David Corn Online
 

July 31, 2006

The Neverending Saga of Phase II

I posted the below at my ""Capital Games" column at www.thenation.com....

Why is it taking the Senate intelligence committee forty times longer to examine how the Bush administration used--or misused--the prewar intelligence on Iraq and WMDs than it took for the United States military to topple Saddam Hussein? American troops reached Baghdad in three weeks (there were a few complications after that). But the intelligence committee, led by Republican Senator Pat Roberts, has dilly-dallied for two-and-a-half years when it has come to reviewing how George W. Bush and his top aides represented--or misrepresented--the WMD intelligence as they led (or misled) the nation to war. Last fall, the Senate Democrats shut down the Senate for a few hours to protest the committee's lack of progress in producing the so-called Phase II report that was supposed to focus on this matter. Roberts and the Republicans promised to conclude the inquiry soon. Yet another nine months have gone by, and as The Washington Post reported on Sunday, the committee is still not yet done. The Post noted:

The Republican-led committee, which agreed in February 2004 to write the report, has yet to complete its work. Just two of five planned sections of the committee's findings are fully drafted and ready to be voted on by members, according to Democratic and Republican staffers. Committee sources involved with the report, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they are working hard to complete it. But disputing Roberts, they said they had started almost from scratch in November after Democrats staged their protest.

And those two sections do not focus on the central subject--the administration's use of the prewar intelligence. One examines the intelligence agencies' prewar WMD estimates with what was found on the ground in Iraq. The other looks at what information provided by Iraqi exiles made it into official intelligence estimates. (It does not explore the influence of Ahmad Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress on Bush administration officials before the invasion.)

I take the committee's lackadaisical approach to this issue personally, for Roberts once directly promised me that the Phase II would be a priority. This is what happened. On July 9, 2004, Roberts and his committee released a 500-plus page report on how the intelligence community screwed up the prewar intelligence. But the committee's report (over the objection of its Democratic members) ignored the touchy matter of whether Bush officials had mischaracterized the intelligence to win support for the invasion of Iraq. Not surprisingly, the committee, under Roberts direction, was avoiding this subject as the 2004 election neared. At the press conference Roberts held to mark the release of the committee's report on the WMD intelligence, I asked him about this missing part of the inquiry. Here's the exchange:

QUESTION: Given the 800 American GIs who have lost their lives so far, thousands have had serious injuries, lost limbs, all on the basis of false [WMD] claims...[and that] American taxpayers have had to kick in almost $200 billion, doesn't the American public and the relatives of people who lost their lives have a right to know before the next election whether this administration handled intelligence matters adequately and made statements that were justified -- before the election, not after the election?

ROBERTS: This is in phase two of our efforts. We simply couldn't get that done with the work product that we put out....It is one of my top priorities....Now, we have 20 legislative days. We want to have hearings from wise men and women in regards to the [intelligence] reform effort, and we will proceed with staff on phase two of the report. It involves probably three things -- or at least three. One is the prewar intelligence on Iraq, which is what you're talking about. Secondly is the situation with the assistant secretary of defense, Douglas Feith, and his activity in regards to material that he provided with a so-called intelligence planning cell to the Department of Defense and to the CIA. And then the left one -- what is the last one? What's the third one? Help me with it....Well, that's prewar intelligence on Iraq.

There is a third one, and I don't know why I can't come up with it right now. But, anyway, it is a priority. And, hey, I have told [Senator] Jay [Rockefeller, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee], I have told everybody on the other side of the aisle, everybody on our side of the aisle, 'We'll proceed with phase two. It is a priority.' I made my commitment, and it will be done.

So Roberts looked straight at me and said that the Phase II report was a "priority" for him and that he had made a commitment to complete this mission. Yet he has not made good on that commitment. It causes me to wonder if he misled me--that is, if he falsely declared he was committed to such a review only to kick the can down the road past the 2004 election. Now, according to the Post, he's trying to do the same with the 2006 elections. The paper noted:

The section most Democrats have sought, however, is not yet in draft form and might not emerge until after the November election, staffers said. That section will examine the administration's deliberations over prewar intelligence and whether its public presentation of the threat reflected the evidence senior officials reviewed in private.

