Study: False statements preceded war
The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.
Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.
Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
Read the Complete Article: Study: False statements preceded war
Thanks Saboma for sending me the link.
Center For Public Integrity
Interesting to note that none of the people named are still with the Bush Administration.
We've all known this for some time but to actually see it in print and see the scope of the lies is unsettling, at best. This ought to cause everyone of us to call for Impeachment of both Bush and Cheney and the resignation of Condoleeza Rice as well as that of Nancy Pelosi.
The Democrats are up to their ass in this mess as well, rest assured about that.
Jan 23, 2008
How We Got Lied Into War
Jan 18, 2008
Bush calls for $145 billion stimulus package
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke entered the stimulus debate Thursday, endorsing the idea of putting money into the hands of those who would spend it quickly and boost the flagging economy.
In other words give money to the ones who need it most so they will run right out and spend it. I don't know about you but this sounds like putting a band-aid on an oozing sore.
Too little too late Bush.
Read More^
Jan 17, 2008
Bush administration backs JDAM sales to Saudi Arabia
The Bush administration is preparing the way for the sale of precision munitions to Saudi Arabia as part of a major new arms package for its Middle East allies.
The US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) notified US Congress on 14 January of a proposed sale of 900 Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits for the kingdom, along with integration equipment, contractor engineering and other technical support. The total value of the sale is estimated at USD123 million.
The Saudi government has requested the kits to enhance the capability of the Royal Saudi Air Force's F-15S aircraft.
Sale of JDAMs to Saudi Arabia promises to bring close Congressional scrutiny. Congress has 30 days to block the proposed deal, and several legislators have pledged to try to halt the sales or make them subject to restrictions. Administration officials have said that the "majority" of military equipment destined for Saudi Arabia would be defensive, but some critics in Washington have expressed concern that the sale of JDAMs would give Saudi Arabia an offensive capability that could be used against other United States allies in the region - most notably against Israel.
Source: 2008 Jane's Information Group
Related: US Lawmakers Renew Opposition to US Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia
A group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives is renewing objections to any sale of sophisticated U.S. precision-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, 51 Democrats and one Republican have signed on so far to a resolution disapproving of the proposed transaction, which is part of a larger $20 billion military sale to Saudi Arabia and Gulf states aimed at countering threats from Iran.
Dec 21, 2007
Georgie the Brown-Nosed Puppet
You know Donald and Condi
And Scooter and Rove,
Mukasey and Chertoff,
Gates and Cheney.
Now let us recall,
the most famous Puppet of all
Georgie the brown-nosed Puppet
Has a very brown nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other Bushies
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Georgie
Join in any Party games
Then one foggy Pre-War Eve
Cheney came to say
Georgie with your nose so brown
Won't you start to bomb tonight?
Then all the Bushies loved him
And they shouted out with glee
Georgie the brown-nosed Puppet
You'll go down in history!
(To the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
This came to me this morning - when the Muse calls I listen
Sep 30, 2007
U.S. Is Top Arms Seller to Developing World
Bush administration has argued that it is important to maintain the support of a nuclear-armed Pakistan in the broader counterterrorism fight, in particular as Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders regroup in the rugged North-West Frontier Province along the Afghan border.
In 2006, the United States agreed to sell $10.3 billion in weapons to the developing world, or 35.8 percent of these deals worldwide, according to the study. Russia was second with $8.1 billion, or 28.1 percent, and Britain was third with $3.1 billion, or 10.8 percent.
Pakistan concluded $5.1 billion in agreements to buy arms in 2006. That total was followed by India with $3.5 billion in agreements and Saudi Arabia with $3.2 billion in deals.
The combined value of arms sales worldwide to both developed and developing nations in 2006 reached $40.3 billion, a decline of nearly 13 percent from 2005.
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Aug 28, 2007
Bye Bye to the Texas Mafia
Seven years ago, a group of Texans with strong reputations went to Washington to take their place in President Bush's new administration.
