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Let’s see… where were we? Oh, yes, Iraq.
That’s now a civil war, right? Well, George W’s top intelligence team now says no and yes to that question. I quote: “The term ‘civil war’ does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict.” But then it says, “nonetheless, the term ‘civil war’ accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict.”
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Speaking of intelligence confusion, the Pentagon’s inspector general has now rebuked two of Donnie Rumsfeld’s top aides, confirming what we’ve all known for years: They cooked the intelligence reports so Bush could lie in order to rush America into this sorry war. This is especially interesting, since, only hours after the rebuke, Bush officials rushed out with new claims and frantic charges that – omigosh! – they’ve found evidence of weapons from Iran being used in Iraq. This is proof – PROOF! – they shouted, that evil Iran is behind the Iraq mess.
Curiously, though, the officials would not let reporters or independent experts see all of the “evidence.” It’s deja vu all over again.
Meanwhile, there’s the little matter of missing bucks in Iraq. Beaucoup bucks. L. Paul Bremmer III, the guy Bush first installed as overseer of the Iraq occupation, now concedes that he okayed the shipment of $12 billion from the U.S. treasury to the Iraqi interim government. In cash! Shrink-wrapped stacks of $100 bills were loaded on wooden pallets and flown to Baghdad. It was 363 tons of cash.
Where it went, no one knows. Neither L. Paul III nor the Iraqis bothered to monitor its disbursement. Did corrupt officials stuff their pockets? Did some of it go to fund the insurgents who attacked our soldiers? Did Halliburton and gang rip off a share?
This is Jim Hightower saying… Such lies, incompetence, and corruption soil our nation’s integrity. This is why we need a new Truman Committee, to hold our officials accountable for this disgrace.
Sources:
“Iraqis in a civil war- don’t quibble over words,” Austin American Statesman, February 12, 2007.
“Show America the money – every last billion,” Austin-American Statesman, February 10, 2007.
“US Sent Pallets of Cash to Baghdad,” Reuters, February 7,2007.
“House Panel Questions Monitoring of Cash Shipped to Iraq,” New York Times, February 2, 2007.
“Pentagon Group Criticized for Prewar Intelligence Analysis,” New York Times, February 9, 2007.
“Skeptics Doubt U.S. Evidence on Iran Action in Iraq,” New York Times, February 13, 2007.