Were Roberts truly committed to this task, it would have been done before the 2004 election. One committee staffer once told me this sort of review could be finished within months. Yet Roberts has been playing games--and he has got away with it. The Phase II controversy boils up (into public view) every six months or so and then fades. And only once has the Democrats succeeded in embarrassing Roberts for doing nothing. So he keeps kicking that can--rather than looking inside it. It's a funny way to treat a "priority."

Posted by David Corn at July 31, 2006 02:55 PM

Comments

1

You expect the neo clowns to give any one an insight into the crimes they are perpetuating on the american people and the constitution? Ha! I laugh at your naivety.

Posted by: What the F**k at July 31, 2006 03:09 PM

2

Lying to Congress and the American people about yellowcake and mobile weapons labs is against Federal law. It rises to the level of high crimes.

Do you seriously think Roberts or BushCo for that matter will allow an honest and complete report to come from the committee Roberts chairs? No way.

Posted by: O'Reilly at July 31, 2006 03:16 PM

3

Well, Mr. Corn, you have said that the demonstrators in the streets that were protesting were misguided, and belittled A.N.S.W.E.R.

What do you propose to do about this?

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 03:25 PM

4

Be careful your trusted intelligence committee staff sources don't get hauled away by the FBI and accused of leaking state secrets.

Posted by: Carrie at July 31, 2006 03:33 PM

5

IDF says it may not be responsible for Qana deaths
By Amos Harel


The Israel Defense Forces indicated yesterday that it might not have been responsible for the deaths of at least 54 Lebanese, including 37 children , when a building bombed in an Israeli air strike in the village of Qana collapsed yesterday - but was unable to offer an alternative explanation.

There is an unexplained gap of about seven hours between the one Israeli air strike that hit the Qana building housing the civilians, which took place around 1 A.M. Sunday, and the first report that the building had collapsed, said the chief of staff of the Israel Air Force, Brigadier General Amir Eshel. Speaking at a press conference at the Kirya military complex in Tel Aviv last night, Eshel said that of three Israeli air strikes on Qana early Sunday, only the first strike hit the building in which the civilians were staying. The other two hit areas at least 400 meters away.

"I can't say whether the house collapsed at 12 A.M. or at 8 A.M.," said Eshel. "According to foreign press reports, and this is one of the reports we are relying on, the house collapsed at 8 A.M. We do not have testimony regarding the time of the collapse. If the house collapsed at 12 A.M., it is difficult for me to believe that they waited eight hours to evacuate it."

More.

******************************

A far cry from "Hezbollah put the bodies under the rubble" as Stan of the previous thread alleges.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 03:35 PM

6

Ah, yes...Phase II raises its ugly head again!

Why take so long? Is it maybe possible that they've found it impossible to whitewash a fence so filthy that the muck won't show through, no matter HOW many coats of congressional cover-up are applied?

It is a telling thing that not even many Dummycrats have really persued this inquiry. Too many people with power and influence, feeling the collective "kick in the crotch" that 9/11 delivered to "Murka", jumped on the war bandwagon. Problem is, once aboard, they found the careening craft to be pilotless and brakeless and consumed by its own flaming plunge into global disaster.

But really, how can one blame 'em? Even we stawart questioners of every ill concieved and mis-managed governmental action or inaction, here on the Cornblog, gave up asking about it a while back.

We shout out about it all we can, David, then events, heinous criminal action by ours and other governments, carry our thoughts away from holding those who've pulled the triggers and pushed the buttons to get the planet in the shape we're in to account.

We need media corps, with the BIG voices going non-stop 24/7. But that's just the pipe-dream of those who desire truth, is it not?

What we get is 2 minutes of expolsions, mutilated bodied of children and then..."OH MY GOD! Mel Gibson's STILL a drunk asshole!"

Puh-F**king-THETIC!

