by available intelligence. In other words, they made things up. They made them up and gave them to Colin Powell and others, who believed them. I think Colin Powell did not know that he was lying, but he was. He was given intelligence that people in the intelligence community at the time, knew were not true. This is not a case of 20/20 hindsight. This is a case of what was available then. The NIE on Iraq WMD was read by seven Senators before they voted to go to war. And one of them was chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham who read it and went to the floor of the Senate and said, 'I've read it, I'm chairman of the Intelligence Committee, it's not persuasive, there's not a good case here for this war.' So, people had the opportunity at the time if they were reading the intelligence that was available to them. To say that this is something we only could have known years later, is just not true."

On McCain:

"He [McCain] is now justifying the intelligence claims of the president. Now we have the evidence, we have the proof, that four years too late that that those statements were flat out wrong, and these weren't close calls, they made things up"

Stories:

CNN, UPI , NYT, IHT, AFP

Bipartisan Senate intel report conclusively shows Bush lied to justify war

The next time you hear someone say, "well, they thought Saddam was a threat too"... tell them about this report. UPDATE: CNN Story:

"The Bush administration misused intelligence to build a case for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq... the White House exploited its ability to declassify intelligence selectively to bolster its case for war ... The report also found that the administration misled the American people about contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda."

Slam dunk - Game Over - Bush LIED.

And some assholes say Scotty McClellen was lying to sell books, (i.e. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, idiot denialists etc...)

The report details Administration prewar statements that, on numerous occasions, misrepresented the intelligence and the threat from Iraq.

Although there was some prewar intel that supported the claim that Saddam possessed WMD, the Iraq war was packaged and sold to Americans in a deliberately deceptive way. The Committee’s report cites several conclusions in which the Administration’s public statements were NOT supported by the intelligence. They include:

Ø Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa’ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa’ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.

Ø Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.

Ø Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.

Ø Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq’s chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community’s uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.

Ø The Secretary of Defense’s statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.

Ø The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.

These findings completely undermine John McCain's claims that ‘every assessment’ justified war in Iraq. WRONG... LIAR.

Also, McCain told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that “absolutely” a “large number of Iraqis” will “treat us as liberators.“ Bush/McSame ignored a pre-war intelligence report - a January 2003 Intelligence Community Assessment warned that “Iraq was a deeply divided society that likely would engage in violent conflict unless an occupying power prevented it.”

Every poll ever taken shows Iraqis and every nation in the world want the US out of Iraq. 72% do not support the presence of US forces in Iraq (latest poll q.#20) and majorities say the surge and continued presence of US has made things worse.

Well, we've heard this from Scotty, we've heard this from retired Generals, we've heard this from Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neil, and many others... and now from an exhaustive Senate investigation. Is it starting to sink in yet?? For most thinking individuals it is, but not for the authoritarians ... they will remain in denial.

(H/T: TP)

Not one single country in the world supports the US occupation of Iraq

The most recent comprehensive international poll on the subject - completed 7/26/07 - shows that of 23,000 people in 22 countries polled, not one single country supports the US occupation of Iraq. Further, the study shows anti-occupation sentiment growing as compared to a 2006 poll.

Overall:

A majority of citizens across the world (67%) think US-led forces should leave Iraq within a year, according to a BBC World Service poll of 23,000 people across 22 countries. Just one in four (23%) think foreign troops should remain in Iraq until security improves.

Muslim countries are among those who most strongly support an immediate US withdrawal from Iraq: Indonesia (65%), Turkey (64%), and Egypt (58%).

Even Israel supports withdrawal. 52% of Israelis want the US out immediately or within a year as compared with 40% who want the US out only when security improves. The Philippines and Kenya offer the most support for a US occupation with a slight majority opposing.



Change is in the air. The most recent Zogby Poll - the only poll that takes into account the candidacies of Bob Barr and Ralph Nader - shows Obama with a solid 10 point lead over McCain.

Bush also has hit a record low approval rating on Zogby of 23%.

The swiftboating of Scott McClellan by people who haven't read his book

... like Bob Dole, Dana Perino, and GW Bush.

In typical Republican smear method of operation, Bushies are piling on Scott McClellan and attacking him personally without even considering the substance of what he is saying or even having read the book.

Why is this viewpoint which has been verified time and time again, by previous insiders, Clarke and O'Neil, by a documented Pentagon propaganda program, by military generals, why is this so hard for Bushies to admit or accept? From the book:

Bush and his advisers knew that the American people would almost certainly not support a war launched primarily for the ambitious purpose of transforming the Middle East. ... Rather than open this Pandora's box, the administration chose a different path -- not employing out-and-out deception but shading the truth; downplaying the major reason for going to war and emphasizing a lesser motivation that could arguably be dealt with in other ways (such as intensified diplomatic pressure); trying to make the WMD threat and the Iraqi connection to terrorism appear just a little more certain, a little less questionable, than they were; quietly ignoring or disregarding some of the crucial caveats in the intelligence and minimizing evidence that pointed in the opposite direction; using innuendo and implication to encourage Americans to believe as fact some things that were unclear and possibly false (such as the idea that Saddam had an active nuclear weapons program) and other things that were overplayed or completely wrong (such as implying Saddam might have an operational relationship with al Qaeda).

Yea, you can call him every name in the book, put up clever photoshops, link to websites that try to discredit McClellan through dubious circular reasoning (he lied then, must be lyin' now, follow the money, etc...), but in the final analysis, you have to listen to what he says and by every indication - he is 100% right. Unlike this post, you won't find links or substance in these attack posts. They don't document or refute anything, they just smear - pathetically, that's all they can do - carry out an authoritarian agenda.

I can't wait for more polling data to come out to show who is more believable, Bush or McClellan.

McClellan: 'I'd be happy' to testify about Bush White House

McClellan on his book: What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception -

"My comments are sincere and honest and absolutely the truth..."

RS:

Lawyers working for the House Judiciary Committee are meeting with former White House spokesman Scott McClellan regarding the explosive revelations contained in his new tell-all memoir, and the committee's chairman says he may renew hearings on the administration's leak of a CIA officer's identity now that new details have been published.

CNN

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Friday he would be willing to comply with a possible congressional subpoena to discuss the administration’s handling of pre-war intelligence, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer he’d be “happy to talk if I am asked to testify.”