"The Pinocchio presidency"

[link|http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/03/16/wilson_iraq/| Joe Wilson] - his wife was the one outed by the cabal.

A former diplomat says it's time to blow the whistle on the Bush administration's blatant lies.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Joe Wilson

March 16, 2004 | President George W. Bush, in a recent "Meet the Press" interview, acknowledged to interviewer Tim Russert that the upcoming presidential campaign would be a time for the American people to assess whether he had used "good judgment" in his key decisions on foreign policy, and that he welcomed that debate.

I agree. In a time of great stress to our international leadership, national security, economy and social fabric, it is long past time for us as a nation to engage in a thoughtful discussion about our future, devoid as much as possible of the histrionics and dirty political tricks that have characterized recent campaigns. This is not a moment for business as usual. We have been in two wars over the past four years. One, against al-Qaida and the Taliban government of Afghanistan, was perfectly legitimate. It was supported by the overwhelming majority of the American people and our allies. The other, against Iraq, still provokes legitimate debate over war aims and goals, and the consequences to our national security of having opened an unnecessary second front in the war on terrorism. Our country remains under threat of terrorist attack, a threat that has likely increased as a consequence of the international anger at our attack and ongoing occupation of Iraq. Yet with the activation of our National Guardsmen and reserve forces for service overseas, many of our first responders are now over there instead of here protecting the homeland. In the meantime, the government's budget is hemorrhaging red ink with annual budget deficits in the $500 billion range, and we are piling on national debt less than a decade before the baby boomers retire and begin drawing Social Security.

Our international leadership is also on the wane, as those who might otherwise follow instead resent our having unleashed the dogs of war and confused the exercise of power with the abuse of force. The collective security arrangements enshrined in the United Nations system, and in the Western alliance of NATO (which we helped create and which has served our interests well over 60 years), are now threatened as leading administration supporters like Richard Perle delight in predicting its demise, without any notion of what might replace it other than American boys and girls in uniform.

In these perilous times the president should be held accountable for his stewardship. He should run on his record. But what do we see from him and his campaign? First, a political ad that desecrates the memories of our dead at the World Trade Center, using flag-draped bodies as political props. Now we see an ad that racially profiles olive-skinned men as terrorists while mendaciously suggesting that the Democratic candidate and war hero John Kerry is soft on terrorism. Some have rightly made the connection between that ad and the infamous Willie Horton ad of the Bush/Dukakis campaign of 1988, an ad that exploited racial fear, but a better comparison might be with the negative ad run against triple amputee and Vietnam veteran, Max Cleland. In that one Cleland was made to appear as part of a trio whose other members were Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. When not running nasty ads, Bush's attack dogs are busy launching vicious attacks on the characters of those who would dare to point out where this administration has failed the American people. Who will soon forget Ann Coulter's two articles defaming Max Cleland? It's worth noting that not a single supporter of Bush had the decency to defend Cleland and criticize that smear. Instead Coulter's libel was widely circulated by conservatives. And just the other day, Max Boot, a neoconservative publicist who coined the "jodhpur and pith helmet" term to promote his imperialistic view of America's future, decided to smear former Air Force officer Karen Kwiatkowski, as well as retired CIA officer Ray McGovern and myself. These smears must be understood as part of the Bush campaign strategy of "slime and defend."

. . . [More]

About the writer
Joseph C. Wilson IV, the former U.S. deputy chief of mission to Iraq during the Gulf War and ambassador to Niger during the George H.W. Bush administration, blew the whistle on the George W. Bush administration's lies about Niger uranium sales to Iraq. He is the author of the upcoming book "The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity -- A Diplomat's Memoir" to be published by Carroll and Graf on April 30 and serialized by Salon.

[link|http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html|Joe Wilson's the one with pants on fire]

Excerpt:

Wilson's assertions -- both about what he found in Niger and what the Bush administration did with the information -- were undermined yesterday in a bipartisan Senate intelligence committee report.

The panel found that Wilson's report, rather than debunking intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq, as he has said, bolstered the case for most intelligence analysts. And contrary to Wilson's assertions and even the government's previous statements, the CIA did not tell the White House it had qualms about the reliability of the Africa intelligence that made its way into 16 fateful words in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address.

Yesterday's report said that whether Iraq sought to buy lightly enriched "yellowcake" uranium from Niger is one of the few bits of prewar intelligence that remains an open question. Much of the rest of the intelligence suggesting a buildup of weapons of mass destruction was unfounded, the report said.

The report turns a harsh spotlight on what Wilson has said about his role in gathering prewar intelligence, most pointedly by asserting that his wife, CIA employee Valerie Plame, recommended him.

I say:

I await your shamefaced retraction. But I won't be holding my breath.

