Husking Corn

"George W. Bush is a liar. He has lied large and small. He has lied directly and by omission. He has misstated facts, knowingly or not. He has misled. He has broken promises, been unfaithful to political vows. Through his campaign for the presidency and his first years in the White House, he has mugged the truth—not merely in honest error, but deliberately, consistently, and repeatedly to advance his career and his agenda."

This is the introduction to David Corn’s new book: The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception. A book that is little more than a partisan jeremiad, following in the footsteps of Paul Krugman, Michael Moore and Al Franken. Corn demonstrates he is every bit the propagandist they are. Indeed, Goebbels was an amateur compared to these people.

This tome supposedly chronicles the lies of George W. Bush. Yet, after reading Corn’s own comments about his book and excerpts from the book you know who is really lying. One wonders if anyone bothered to check the facts. Of course, leftists like Corn never let the truth stand in the way of a best seller.

Corn cites several examples of what he claims are lies that the president has told. However, there are three items that Corn lists in his Top Ten Lies. They are that Bush lied about the relationship between Al-Qaeda and Iraq, that Bush lied about Iraq’s WMD’s, and that Bush lied about the benefits of his tax plan.

Even a cursory examination of Corn’s declaration reveals that it is Corn who is prevaricating. During a rather bizarre Alternet interview, with himself, about his book Corn was asked to give one undeniable example of how Bush lied. He responded: "At a November 7, 2002, press conference, he said that Saddam Hussein was ‘a threat because he is dealing with al Qaeda.’ "

Corn then stated, "There has been no evidence substantiating that. In fact, former deputy CIA chief Richard Kerr, who has been reviewing the prewar intelligence, has said that US intelligence did not establish a direct operational link between Hussein and al Qaeda." (italics mine)

However, Corn’s assertion is patently false. Indeed, there are several sources for the president’s claim of a relationship between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda – including the CIA.

First, Corn’s quote of Kerr differs from the Washington Post quote, which said, "Kerr… said his preliminary report is the first half of the review… the preliminary report indicates that although al Qaeda and Hussein had a common enemy in the United States, and there were some ties among individuals in the two camps, ‘it was not at all clear there was any coordination or joint activities,’ said one individual inside the CIA who is familiar with the report.[Washington Post July 4 2003 Page A20] (italics mine)

Knight–Ridder made a similar report. They said, "Senior U.S. officials who were skeptical of the administration's case for going to war with Iraq have said there were contacts between al-Qaida members and Iraqis and that Islamic extremists associated with al-Qaida were in Iraq. But, these officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, there was never any compelling evidence that Saddam provided support or weapons to al-Qaida for terrorism against Americans. The internal CIA review is examining the agency's performance during the year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in analyzing intelligence on weapons of mass destruction programs and ties between Saddam and al-Qaida. It also has been looking at the CIA's predictions of how long the war would last and what postwar Iraq would look like. …The review is ongoing and hasn't been made public." [Link] (italics mine)

Contrast what Corn claims Kerr said "the CIA had not found any proof of operational ties," with what CBS and Knight –Ridder quoted Kerr as saying, "there were some ties," and "there were contacts."

The CIA mentioned evidence of the link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. In his testimony of February 2003, CIA Director George Tenet said of the Al-Qaeda and Iraq association:

Iraq is harboring senior members of a terrorist network led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a close associate of Usama Bin Ladin. We know Zarqawi's network was behind the poison plots in Europe that I discussed earlier as well as the assassination of a US State Department employee in Jordan. Iraq has in the past provided training in document forgery and bomb-making to al-Qa'ida. It also provided training in poisons and gasses to two al-Qa'ida associates; one of these associates characterized the relationship he forged with Iraqi officials as successful. Tenet even said, "Mr. Chairman, this information is based on a solid foundation of intelligence. It comes to us from credible and reliable sources. Much of it is corroborated by multiple sources. "

So we have the CIA in February 2003 confirming a link between Al-Qaeda and Iraq. The CIA was not alone though. Independent news sources confirmed this as well.

