Posted on 11/08/2006 9:51:57 AM PST by mhking
This is just crossing my desk now; nothing follows yet. According to some sources this is the subject of the noon presser.
That he was sick and tired of fighting a politically-correct war?
That he privately thought that many of our field generals in Iraq are not adequate in their jobs?
That he wasn't getting the ear of the President who may have been leaning on mushy, inner-circle political advisors who wanted to win the next election more than to win the war quickly and decisively?
Is it possible that Vice-President Cheney feels the same way? He appeared to me to be just going through motions this past year.
The variables of what goes on behind the scenes are countless. But I'm not discounting the fact that Rumsfield may have wanted out, and Cheney may want to get out also, although he will repress that thought since he has only 48 months to go in the Bush administration. He'll stay the course.
I'm afraid our hawks are being neutered or eliminated outright.
Leni
They did so because they thought Bush was not listening and was covering his ears. Losing Rummy would have shown that Bush was serious about change and success, not status quo, and those that stayed home or voted the other way would have voted for ISSUES, not as a message.
As did Clinton, they will prove they're not soft on national security by talking tough and bloviating, not by actually taking any actions that improve our security.
Iraqgate: Confession and Cover-Up
By Robert Parry
While the O.J. Simpson trial gobbled up endless TV hours and countless news pages, a concurrent criminal trial in Miami went almost unnoticed by the national media, even though it called into question the judgment of three U.S. presidents.
President Clinton's Justice Department had put on trial Teledyne Industries, a major military contractor, and two of its mid-level employees, on charges of selling cluster-bomb parts to a Chilean arms manufacturer, Carlos Cardoen. Cardoen, in turn, allegedly shipped finished bombs to Iraq.
Defense attorneys for the Teledyne employees argued that the CIA, as part of a secret operation that has come to be known as "Iraqgate," had authorized the shipments--a claim that the Reagan/Bush administration had long denied. Since taking office in 1993, the Clinton team has continued that GOP position, stating as recently as Jan. 16 that the administration "did not find evidence that U.S. agencies or officials illegally armed Iraq."
But on Jan. 31, this bipartisan dike finally sprang a leak. Howard Teicher, who served on Reagan's National Security Council staff, offered an affidavit in the Teledyne case that declared that CIA director William J. Casey and his deputy, Robert M. Gates, "authorized, approved and assisted" delivery of cluster bombs to Iraq through Cardoen (In These Times, 3/6/95).
Teicher also described a still-secret National Security Decision Directive signed by President Reagan in June 1982 that set forth a U.S. policy of preventing Iraq from losing its war with Iran. "CIA Director Casey personally spearheaded the effort to ensure that Iraq had sufficient military weapons, ammunition and vehicles to avoid losing the Iran-Iraq war," Teicher stated.
Clinton's Justice Department reacted angrily to the new disclosures. Federal prosecutors attacked Teicher's affidavit as a lie--and then classified it as a state secret. They then succeeded in convincing the trial judge to block Teicher's testimony as irrelevant to the trial of the two Teledyne employees.
One would think that a high-level confession that confirms controversial allegations made against two past presidents might be big news--especially when a third president tries to suppress it. But with the Washington press corps apparently tired of the Reagan/Bush scandals, the Miami trial received scant notice.
The Teicher affidavit merited only a brief reference in a "defense & diplomacy" round-up in the Washington Post (2/4/95). The New York Times also published a cursory account of the new information (2/5/95); almost all other major newspapers ignored it. Indeed, among America's major papers and networks, only the Miami Herald has given the trial regular coverage.
Beyond the Teledyne case itself, the affidavit raises questions about the credibility of leading Reagan/Bush figures. During the 1991 hearings to confirm Robert Gates as CIA director, Gates denied under oath that he had played a role in Cardoen cluster bomb sales to Iraq, as arms dealers had charged. Teicher's affidavit provides new evidence that Gates misled the Senate.