Post #146,878 by Ashton 3/18/04 3:57:29 AM Reply	"The Pinocchio presidency" [link\|http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/03/16/wilson_iraq/\| Joe Wilson] - his wife was the one outed by the cabal. A former diplomat says it's time to blow the whistle on the Bush administration's blatant lies. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Joe Wilson March 16, 2004 \| President George W. Bush, in a recent "Meet the Press" interview, acknowledged to interviewer Tim Russert that the upcoming presidential campaign would be a time for the American people to assess whether he had used "good judgment" in his key decisions on foreign policy, and that he welcomed that debate. I agree. In a time of great stress to our international leadership, national security, economy and social fabric, it is long past time for us as a nation to engage in a thoughtful discussion about our future, devoid as much as possible of the histrionics and dirty political tricks that have characterized recent campaigns. This is not a moment for business as usual. We have been in two wars over the past four years. One, against al-Qaida and the Taliban government of Afghanistan, was perfectly legitimate. It was supported by the overwhelming majority of the American people and our allies. The other, against Iraq, still provokes legitimate debate over war aims and goals, and the consequences to our national security of having opened an unnecessary second front in the war on terrorism. Our country remains under threat of terrorist attack, a threat that has likely increased as a consequence of the international anger at our attack and ongoing occupation of Iraq. Yet with the activation of our National Guardsmen and reserve forces for service overseas, many of our first responders are now over there instead of here protecting the homeland. In the meantime, the government's budget is hemorrhaging red ink with annual budget deficits in the $500 billion range, and we are piling on national debt less than a decade before the baby boomers retire and begin drawing Social Security. Our international leadership is also on the wane, as those who might otherwise follow instead resent our having unleashed the dogs of war and confused the exercise of power with the abuse of force. The collective security arrangements enshrined in the United Nations system, and in the Western alliance of NATO (which we helped create and which has served our interests well over 60 years), are now threatened as leading administration supporters like Richard Perle delight in predicting its demise, without any notion of what might replace it other than American boys and girls in uniform. In these perilous times the president should be held accountable for his stewardship. He should run on his record. But what do we see from him and his campaign? First, a political ad that desecrates the memories of our dead at the World Trade Center, using flag-draped bodies as political props. Now we see an ad that racially profiles olive-skinned men as terrorists while mendaciously suggesting that the Democratic candidate and war hero John Kerry is soft on terrorism. Some have rightly made the connection between that ad and the infamous Willie Horton ad of the Bush/Dukakis campaign of 1988, an ad that exploited racial fear, but a better comparison might be with the negative ad run against triple amputee and Vietnam veteran, Max Cleland. In that one Cleland was made to appear as part of a trio whose other members were Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. When not running nasty ads, Bush's attack dogs are busy launching vicious attacks on the characters of those who would dare to point out where this administration has failed the American people. Who will soon forget Ann Coulter's two articles defaming Max Cleland? It's worth noting that not a single supporter of Bush had the decency to defend Cleland and criticize that smear. Instead Coulter's libel was widely circulated by conservatives. And just the other day, Max Boot, a neoconservative publicist who coined the "jodhpur and pith helmet" term to promote his imperialistic view of America's future, decided to smear former Air Force officer Karen Kwiatkowski, as well as retired CIA officer Ray McGovern and myself. These smears must be understood as part of the Bush campaign strategy of "slime and defend." . . . [More] About the writer Joseph C. Wilson IV, the former U.S. deputy chief of mission to Iraq during the Gulf War and ambassador to Niger during the George H.W. Bush administration, blew the whistle on the George W. Bush administration's lies about Niger uranium sales to Iraq. He is the author of the upcoming book "The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity -- A Diplomat's Memoir" to be published by Carroll and Graf on April 30 and serialized by Salon.
Post #164,238 by marlowe 7/13/04 2:58:08 PM Reply	What's that about Pinocchio? [link\|http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html\|Joe Wilson's the one with pants on fire] Excerpt: Wilson's assertions -- both about what he found in Niger and what the Bush administration did with the information -- were undermined yesterday in a bipartisan Senate intelligence committee report. The panel found that Wilson's report, rather than debunking intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq, as he has said, bolstered the case for most intelligence analysts. And contrary to Wilson's assertions and even the government's previous statements, the CIA did not tell the White House it had qualms about the reliability of the Africa intelligence that made its way into 16 fateful words in President Bush's January 2003 State of the Union address. Yesterday's report said that whether Iraq sought to buy lightly enriched "yellowcake" uranium from Niger is one of the few bits of prewar intelligence that remains an open question. Much of the rest of the intelligence suggesting a buildup of weapons of mass destruction was unfounded, the report said. The report turns a harsh spotlight on what Wilson has said about his role in gathering prewar intelligence, most pointedly by asserting that his wife, CIA employee Valerie Plame, recommended him. I say: I await your shamefaced retraction. But I won't be holding my breath. ---------------------------------------------------------------- "All the news you wish would go away" Iraq is free, and there's nothing you can do about it. DEAL WITH IT. [link\|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html\|http://www.angelfire...arlowe/index.html]
Post #164,376 by boxley 7/14/04 9:47:20 AM Reply	6 [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=164335\|http://z.iwethey.org...?contentid=164335] Anchorage AK: House for sale 3 bed 1 bath 1440 sq feet huge lot near Cheney Lake 175K FSBO 813.273.3518 I wondered what Darwinian moment had to effect itself before we devolved from children flying paper flags in the sky to half formed creatures thundering in a wall of horns down the road to Roncevaux. James Lee Burke questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]

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