Several come home bearing the scars of the experience.
Al Gonzales, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Joe Allbaugh and Scott McClellan were among the shining stars of the Bush White House. In varying degrees, they have become All the President's Casualties.
"They're leaving bruised, battered and to one degree or another, publicly embarrassed,"
Perhaps if President Bush valued copmpetence rather than loyalty his Administration wouldn't be in so much trouble.
Say goodbye to the original 'Texas Mafia' and smile.
Aug 18, 2007
Lies, Lies, and More Lies
For nine months, the Bush administration went to great lengths to hide what would seem to be an innocuous secret, the fact that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was forced out of his job the day before the November election, not the day after. The significance of the secret appears to be that Rumsfeld got the ax the same day he wrote a secret memo suggesting a de-escalation of the Iraq War -- when George W. Bush already had decided to escalate. August 17, 2007
Read More...Rumsfeld's Mysterious Resignation
Aug 17, 2007
Bush: Clear and Present Danger
George W. Bush, the out-of-control despot who thinks the Presidency of the United States is a license to lie at will, wage war on a whim and break the law without recrimination.
The Bush administration has a deep, profound and uncompromised contempt for democracy, for the rule of law, and for the US Constitution. George W. Bush has gone on the record (twice) as saying he has nothing against dictatorship, as long as he can be dictator, it is a clear and present policy statement.
Do you really believe that he will walk quietly away from power?
He has the motivation, the money and the method to stay in Office - So why wouldn't he?
The real question is not how or when he might do it. It's how, realistically, we can stop him.
Bush created this neat little package that gives him a veritable arsenal of strategy to keep himself in the White House...indefenitely!
This little caveat seals our fate:
"Continuity of Government," or "COG," means a coordinated effort within the Federal Government's executive branch to ensure that National Essential Functions continue to be performed during a Catastrophic Emergency;
So lest you think that we may be rid of this Administration come November, you best think again.
Consider this; George Bush is that narcissistic, that desperate, and yes, that sociopathic as well.
Jul 27, 2007
Lots of talk about torture these days...
Just got this in my Email and wanted to share it with you all. This just really makes me so sick and ashamed of our Government!
I am not so stupid not to understand that War is War but this is just another form of terrorism - in my view of "it".
Carol,
Lots of talk about torture these days...
And the fact that the Bush administration refuses to explicitly ban waterboarding and other"interrogation" methods it uses on *suspected*terrorists.
What is waterboarding exactly?
Even the right wing propagandists at Fox News can't sugarcoat the reality of it:
Watch This!
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/127.html-
Brasscheck
P.S. Please share Brasscheck videos and e-mail with your friends and colleagues.
That's how we grow. Thanks.
Jul 24, 2007
Five Ways Bush's Era of Repression Has Stolen Your Liberties Since 9/11
The following is an excerpt of Matthew Rothschild's "You Have No Rights: Stories of America in an Age of Repression"
(The New Press, 2007).
To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists. ... They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends.--
former attorney general John Ashcroft
You're either with us or against us. -- George W. Bush
Today's America is a much less free place than the America of 2000. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has, by word and by deed, erected an edifice of repression here in the United States.
We've been living in it ever since. And it's not a comfortable place.
1. The Ashcroft raids
2. Abuse of Material Witness Statute
3. Enemy combatants and "extraordinary renditions"
4. Watering down the Levi guidelines: A boon for domestic spying
5. Listening in on lawyer-prisoner conversations
In his new book, Matt Rothschild examines how the Bush White House constructed the edifice of repression to brazenly access our private data and shred the judicial process.
Read More...
Jul 14, 2007
Myths of the War on Terrorism
Does the truth lie in Michael Chertoff's gut?
By: Steve Chapman
Interesting and valid points in the above linked article. I was just thnking today as I was listening to the News that it seems like every time the Bush Administration gets its ass in a sling a new tape comes out from Al-Qaeda, I cannot help but wonder at the coincidence.