-T

Posted by: Hajji at July 31, 2006 03:43 PM

7

The trolls must be trapped under some rubble they haven't shown up yet. Good for them Oh I forgot it is school again, so they won't be back until it lets out. The give away is the texting slang. This just goes from bad to worse and it isn't going to get any better until we change the people in DC by one means or another.

Posted by: What the F**k at July 31, 2006 03:54 PM

8

micki, you are quite amazing. Rather than commenting on or even refuting the quotes I posted, you instead scour the web looking for someone who also can scour the web for the same quotes, then accuse me of getting my info from someone you deem not credible? Do you have any idea how many websites out there have those quotes posted? Literally hundreds, yet you pick David Icke as my obvious source? That is some of the better spin I have seen lately. Carry on.

Posted by: RedAlert at July 31, 2006 03:59 PM

9

FAZE TWO:

Pat Roberts knows this is so complicated that the media won't be writing much about it, and even if they did, the American sheeple would say "hofucking hum, this is boring" and turn the page to read about "Miami Vice" sinking the "Pirates" and bush meeting with American Idol dopes and who's having a baby.

Until Roberts et al focus on the role of the office of the vice president in the intelligence fraud, this ain't going anyway. Scooter Libby helped the veep in his subversive efforts to mainstream false intelligence (successfully). So, what are the chances that Roberts is going to treat this as a high priority?

Here we are, July 31, 2006, and the light at the end of the tunnel is, indeed, an approaching train.

Posted by: micki at July 31, 2006 04:05 PM

10

Thanks, Saladin, for the snappy comeback. Actually, I didn't have to "scour" the web for those quotes, I just googled your header "Zionism in their own words" (or whatever it was) and it took me to David Ickes site and dozens of other hate site.

Posted by: micki at July 31, 2006 04:11 PM

11

[...]Mehdi al-Halim, 73, stumbled as he tried to walk out of the ruins of the border town of Bint Jbail, scene of the war's bloodiest ground fight. He had his wife had been hiding in their home since the start of Israeli airstrikes.

''We had no food, no water. Everyday we had only one candy each, one candy that is all,'' he said, grabbing his loose trousers, held together with a pin, to show the weight he had lost. ''How much you eat in one day is how much we have eaten in 20 days.''

Lebanese Red Cross teams escorted by U.N. observers went to the village of Srifa to dig out more than 50 bodies believed still buried under rubble since Israeli strikes wiped out a neighborhood July 19. The bodies have begun decomposing, the Red Cross said.

Some U.N. and Red Cross aid convoys were forced to turn back from destinations in Lebanon because of continued fighting, though other trucks pressed on in an attempt to reach Qana, U.N. officials said.

The stunning bloodshed in Qana increased international pressure on Washington to back an immediate end to the fighting, and pushed American peace efforts to a crucial juncture as fury flared in Lebanon. The Beirut government said it would no longer negotiate over a U.S. peace package without an unconditional cease-fire.

From the NYTIMES

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 04:13 PM

12

Fla. Republicans won't back Rep. Harris By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 36 minutes ago


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state Republican Party bluntly told Rep. Katherine Harris (news, bio, voting record) that she couldn't win this fall's Senate election and that the party wouldn't support her campaign, a letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press shows.

**********************************

Gee, after all she did to help them steal the 2000 election, you'da thunk they'd steal her one, too.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 04:23 PM

13

when I typed in Zionists in their own words I got 144,000 hits, are they all hate sites? What about this one?

Israel: Propaganda debunked

an interesting quote

It should be clear for us that there is not room for two peoples in this country. If the Arabs leave it, there will be enough for us ... There is nothing else to do but to remove them all; we mustn't leave a single village, a single tribe... We must explain to Roosevelt and all the heads of friendly states that the land of Israel isn't too small if all the Arabs leave and if the borders are pushed back a little to the north, as far as the Litani, and to the east, on the Golan Heights.

-- Yossef Weitz, as quoted in "Journal", (Tel Aviv), 1965
===========
1965.

more hate speech?

