Posted on 07/20/2003 9:50:22 PM PDT by DPB101
There is a growing debate in the U.S. over President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech claim that "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussain recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Serious questions have been raised about the validity of the intelligence used to make that claim and whether the president was aware of CIA's concerns with the intelligence before he made the speech.
This controversy, coupled with the continuing lethal attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq and questions about the adequacy of the Administration's post-war planning, has produced a changing political climate in the United States.
Despite White House efforts to silence critics, both the press and political opposition have continued their challenge. During Bush's Africa trip, for example, the accompanying press corps hammered him with questions about Iraq. The din they created was so great, at times it all but drowned out the Administration's efforts to use the trip to focus on new U.S. initiatives towards African nations.
At the end of a week of relentless criticism and allegations that the administration may have "manipulated" intelligence to make its case for war, both Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice appeared on the Sunday morning news programmes in an effort to snuff out the story.
But, despite the administration's best efforts, the story grew. In fact, each answer provided only new questions about the veracity of the administration's claims. Even when CIA Director George Tenet stepped forward to accept responsibility for the appearance of the unsubstantiated claim in Bush's speech, his claim was not universally accepted.
For those unfamiliar with this type of situation that occurs rather frequently in U.S. politics, it's called a "feeding frenzy". The metaphor describes the mêlée created when hungry sharks smell blood in the water and furiously attack their prey.
In this instance the press, having taken a rather uncritical approach to Bush during the lead up to the war and during the war itself, now senses that they may have been misled and that Bush is vulnerable and so they are attacking.
An additional metaphor for describing their behaviour was given by former Senator Eugene McCarthy, who equated journalists to crows. "Like crows on an electrical wire," he observed, "when one lands they all land and when one takes off, they all take off."
This appears to be what is happening now to Bush. While it has not been fatal, the "frenzy" has taken a toll. Democrats have become emboldened and their criticism is harsh.
Senator Ted Kennedy, for example, charged: "It's a disgrace that the case for war seems to have been based on shoddy intelligence, hyped intelligence and even false intelligence."
Senator Bob Graham, member of the Intelligence Committee and a candidate for the presidency, termed Bush's behaviour "impeachable" and said it was more serious than anything done by Bill Clinton. Other Senators questioned the administration's "truthfulness".
Even two prominent Republican Senators, Hagel and McCain, expressed dissatisfaction. The nine candidates competing for the presidential nomination have, for the first time, found common ground in their charges against Bush.
While the nine were at one point divided between those who were for or against the war, now they all appear to have questions about Bush's claims and especially about the administration's post-war propaganda.
The president has his ardent defenders in the media and within his own party, but they have been put on the defensive for the first time in a year, and do not appear to be handling their defence too well.
Making the entire situation more problematic are the daily press accounts of U.S. casualties in Iraq, and indications that the rosy pre-war scenario painted by pro-war advocates are just not panning out.
Questions that should have been answered before hostilities began are only being answered now. For example, before the war, in addition to making their claim of "solid intelligence" on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programme, the Administration dodged questions on the cost and the terms of commitment of U.S. forces in a post-war Iraq.
Only now has the Pentagon put a near $4 billion per month price tag on the U.S. troop presence and made it clear that forces will remain for the foreseeable future.
The administration's latest efforts to deflect the concerns about intelligence, cost and causalties by stating that the real reason for the war was the "liberation of Iraq" is also not silencing critics who appear to be in no mood for a "subject change" at this point.
More indication of Bush's problems can be seen in the findings of a recent Zogby poll, stating that for the first time since the 2000 election only 46 per cent of likely voters would vote for Bush as opposed to 47 per cent who think "it is time for someone new to be elected president".
Bush may ride out this crisis or the unexpected may help him breathe new life into his presidency. Saddam could be found. Stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction may be found or the situation on the ground may dramatically improve and allow for a real declaration of victory. Should none of this come to pass, however, questions will remain and an emboldened press and opposition will continue to mount a challenge, at least for the foreseeable future.
The writer, president of the Arab American Institute and a Democratic political lobbyist, hosts the weekly radio and television programme 'A Capital View' on the Arab Network of America which is also aired live in the Middle East on MBC. He also writes a weekly column that appears regularly in Gulf News. He can be contacted at: jzogby@gulfnews.com
FACT: These are the 16 words of importance:
AMERICA AND THE WORLD ARE SAFER BECAUSE SERIAL MURDERER SADDAM AND HIS INSANE SONS ARE GONE.
This is like Planned Parenthood and Handgun Control joining with the NRA and Pro-life groups to support the same candidate.
Diogenesis: AMERICA AND THE WORLD ARE SAFER BECAUSE SERIAL MURDERER SADDAM AND HIS INSANE SONS ARE GONE.Really? Where did they go? Our own commanding general says Saddam is alive and being sheltered in Northern Iraq while he organizes resistance.
Don't forget, there are about 43% of the American sheeple that will vote democRAT no matter whose name is in the box.
I think you're confusing him with Zagat..
More indication of Bush's problems can be seen in the findings of a recent Zogby poll, stating that for the first time since the 2000 election only 46 per cent of likely voters would vote for Bush as opposed to 47 per cent who think "it is time for someone new to be elected president".
I was monitoring Kute Katie Kommie's Today Show for a minute or two this morning (couldn't get to the remote quick enough!). They played up the latest American killed, and danced in the blood of 2 others killed this weekend.
I flipped over to FOXNews, and the same story was playing.
Oddly, though, FOX's story talked about an American soldier AND his Iraqi interpreter being killed.
I think Couric & the gang took the dead interpreter out of the story so as not to "confuse" the message that they're sending the audience - that 'American boys and girls are being killed for no reason at all, certainly not to protect Iraqis who support the U.S.'.
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