Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Bush's Deception is his Legacy

In the news on December 6, President Bush tried to tell us once again to be afraid, very afraid of Iran's potential nuclear capability. He's saying "no, believe what I'm telling you," not what was actually written in the latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). The new assessment states that Iran had pretty much halted it’s nuclear weapons program in 2003 under pressure from world economic sanctions.

The latest NIE

"presents a far more nuanced picture of both the nuclear program and the Iranian government's intentions than previous estimates, directly contradicting the one-dimensional portrait painted by arch conservatives, including many in the White House," concluded Joseph Cirinicione and Andrew Grotto of the Center for American Progress
.


It turns out that the President has known about this assessment for months, yet has still engaged in a rhetorical onslaught warning against "World War III." Dan Froomkin has a great summary of the President's rhetoric over the past six months as he has led the charge for possible military action against Iran, noting that,


..while not saying anything that could later prove to be demonstrably false, Bush left his listeners with what he likely knew was a fundamentally false impression. And he did so in the pursuit of a more muscular and possibly even military approach to a Middle Eastern country.


It's an oddly familiar pattern of deception.


The President and his Neocon foreign policy advisors firmly believe in the now debunked 2005 NIE estimate that warned of Iran's imminent nuclear capability. It of course was written by the same folks that gave us the faulty news of WMD's in '02. The latest NIE reflects views from the universe of spy agencies that aren't in the pocket of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Of course the Neocons are in full attack mode because it doesn't support their world view of conquest and imperialism. To them it simply is not in America's interests (of conquest, and military domination) to admit that Iran is not the threat that they would like us to believe it is.


Meanwhile, right under our noses, The war has been WON! The surge has succeeded. The conquest is complete. The troops WILL NOT be coming home. Our victory means that we will HAVE to keep a substantial force in Iraq pretty much forever. We've agreed to provide security from threats both inside and outside of Iraq and we have been granted favored trade status and an inside track on oil revenues.


If we bring home all the troops it would mean a "loss" of our empire. Of course we can't leave! We'd be giving up on our hard won conquest, the spoils of our labor, the oil fields, and military dominance in the Middle East.


Remember.... Victory equals Conquest. Victory equals permanent military bases and a large commitment of money and material FOREVER. Victory equals guaranteed oil revenue feeding our "addiction." Victory equals a HUGE debt cast on to our children and grandchildren. Congratulations.


Remember also that this administration is all about "creating new realities." Here they've done it! Deliberately, systematically, and without regard to the will of the people, they are going about setting up our new Middle East empire so that the next President can't do anything about it! This basic deception is truly the "legacy" that President Bush is depending on to establish his "greatness."



Update

What's been missing from the Debate.

A good read you don't want to miss!

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