Apparently the reward for Osama Bin Laden is now fifty million dollars and passed with an 87-1 vote, I wonder who the holdout was? Why can we not find this man? Perhaps he is hiding at the CIA?
Maybe I am just being cynical but it feels a little bit to me like the boy who cried wolf one to many times.
Jul 11, 2007
I'm Thinking Again!
Just been sitting here thinking (!) since I started this Blog I have done alot of research and come across many interesting things out there on the 'Net'. Some of those things have been about 9/11 and how our Government may have actually been involved A Quick Course on the shortest paths to 9/11 truth... is such an example of one of those Sites. Another interesting Link is this one: The Evil Is in Our Government .
Could this all really be about paying back for some old grudges and billions of dollars worth of oil? Just the thought of this makes me sick. Some of our highest Officials and some very wealthy people have much to gain by this War and killing off a 'few' people may well have been considered 'acceptable' losses to these very same people. Kinda hurts the brain to think about that doesn't it?
There is nothing new in a government lying to their people to start a war. Indeed because most people prefer living in peace to bloody and horrific death in war, any government that desires to initiate a war usually lies to their people to create the illusion that support for the war is the only possible choice they can make.
We did something similar to this in World War II with Japan remember Downing Street Memo? FDR claimed Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack. It wasn't. The United States saw war with Japan as the means to get into war with Germany, which Americans opposed. And what about this? ABC News Exclusive: The Secret War Against Iran?
Would an American invasion of Iraq be unprecedented? You might be surprised at the answer to this question.
So, I have been thinking - what if it's true? What if we are actually responsible for the deaths of those poor people on that day? What does this make Bush and his Administration? Will we ever know what really happened? Could this be part of the reason that this Presidency is so secretive and refuses to answer any questions?
Just some food for thought and please feel free to tell me what you think - This may be something that is too much for the likes of me to figure out but things sure aren't looking too good, in My View of "It."
My family thinks I'm nuts but I'm not so sure about that.
Jul 2, 2007
High Crimes and Misdemeanors
Unimpeachably Impeachable
By Ray McGovern
July 2, 2007
Last week’s four-part Washington Post feature on Vice President Dick Cheney removed any doubt in my mind as to whether he and President George W. Bush have committed the kinds of high crimes and misdemeanors that warrant impeachment.
While President George W. Bush bears the ultimate responsibility, the nature of the evidence against Cheney and his closest associates is so specific and overwhelming that it makes sense to impeach and bring him to trial first.
Subpoenas from Capitol Hill are flying downtown into executive office buildings like paper airplanes, but the potential for obfuscation and delay is immense, and the danger to the Republic speaks for a more urgent, simpler approach.
Suggestion: From the most heinous, select just one for which there is ready proof—one not susceptible of the kind of diddling that has been so prevalent in Washington these past several years.
Why not focus on a high crime that the Bush administration has already admitted to, with claims it is above the law and the Constitution: electronic eavesdropping on Americans without the required court warrant.
You know, as I was reading this article it occurred to me that even though I am sick and tired of The Bush Administration, tired of Blogging about the morons in the White House and concerned that this Blog is somewhat redundant, it is because of articles like this that I will continue to Blog about the blatant disregard this Administration has for "We the Sheeple" and the completely narcissistic way that Bush functions. I hate that our men and women are being killed in a War that doesn't have to be and I hate that the people in Iraq are being just as traumatized as we are. So, as long as Bush and his good 'ol boys are sitting there on the hill, I will continue to inform you everytime I find something that shows the atrocities these men are guilty of inflicting on the world.
Peace
Jun 28, 2007
White House refuses to answer subpoenas
Update: Dems push White House on executive privilege
10-day deadline given along with vow to invoke 'full force of law'
In a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding, the heads of the Judiciary committees demanded an explanation in 10 days of why the White House claimed executive privilege on subpoenaed documents and vowed to invoke "the full force of law."
