It’s been said that the flutter of butterfly wings eventually resonates throughout the universe. If so, when two circumstances seem unrelated, a connection can often be seen by asking yourself: What if? –Anonymous
On the cover of this month’s VFW (Veteran’s of Foreign Wars) magazine is a very poignant picture of a soldier in a hospital. The young veteran is sitting in a wheelchair, head down, hands on the wheels, and both legs amputated at the knees.
Near the veteran are the words, Wounded Vets Face the Future with Indomitable Spirit. And a subhead reads: Persistent Pain-Dealing with Daily Discomfort. All of which, I presume, is a prime subject matter of the VFW publication, and why it is on the cover.
On the back page of our daily newspaper there is a very pensive picture of a veteran politician in the senate chamber. The politician is sitting in deep thought, eyes down, chin in hand, and it appears that he has all of his arms and legs.
Near the politician are the words: Tenet Recalls Intelligence Concerns. And a subhead reads: CIA Chief Says He Warned About Misstating Threat.
A veteran soldier with no legs. A veteran politician with no regrets.
Two unrelated circumstances? We’ll see.
(Why this story isn’t on the front page of the newspaper instead of: City Votes in Fall Elections, or closer to the front page than: Ashcroft’s Bladder is Removed, is beyond me.)
When CIA Director George Tenet was questioned by U.S. Senators about the administration’s proof (per V.P. Dick Cheney) of an illicit Iraqi biological program, he flat-out rejected it. Then, he qualified it.
Well, yes, Tenet acknowledged, there was a pre-war intelligence consensus that Saddam had biological weapons and was pursuing nuclear bombs. BUT, there were instances when he had warned the administration that they were misstating the threat posed by Iraq.
When pressed to explain that further, Tenet responded: “I’m not going to sit here and tell you what my interaction was, and what I did and didn’t do, except that you have to have confidence to know that when I believed that somebody was misconstruing intelligence, I said something about it.” Tenet then added: “I don’t stand up publicly and do it.”
Of course you don’t. George; few politician do, because the public might find out the truth and that would be embarrassing for everybody.
Tenet also admitted he had told Cheney that the V.P. was wrong in saying that two truck trailers recovered in Iraq were “conclusive evidence” that Saddam had a biological weapons program. NOTE: The purpose of the trailers is still undecided; some analysts think they even may have been used for making hydrogen gas for weather balloons.
Another question for Tenet by the Senate was concerning an article in the Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, about evidence from the Pentagon that Saddam was in league with Osama bin Laden—which was later proved false.
The evidence had been written up by Douglas Feith, third highest Pentagon official, and a strong proponent of the war. And why wouldn’t he be? Feith is a key figure in the Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz cabal of neo-cons who are having their way with American foreign policy.
Now, here’s the part that will make the seemingly unrelated circumstances come together.
In building the case for war, Bush, Cheney, & Co. relied on intelligence by the CIA and other agencies. But they concealed internal disputes and differences of opinion about the information. They also exaggerated and fabricated information from Iraqi defectors. In short, they conned us into going to war.
Bush has appointed a bi-partisan commission to investigate what the CIA knew about pre-war Iraq, but then didn’t permit the commission to examine how that intelligence was used by the White House and the Pentagon.
Logic, then, forces this “what if?” question. What if, after all the evidence was in, Bush and Cheney had bought George Tenet’s questionable assessment of our intelligence, decided they needed more accurate information, and held off on the war?
What then? Plenty. The president could talk to us without having to dodge around the fact that he deceived us. Americans would feel better about their leaders. Our nation would have its integrity intact. We would regain much of the friendship around the world that we’ve lost. We would not be killing thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens, and hundreds of American soldiers.
And, of yes, the young veteran soldier on the cover of VFW magazine would still have his legs.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”