Posted on 02/03/2004 9:50:08 AM PST by Gothmog
Give former diplomat Joseph Wilson an hour, and he'll come up with about 100 ways to condemn President Bush's policies in Iraq and his explanations for going to war.
He'll talk of "deception" and "manipulation." Of weapons inspectors who were doing their job but weren't allowed to finish. Of a diminished world view of the United States — from practical and moral leader to rush-to-battle imperialist.
In words carefully chosen for their sting, in newspaper opinion pieces and television appearances and now on the lecture circuit, the former ambassador has made a new career out of taking on the Bush administration.
He will speak at 8 p.m. Friday at McCaw Hall, where many in the crowd likely will welcome the former ambassador as a hero for accusing the Bush administration of exaggerating the case for war.
Wilson challenged the president's 2003 State of the Union assertion that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had tried to acquire uranium from Niger for nuclear weapons — a claim the Bush administration later said was a mistake to include.
Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson will speak at Seattle's McCaw Hall at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets for the speech, sponsored by the nonprofit arts group Foolproof, run from $10 to $75. For more information: www.foolproof.org.
Wilson's criticisms of Bush, and continuing controversy over the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, have made the career diplomat a hot property. The man whom the CIA sent to Niger in 2002 to investigate rumors that Saddam was trying to buy uranium (Wilson concluded there was no evidence he was) now has an agent in New York and a book, "The Politics of Truth," coming out this spring.
His role, as he sees it: "To animate the debate."
Seattle's left-leaning politics make Wilson a good fit for a talk here, said Marilyn Raichle, executive director of Foolproof, the nonprofit group that is sponsoring the event.
"You couldn't be doing this in Omaha," Raichle said.
Wilson's questions about the war have not only hung around, they are now seen as having more heft — especially in light of comments by former chief U.S. weapons inspector David Kay that he thinks Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction when the war began.
The White House said yesterday that Bush will sign an order to establish an independent review of prewar intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
Wilson's celebrity is also tied to the fact that he is married to Valerie Plame, a clandestine CIA operative whose name was revealed in a column last summer by journalist Robert Novak. Administration officials were said to be the source of that information, and an inquiry into who disclosed Plame's name is continuing. Wilson contends his wife's name was made known as retaliation for his comments against Bush.
Wilson's visit to Seattle will include campaigning for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, said Ali Wade, Washington state director for Kerry's presidential campaign. Wilson said he has campaigned for Kerry in Iowa, New Hampshire, Maine, New York and Boston.
Wilson said he keeps campaigning as separate as possible from his career on the lecture circuit. But should someone at McCaw Hall ask, he'll assess the presidential race and talk Kerry up.
Wilson's politics have shifted over the years. He served as acting ambassador in Baghdad under the administration of Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, and supported the first Gulf War. In the 2000 election, he gave money to Bush, though he said he voted for Al Gore after becoming disenchanted by Bush campaign tactics against presidential candidate and Arizona Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary.
Though the past has Wilson angry, the future has him fearful. The U.S. should not have gone into Iraq for the reasons it did, Wilson said, but pulling out prematurely could lead to regionwide instability.
"I fear if we cut and run, we end up with a civil war in Iraq for which we will be blamed eternally."
Who made that choice? For whom?
If by "practical and moral leader," he is in some way referring to Slick Willie, the man is clearly delusional and should be hospitalized for his own protection!
From Washington for Dean
Another notable was Therese Hanson, Congressman Jim McDermott's wife and a genuinely good person.
They need a civil rights commission in Iowa? To protect our Cornstitutional rights?
Ash is associated with William Pitt, who in turn is associated with former UNSCOM inspector and "virtual child" molester Scott Ritter.
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