Guest blogged by Jon Ponder, Pensito Review.
In August, the U.S. government intelligence agencies sent word up the chain that Iran had suspended its nuclear weapons programs back in 2003. And yet, about two months later, on Oct. 17, 2007, George W. Bush issued a dire warning about Iran’s nukes to the American people:
At Bush’s news conference today, amid his tired, cringe-inducing towel-snaps at the White House press corps, he denied knowing the Iranian program was suspended in October when he suggested that the apocalypse was nigh:
And:
Normal U.S. presidents don’t generally suggest, especially off-handedly, that the planet is on the brink of World War III. Is it really possible that Bush could have been so woefully uninformed about his own government’s intelligence findings that he could make such a world-class blunder?
No.
Every morning, without exception, a senior intelligence official, usually DNI McConnell, presents Bush with a document called the President’s Daily Brief (PDB), a top-secret overview of the very latest intelligence about the status of security threats facing the nation.
From August until October 17, Bush was given at least 60 of these daily security briefings. What he would have us believe now is that during all those briefings DNI McConnell failed to inform him about something of no less consequence than Iran’s decision to postpone blowing up the world.
If this is true, McConnell, along with every top official at all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, should be fired for dereliction of duty and rank incompetence.
But it is not true, and can’t be. Bush had to have known the Iranian program was suspended at the time he made his World War III comment. He was lying then, just as he lied today when he laid blame for his own knowingly false statement on DNI McConnell.
Why would Bush sully the office of the president of the United States with such an outrageous and dangerous lie about Iran? Because keeping America safe is far less critical to George W. Bush than keeping it scared. The climate of fear that he inflamed after the 9/11 attacks — now relegated entirely to his base — is all that sustains his grasp on power. Without it, he has nothing.
Yeah, but John “The Original Neocon” Podhoretz has followed that up by claiming that Intel Agencies are conspiring to undermine Bush. There’s “a vast Intel Agency conspiracy” to discredit Bush.
Tis the season for some more Bush Whitehouse released “Christmas Terror” warnings. Raise the threat level to Orange, talk about new spectacular events or start bombing Iran. Plug Iraq as a success, increase spying on Americans, and roll out McCarthysim v2.0 .
These fine points will be more than enough when added to the corporate media’s coverage of the local malls, airports, and plastic Christmas tree factories.
(Wouldn’t you rather know how Christmas tree’s are made and why they cost more, than why after more than half a decade the electronic voting machines are still as dangerous to national security as the day they were invented.)
Once we hit recession, stories about Intel Conspiracy will be mute, as instead of “dashing thru the snow” we’ll all be sloggin in the freezing mud on foot to the homeless shelter. Most people will be too busy working extra hours to pay attention.
I just wish the Intel Agencies would hold the oath of office breakers accountable, but it’s not looking like that’s gonna happen. Yes our National Security is at risk, and it all started with ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES THAT TABULATE VOTES!!!
Yes, Bush was lying, but the reason was to whip up support for a war with Iran using the “mushroom cloud” scenario. Already the Washington Post is soft-pedaling Bush’s lie. I have to think Bush would not have been able to make the lie in the first place had the Democrats been doing their job and prosecuting phase II of the Intelligence Committee’s inquiry into intelligence used in the run-up to the Iraq war. Namely, whether the intelligence was manipulated by political officials (it was).
On another blog, our buddy Stultis pointed me to this article : link
There didn’t seem to be any sources for the information that would appear to be at odds with the NIE report. (Iran is testing advanced centrifuges, and about to put them online for enrichment)
Where did it come from?
well he seems to be taking out all nuclear programs off every country yet “we” remain to maintain ours, but what if bush takes out the rest of the programs that makes us world power, but this power will be abused and quickly. this danger will happen i have predicted it. this is general maximus greeting you all good day once more
Chris #4-
I read that story on Sunday and it immediately struck me as another LA Times propaganda piece that had the obvious intent of supporting Bush’s drive to war with Iran. The LA Times tries to have it both ways, with opinion pieces and editorials often criticizing Bush but with frequent articles like this thrown in to muddy the waters and to appease the wingnuts and create a false sense of “balance”. The LA Times has no interest in getting to the truth of the matter. Their only interest is being cautious to throw equal numbers of bones to readers on both sides of the political spectrum and to serve their corporate masters by not being too hard on the Bush Crime Family. The subsequent release of the latest NIE only served to confirm my initial feelings about that article.
Finally, the NYT is getting (some of) it right.
This one is damned good too
Link
Poor lil ole preznit blush, who indicates thru Karl “turd blossom” Rove and his own musings that congress and the intelligence community pushed him into invading and occupying Iraq, and now they are doing the same with Iran. He is helpless to stop it, the story goes.
Somebody help poor lil ole preznit blush and stop congress and the intels from making him invade and occupy … space and time itself … oh they are so mean to him and his … 😉
Hey Floridiot, it looks like we did the impossible and posted (#7, #8) at the exact same California space and time (3:32 am PT) …
Weird Dredd,I had to wake up to drag one of my kids out of bed for school, I read the two above articles and just had to get them ‘out there’ for all to see…required reading for the fence sitters IMO.
Pass them along to all your right wing rellys.
There’s “a vast Intel Agency conspiracy” to discredit Bush.
ROTFLMAO!
Bushco, should have never fucked with Plame and the covert arm of the CIA. It’s payback time and no spinning in the world will save the disgrace of these NIE revelations.
It is illegal to intentionally manipulate and coerce the people or government by threatening them.
US Patriot ACT
SEC. 802. DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
(a) DOMESTIC TERRORISM DEFINED- Section 2331 of title 18, United States Code, is amended–
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)(iii), by striking `by assassination or kidnapping’ and inserting `by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping’;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking `and’;
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; and’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
`(5) the term `domestic terrorism’ means activities that–
`(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
`(B) appear to be intended–
`(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
`(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
The public statements of fear mongering and scare tactics used by the President and Vice President are in direct opposition to what they knew in advance was the NIE determination regarding the suspension of Iran’s nuclear programs. The mushroom clouds, the threat of world war three and other statements were made to manipulate ‘intimidate and coerce the US civilian population, and to influence the policy of government by intimidation and coercion.
The President and especially the VP have repeatedly propmoted an implied threat of imminent danger from Iran’s nuclear weapons program directly to the American People, which we now know has not existed since 2003. They have been in receipt of this information and willingly and knowingly subverted and misrepresented the Iraniam threat intentionally.
They are Domestic Terrorists by Their Own Laws.
IMPEACH NOW