Blunders and War Powers

History is going to judge this presidency on the war on Iraq, we have often heard lately. The cretin in chief is presently using this as a justification for keeping it going - and confidently expressing his belief that his presidency will not be judged until much, much later than now. Much too soon for his wishes and hopes, facts are coming out about the malfunctioning administration. Those facts are showing we are in big trouble.

Last night on the Newshour on PBS, Brooks and Shields entered into a discussion of the revelations about Feith's systematically slanting intelligence from the field, to support the White House desire to go to war with Iraq by making a connection between Hussein and the tragedy of 9/11. Brooks maintained that it was a matter of the past, and unworthy of attention now. Shields adamantly disagreed, noting that 'the Vice President is still' an active part of the administration. Cheney's mindset and methods are still very much a concern for the public. From TPMmuckraker yesterday came a telling review of the work of his men in the Pentagon, in taking our country into a disastrous war.

The methods of this administration seem to eschew using truth and public interest to guide policy. Instead, it uses its statements to try to mislead the public into thinking the White House is serving the United States' interests.

Douglas J. Feith's successor as undersecretary of defense for policy, Eric Edelman, has put together a 53-page rebuttal of the Pentagon Inspector General's report criticizing the Office of Special Plans (caution: PDF; hat tip to McClatchy ace reporter Jonathan Landay). Its key point: what the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (OUSDP) did wasn't intelligence work at all, but rather policy work.

Twisting events to give themselves justification for irrational policy is definitely a White House modus operandi that the public needs to be informed about. The facts coming out about pre-9/11 briefings are also very much a matter the public should be concerned about. Bob Woodward in State of Denial has brought out reports that he has collected from White House operatives that show a pattern of resistance to facts, and insistence on their own view which has proved so totally wrong. Today he reports in WaPo about the warning that the CIA took directly to then National Security Director Rice.

The intensive efforts of CIA head Tenet to act against bin Laden are also a matter that should concern us all greatly. He tried very hard to enlist the White House in an effort to head off the events that followed on 9/11, and met with complete failure.

On July 10, 2001 , two months before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, then-CIA Director George J. Tenet met with his counterterrorism chief, J. Cofer Black, at CIA headquarters to review the latest on Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Black laid out the case, consisting of communications intercepts and other top-secret intelligence showing the increasing likelihood that al-Qaeda would soon attack the United States. It was a mass of fragments and dots that nonetheless made a compelling case, so compelling to Tenet that he decided he and Black should go to the White House immediately.

Tenet called Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser, from the car and said he needed to see her right away. There was no practical way she could refuse such a request from the CIA director.

For months, Tenet had been pressing Rice to set a clear counterterrorism policy, including specific presidential orders called "findings" that would give the CIA stronger authority to conduct covert action against bin Laden. Perhaps a dramatic appearance -- Black called it an "out of cycle" session, beyond Tenet's regular weekly meeting with Rice -- would get her attention.
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Tenet and Black felt they were not getting through to Rice. She was polite, but they felt the brush-off. President Bush had said he didn't want to swat at flies.
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Editor's Note: How much effort the Bush administration made in going after Osama bin Laden before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, became an issue last week after former president Bill Clinton accused President Bush's "neocons" and other Republicans of ignoring bin Laden until the attacks. Rice responded in an interview that "what we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton administration did in the preceding years."

Like Cheney, the present Secretary of State refused to act on facts. At the time there was a reduction in force being carried out, and the military was being trimmed down. The White House fixation on its own views shut out the possibility of action against the threat of al Quaeda, but included its intention to go to war with Iraq.

When a group of people who have shown themselves this wrong, and this ideologically opposed to facts, are given the powers to wage war, this world is in the greatest danger. An administration that will commit treason, outing a covert agent involved in protecting our security, is not to be trusted with the nation's armed forces and intelligence operations.

Our Democratic representatives have an uphill battle against the forces of blind belligerence against the Middle East. They will need to have a great deal of encouragement. I for one, am going to support them in opposing the dangerous liars who have the power of our military to throw at those they perceive as enemies. Their perception has proved false and wrong, over and over.