Constitutional showdown possible over firing of federal prosecutors
WASHINGTON - President Bush, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers' demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.
"Executive privilege is an extraordinary assertion of power 'not to be lightly invoked.' United States v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1, 7 (1953). Once executive privilege is asserted, coequal branches of the Government are set on a collision course. The Judiciary is forced into the difficult task of balancing the need for information in a judicial proceeding and the Executive’s Article II prerogatives. This inquiry places courts in the awkward position of evaluating the Executive’s claims of confidentiality and autonomy, and pushes to the fore difficult questions of separation of powers and checks and balances. These 'occasion[s] for constitutional confrontation between the two branches' are likely to be avoided whenever possible. United States v. Nixon, supra, at 692"
Apparently our President doesn't think it his duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” that it is alright for him to substitute his own judgment for that of the Constitution regarding the discharge of such duty.
Once again Bush shows us his disdain for both the Constitution and the American People!
Jun 11, 2007
Unitary Executive Theory - A Recipe For Dictatorship
President George W. Bush subscribes to an esoteric interpretation of the Constitution called the theory of the unitary executive, which holds, in effect, that the president has the authority to ignore the separation of powers written into the Constitution, creating a feedback loop in which permanent war and the unitary presidency are mutually reinforcing.
Unitary Executive Theory
From SourceWatch
ByBill McGinnis
"The president is always right."—Steven Bradbury, U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, July 11, 2006
"It's not too far from King of Everything, really."—Jan Frel, AlterNet, October 28, 2005.
The unitary executive theory "asserts that all executive authority must be in the President’s hands, without exception."
Mar 1, 2007
Does Cheney 'Validate' al-Qaeda?
Vice President Dick Cheney says he stands by his accusation that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq would “validate the al-Qaeda strategy.” And he apparently thinks he got the better of this latest war of words.
However, if Pelosi ever goes beyond complaining that Cheney is impugning her “patriotism” – while Cheney counters that he is only questioning her “judgment” – she might point out that it is the Bush administration that has “validated” al-Qaeda’s 9/11 strategy over the past five years.
Captured al-Qaeda documents reveal that Osama bin Laden’s principal goal in the 9/11attacks was to lure the United States into a clumsy counterattack in the Middle East that would alienate Muslims, help al-Qaeda recruit more jihadists and bog down the American military in a no-win war.
‘Mission Accomplished’
In spring 2003, however, Bush was basking in his acclaim as the “liberator” of both Afghanistan and Iraq. On May 1, 2003, he flew onto the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and addressed the nation under the banner, “Mission Accomplished.”
In those heady days, Bush’s neoconservative advisers joked about whether they should attack Syria or Iran next, with the punch line: “Real men go to Tehran.” It was like they were reliving the days of Alexander the Great, conquering one country of the ancient world after another.
At this point, the evidence – and the results of five years of the Bush-Cheney policies – would seem to support a conclusion that al-Qaeda is just delighted for the U.S. occupation of Iraq to continue indefinitely.
That disastrous war, more than anything, has validated al-Qaeda’s bloodthirsty 9/11 strategy.
In My View of It, the only thing that has been accomplished is a great big giant step to a world war! The Bush Administration as a whole has bungled the War since we went to Afghanistan. We had no business with Iraq, except to finish Daddy's fight. I believe we are going to war in Iran and I believe that Bush is so filled with his Authoritarian self that there is no way to stop him. He is a lame-duck President, nothing is more dangerous than a person who has nothing to lose!
Feb 15, 2007
Assassinations, Terrorist Strikes and Ethnic Cleansing: Bush's Shadow War in Iraq
By Chris Floyd, TruthOut.org.
Posted February 15, 2007.