In September 2002, an ABC News report by Don Dahler was titled Three Prisoners in N. Iraq Detail Links Between Al-Qaeda and Iraq: Al Qaeda Members Met With Saddam

Dahler wrote "Abu Iman al-Maliki was convicted of spying on the Kurds as an Iraqi intelligence officer…The U.S. believes Iraq has had contact with al-Qaeda," I said, ‘Do you know that to be a fact?’ ….Yes. In ' 92, elements of al-Qaeda came to Baghdad and met with Saddam Hussein and among them was Dr. Al-Zawahiri.’.. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, you may recall, has been identified as a top lieutenant of bin Laden's, and is widely thought to be a mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. …"There is a relationship between the governments of al Qaeda and the Iraqi government,’ he continued. ‘It began after the events of Kuwait approximately. That is when the relationship developed and many delegations came to Baghdad. There are elements of al Qaeda training on suicide operations, assassinations, explosions, and the making of chemical substances, and they are supervised by a number of officers, experts from the Iraqi intelligence, the Explosives Division, the Assassinations Division, different specialties.’ ….Al-Maliki's specialty is somewhat more disturbing. He says he was part of a group of officers ordered by Saddam to hide chemical weapons throughout the Iraqi countryside. When I asked him if the U.N. weapons inspectors might find anything if they return, he smiled and said, ‘No. They will find nothing.’… "

Dahler’s report continues with another interview. He writes, "Shihab Ali is in prison for the murder of an Iraqi dissident who had been living in Iran. He was captured at a Kurdish checkpoint and found in his possession were some photographic negatives which, when developed, were a full-color record of the grisly deed. When confronted in court with the photos, he confessed all. He's still confessing.

‘Killing is something I did. I killed. This was for the Iraqi intelligence and al Qaeda.’

Shihab Ali told me he has done numerous operations for al Qaeda and Iraq over the years, including numerous assassinations and smuggling drugs and guns. Two years ago, he says he was hired by an Iraqi intelligence officer, Othman Salman Daoud, to smuggle 30 refrigerator "motors" — which I took to mean "compressors" — from Iraq to Iran, where they were handed over to men he describes as Afghan members of al Qaeda. He was paid $10,000 each for the items, which usually contain the refrigerant gas Freon, but, in this case, contained something more mysterious. Shihab Ali was warned it was dangerous to himself, and to any children he might hope to have."

The June 25, 2003 edition of the Nashville Tennessean reported, " Gilbert S. Merritt, a federal appeals court judge invited to help Iraqis construct a legal system in postwar Iraq believes he is in possession of documents linking Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Merritt is ‘a lifelong Democrat and a man of unimpeachable integrity."

The Toronto Star reported in April 28, 2003, "Star Finds bin Laden- Iraq links." And the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a federal judge ordered Usama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and others to pay nearly $104 million to the families of two Sept. 11 victims, saying there is evidence -- though meager -- that Iraq had a hand in the terrorist attacks.

Even in 1999, the media reported a relationship between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. The UPI in November 1999 said, "The U.S. government has tried to prevent accused terror suspect Osama bin Laden from fleeing Afghanistan to either Iraq. " A U.S. Newswire, dated December 23, 1999 stated, "Terrorism Expert Reveals Why Osama bin Laden has Declared War On America;... (author Yossef) Bodansky also reveals the relationship between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and how the U.S. bombing of Iraq is "strengthening the hands of militant Islamists eager to translate their rage into violence and terrorism."

Then there is the statement from former Navy Secretary John Lehman, a member of the congressional commission investigating the September 11 attacks. Lehman proclaimed, "there is evidence" of Iraqi links to al Qaeda.

So here are several different statements, made from 1999 to July 2003, from different sources - the media, the CIA and an independent commission - that link Al-Qaeda and Iraq.

Corn is also being deceitful about his unequivocal claim that Bush lied about the WMD’s. In the July 9, 2003 edition of the Nation, Corn wrote:

"…. you might have missed the latest evidence that George W. Bush misrepresented the threat from Iraq as he guided the country into invasion and occupation in the Middle East. …The day before Independence Day, Richard Kerr, a former CIA deputy director who is leading a review of the CIA's prewar intelligence on Iraq's unconventional weapons, held a series of interviews with journalists and revealed that his unfinished inquiry had so far found that the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had been somewhat ambiguous, that analysts at the CIA and other intelligence services had received pressure from the Bush administration.... In other words, Bush lied. "

CBS News contradicted Corn. According to them Kerr said, "The analysts cataloged some uncertainties about the data in intelligence reports but still generally concluded Iraq had active weapons of mass destruction programs."