Teicher's affidavit also bolsters a New Yorker article (11/2/92) by reporters Murray Waas and Craig Unger, which asserted that Vice President George Bush in 1986 urged Saddam Hussein to intensify his air war against Iran--in order to increase Iran's demand for U.S.- made anti-aircraft weapons. Appearing two weeks before the '92 election, the New Yorker article was attacked in the conservative press. On the Wall Street Journal's editorial page (10/28/94), Steven Emerson mocked the article as a "Byzantine conspiracy theory."
In one of those post-modern political moments, fictional reporters in the "Doonesbury" comic strip questioned Bush about the New Yorker story. But no real-life reporter covering the Bush campaign asked the president about his tactical air-war advice to Saddam. Now, however, Teicher has corroborated much of the Waas/Unger story.
Given the significance of the Teledyne trial and Teicher's affidavit in judging the actions and integrity of the Reagan/Bush and Clinton administrations, why the near-total press blackout?
Part of it is the power of "conventional wisdom"--Washington insiders have decided that Iraqgate didn't happen, so any evidence to the contrary doesn't register. Another reason might be the residual fear of conservative attacks against journalists who plumb the crimes of the Reagan/Bush era too deeply. It's easier to dismiss such issues as "ancient history"--a term that somehow doesn't get applied to stories about 15-year-old Arkansas land deals.
There's also the media's expectation of star-quality in the age of O.J. After all, the two Teledyne defendants were just anonymous mid-level corporate officials. And besides, the federal judiciary does not permit cameras into the courtrooms.
Robert Parry, who has covered Washington since 1977, is the author of Fooling America and Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery. Trick or Treason can be ordered by calling 1-800-462-6420.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1291
I have a feeling they will pass increased defense spending. After all, the military budget has to get past Bush.
"Cheney may want to get out also, although he will repress that thought since he has only 48 months to go in the Bush administration. He'll stay the course.
"
Don't be so sure. I'm sure not. Personally, I've always thought that the plan was for Cheney to resign in Januare 2007, to be replaced with a suitable Presidential candidate for 2008.
That plan has been thrown into a cocked hat, now, if it existed. Since a new VP must be confirmed by a majority of both houses of Congress, it would be really, really hard to get any conservative named as a replacement VP.
Still, as you say, Cheney's been really quiet. He seems out of the general loop these days. We may see his resignation coming up. It's even remotely possible that President Bush might resign.
A lot depends on what's lurking around in dark corners, waiting to be exposed.
At this point, I'm not going to rule out any bizarre thing happening.
Anybody see any analysis on the voting
Was it stay at homes or GOP/IND voters going democrat that caused this horror
Oh, puhleeease! Rice? Why? To continue the disaster? I cannot understand anyone being on the Rice bandwagon after her piss-poor performance at state.
Of course if Cheney resigns, "pending a replacement", then if congress sits on their hands, Bush does a recess appointment.
"Ever since Ted Kennedy stabbed him in the back, Bush should have known that the Democrats were vile and persistent."
Dubya's father should have told him the Democrats were vile and persistent before Dubya ran for President.
LOL! I'm sure Speaker Pelosi will listen to them more closely. Anyone who thinks like that is nothing short of being a fool who deserves what they got.
You must be one a them there optimists :)
Even if you're right, though, it won't do much good, because they'll still spend the next 2 years putting up bills to neuter our intelligence agencies and protect the "rights" of the animals who want to kill us.
"Yes, I think the Dems will be desperate to prove they are not soft on national security."
That will be one desperate effort, because the Dems are in fact soft on national security. Have been since about 1972.
Clever. Very clever!
Maybe. But the timing could not appear worse.
If announced a few weeks ago, a few seats would have been spared.
But then I'm sure they knew that. After all, why keep amnesty opponents on-board.
"Of course if Cheney resigns, "pending a replacement", then if congress sits on their hands, Bush does a recess appointment.
"
Read the 25th Amendment. He does not have that option.
"I have a feeling they will pass increased defense spending."
Congress may pass increased defense spending, but at least half of the Democrats will vote against it.
Give me a break, no they didn't. If anything they spit on the people running the war. Mostly they spit on the so-called conservatives who were in power. The people who did little for the past two years in spite of their promises.
Amen brother. GW should have nominated Murtha, Ron Paul and the Cato Institute to be joint SECDEF.
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