In The Back Pages
August 23, 2008, Matthew Good The lead story on most major media websites this morning is the announcement that Joe Biden has been chosen as Barack Obama’s running mate. Buried in the back pages is a story of much greater significance, and one that ties in with my last entry. From The Raw Story…
“New documents from within the Bush administration and US intelligence community during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq reveal that the White House began assembling a case for war before it had compiled the intel that ostensibly formed the basis of that case.
A new report on the documents from George Washington University’s National Security Archive also presents compelling evidence that the Bush administration pressured the CIA and other intelligence agencies to tailor their reports to back-up Bush’s desire to invade. The report suggests the bulk of this effort was run out of Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, backing up numerous other post-war examinations of the path to invasion that saw Cheney as the mastermind of the plan to oust Saddam Hussein.
The Archive published a July 2002 draft of a CIA “White Paper” on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. The draft was prepared months before a National Intelligence Estimate on Saddam’s regime, which Congress did not demand until September, although the final “White Paper” released in October purportedly summarized that very NIE.
In addition to the Archive’s newly obtained documents, Dr. John Prados, who compiled the report, examined previous investigations of pre-war intelligence manipulation such as the recently completed Senate Intelligence Committee “Phase II” report on administration officials’ pre-war rhetoric and books on the subject such as former White House spokesman Scott McClellan’s memoir.”
The politicization of the intelligence community post 9/11 is a very important factor to take into account, and one that is largely overlooked.
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This is a terrifying fact- one that has become all too common today- media, intelligence, politicians, etc- with everything being bought and sold with such shocking ease, how does the average schmo like me put much stock into anything nowadays?
The truth should be the easiest fucking thing in the world to find and yet it often appears to be the most elusive accomplishment amid our human fumbling.
Scary shit all around.
Is there anyone left that actually believes that the war and the events leading to to the war fair and just?
Maybe someone can help answer, and I’m not saying it would be ok but so what if Iraq had weapons of mass destrution. So do numerous other countries and one country in particular used an atom bomb and a hydrogen bomb with devastating results. I’m not as worried about Iraq as I’am about the US. They scare the shit out of me. I do believe they have the power to influence peace, but It doesn’t seem as though that is the case. No money in peace? Just boring news on CNN.
Anyway it seems as though this subject bores the hell out of Americans now and they don’t really care if he’s held responsible, they just want him gone. For the sake of all that holy please don’t forget get mad show your government the people have the power and they need to listen. Stop viewing your president as someone who can do no wrong. He is falable, and yes they sometimes do things that only benefit personal gain.
Disgraceful, but in keeping perfectly with everything else that’s been revealed about the lead-up to war. No one should be shocked by this at all. Still outraged, yes, but not shocked.