Feb 13, 2007
Iran's Provocations
Helping to kill GIs with impunity.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
U.S. military officials finally laid out detailed evidence on Sunday that Iranian-supplied weapons are killing American soldiers in Iraq. The issue now is the lesson the Bush Administration and the American political establishment draw about dealing with Iran.
Pentagon sources have been saying for several years that Iranian-style munitions have been appearing in Iraq, and arms smugglers have been caught coming across the Iranian border. What's new is that the Iranian-marked weapons have actually been put on display and an estimate of their toll made public: more than 170 Americans killed in action and more than 600 wounded.
In My View of It this is but the beginnings of the wave of propaganda that is about to hit us as Bush imposes his will on us once again. We know that it is inevitable, we will attack Iran but first he needs to justify the reasons why. I am almost embarassed to post this here but, I have to be fair and let all information be presented. While I am not saying that this is untrue, I am saying that it's nothing new under the sun and is now coming to light for the stated reasons.
Feb 12, 2007
A politician's reaction to dissent is often the true test of a commitment to democracy. Great leaders not only tolerate criticism, but welcome disagre
Certainly, no one who truly cares about democracy favors punishing critics and demonizing dissenters. But just such hostility has been the calling card of George W. Bush and his backers over the past five years as they have subjected public critics to vilification, ridicule and retaliation. Rather than welcome contrary opinions and use them to refine his own thinking, Bush operates from the premise that his “gut” judgments are right and all they require is that the American people get in line behind him.
Bush then views any continued criticism as evidence of disloyalty. While Bush will tolerate people voicing disagreement, he feels they should pay a steep price, exacted by Bush’s loyalists inside and outside the government.
So, when Bush’s supporters malign his critics as “traitors” and spit out other hate-filled expressions bordering on exhortations to violence, Bush sees no obligation to rein in the intimidating rhetoric.
Instead, Bush almost seems to relish the punishments meted out to Americans who dissent.
One more Freedom lost thanks to the Bush Administration!
Feb 1, 2007
Toward a North American Union
NAFTA "Initialing" Ceremony: From left to right (standing)President Salinas, President Bush, Prime Minister Mulroney(Seated) Jaime Serra Puche, Carla Hills, Michael Wilson.Editor, The August Review
The global elite, through the direct operations of President George Bush and his Administration, are creating a North American Union that will combine Canada, Mexico and the U.S. into a superstate called the North American Union (NAU). The NAU is roughly patterned after the European Union (EU). There is no political or economic mandate for creating the NAU, and unofficial polls of a cross-section of Americans indicate that they are overwhelmingly against this end-run around national sovereignty.
To answer Lou Dobbs, "No, the political elites have not gone mad", they just want you to think that they have.
The reality over appearance is easily cleared up with a proper historical perspective of the last 35 years of political and economic manipulation by the same elite who now bring us the NAU.
This paper will explore this history in order to give the reader a complete picture of the NAU, how it is made possible, who are the instigators of it, and where it is headed.
It is important to first understand that the impending birth of the NAU is a gestation of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, not the Congress. This is the topic of the first discussion below.
The next topic will examine the global elite's strategy of subverting the power to negotiate trade treaties and international law with foreign countries from the Congress to the President. Without this power, NAFTA and the NAU would never have been possible.
After this, we will show that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is the immediate genetic and necessary ancestor of the NAU.
Lastly, throughout this report the NAU perpetrators and their tactics will be brought into the limelight so as to affix blame where it properly belongs. The reader will be struck with the fact that the same people are at the center of each of these subjects.
The Best Government that Money Can Buy!
I don't pretend to know a thing about Politics or the inner working of Government. I am just a person who finds the whole Bush Presidency unbelievably detrimental to our Country. I am not an analyst, by any stretch of the imagination, but, I do have an interest in putting forward information of interest to enable an alternate view of things. This particular article caught my attention, and although I find it all rather chilling, it does explain things clearly, In My View of It. I hope you will take some time to read this and perhaps it will clarify things for you also.
Sphere: Related Content