Senator Jay Rockefeller contradicts Corn as well. As reported by CNN July 31: " The ranking Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller said, " ‘there's a very good chance’ that weapons of mass destruction will eventually be found."

Both Nancy Pelosi and Madeline Albright were quoted in 1998 and 1999 as saying that Iraq possessed WMD’s.

So why is Corn lying? We know he is opposed to this war. We know he hates George Bush. Is that reason enough for lying?

The third example of Corn’s unconscionable literary fraud is his claim that Bush lied about the effects of his tax plan. Corn wrote, "And there was Bush's shifty claim that his first round of tax cuts would wipe out income taxes for a single-mom waitress making $22,000 and help her reach the middle class. When the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche analyzed Bush's plan, it found that it would do no such thing, for at that level of income she already owed no income taxes. "

This is what Bush said, according to the December 1, 1999 edition of CNN.com, " his plan will address marginal tax rates, which are the taxes paid on every extra dollar earned by a taxpayer. He cited the example of a single mother raising two children -- what he called the toughest job in America -- and working as a waitress pays a higher marginal tax rate than a lawyer earning $22,000….Bush said in this case, the government starts taxing the woman's income at the same time it is reducing her earned income benefit and when all taxes are considered, half of her new earnings are taken away…."In other words, the hardest hours of labor are taxed at the highest rates," he said. "This isn't right and this is not fair. Under my plan she will pay no income taxes at all.’"

According to Edmund L. Andrews’ January 9 column in the New York Times, "An analysis of Bush’s plan by the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche shows that the income tax reductions would be smallest for low-income workers, especially single people without children, and would be potentially huge for people at the top."

The Cincinnati Enquirer quoted Deloitte & Touche's director of tax policy as saying, "Families with children will see significant cuts, because of both the rate cut and the doubling of the child credit."

The Nightly Business Review a public television station in Florida stated, "An analysis of the tax cut using the waitress revealed that, "the Bush plan saves our waitress $448 more than under current law. Now, here's where it gets tricky. Let's say the waitress earns an extra $1,000, which after her exemptions and deductions increases her taxable income to $10,650. …. Under current law, out of the extra $1,000 she earns, the waitress keeps $639. So her marginal tax rate is 36%. Under the Bush plan, she keeps $789."

So Corn’s claim of Bush lying about the tax cut is like his other claims – it itself is a lie.

Just as Professor Harold Hill manufactured a crisis for the residents of River City in the Broadway musical The Music Man, Corn is manufacturing a crisis.

Michael P. Tremoglie is a writer whose work has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Front Page and Insight magazines. He is working on his first novel 'A Sense of Duty'.E-mail him at elfegobaca2@earthlink.net

Isn't Corn the guy that O'Reilly had on his show, to take him to task for, what else, lying? If so, I remember him sitting there looking as if he wished he had never agreed to appear.

2 posted on 11/21/2003 5:10:54 PM PST by Paul Atreides (Is it really so difficult to post the entire article?)

Imagine, if Michael Moore ate David Corn, then we could honestly say there was a thin person in there trying to get out.

"David Corn’s new book: The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception"

This guy Corn and his fellow travelers really should decide if GWB is dumb as they relentlessly claim or "a brilliant and evil practitioner of the dark arts" as they also relentlessly claim. C'mon dweebs, which one is it?

I remember David Korn. He's one of the draft animals in the barnyard that is Kristina van den Heuvel's The Nation. Others who leave their droppings there include Gore Vidal, Noam Chomsky, Paul Newman, John Conyers, James Baldwin, Ramsey Clark, Gloria Steinem, Barney Frank, Bill Gates Sr., Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nadler, Scott Ritter, Tim Robbins plus a herd of regretable, forgettable others.

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