In his memoirs, Menachem Begin, the leader of the Irgun and later prime minister of Israel, described the "usefulness" of the panic and terror associated with Deir Yassin. In a footnote to the revised edition of The Revolt, published in 1977, Begin writes:

Out of evil, however, good came. This Arab propaganda spread a legend of terror amongst Arabs and Arab troops, who were seized with panic at the mention of Irgun soldiers. The legend was worth half a dozen battalions to the forces of Israel.

In the original American edition of _The _Revolt, published in 1951, Begin had written that in the wake of Deir Yassin, Arabs throughout Palestine
were seized with limitless panic and started to flee for their lives. This mass flight soon turned into a mad, uncontrollable stampede. Of the about 800,000 Arabs who lived on the present territory of the State of Israel, only some 165,000 are still living there. The political and economic significance of this development can hardly be overestimated.

Begin thus claimed, as Seth P. Tillman, a Middle East scholar, notes, that in effect the terror associated with Deir Yassin precipitated events that enabled the new State of Israel to rid itself of the bulk of its Arab population and thus to acquire its demographic character as a Jewish state.

The report prepared by the IDF Intelligence Branch demonstrates the even greater role of the Haganah in initiating the mass exodus of palestinians.

-- Cheryl A. Rubenberg, Israel And The American National Interest, p. 46
============
The Irgun was the terrorist group responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel. Instead of making efforts to discredit me, how about addressing the issues? Or maybe just skipping past? I do not get info from hate sites, David Icke is free to get his info anywhere he chooses.

SF Indy Media also has some information on this same subject as well as quite a few Jewish and Arab websites.


Posted by: RedAlert at July 31, 2006 04:38 PM

14

July 30, 2006

The Yesha Rabbinical Council announced in response to an IDF attack in Kfar Qanna that "according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the enemy."

All of the discussions on Christian morality are weakening the spirit of the army and the nation and are costing us in the blood of our soldiers and civilians," the statement said. (Efrat Weiss)
============
Does this also apply to the innocent victims of Hezbollah?

Posted by: RedAlert at July 31, 2006 04:47 PM

15

I have no intention of discrediting you. I'll leave that up to you. When you post comments such as the one you attribute to former PM Begin, saying it is "according to Jimmy Carter," and then do not back it up with a verifiable (and credible) source, I will take issue, because that quote you posted is a form of inflammatory speech that does nothing productive. In fact, it is counterproductive to the point of promoting more misunderstanding and ill-will in an already heated situation.

Posted by: micki at July 31, 2006 04:59 PM

16

"according to Jewish law, during a time of battle and war, there is no such term as 'innocents' of the enemy...."
....The Yesha Rabbinical Council

".....excepting of course israeli innocents killed by the lebanese"

Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hizbollah.
....Haim Ramon of the Israeli government

attention southern lebanon! we will continue to bomb the holy fuck out of you and all of you that don't manage to flee for your lives when our ground force invades will be considered to be terrorists and killed. we will then set up new borders and it's merely a coincidence that these new borders will include the only source of fresh water for the entire region. we are doing this because YOU are the terrorists and for no other reason. our criminal peers in the american govt/mcmedia will dissemble and stall while we accomplish this and they will even provide us with WMD on the sly which we have already used on you repeatedly. any pathetic outrage that might be shown by any concerned outsiders who manage to even notice what is happening will be dealt with simply by calling them jew-haters.

Posted by: spy on this! at July 31, 2006 05:07 PM

17

Refuting The Demolition Debunkers
Morgan Reynolds and Rick Rajter
3/3/06

Posted by: spy on this! at July 31, 2006 05:11 PM

18

It seems to me nowdays, that the press is incopentent as government. One bureaucratic layer upon another and little investigative journalism being accomplished anywhere. Many journalists sit and wait for that e-mail or fax and immediately rush to put it out to the public because they want to be first. Right or wrong, the need to be first with the news permeates the MSM. I think the reason we are no longer getting the "truth" is because once a story has been reported, it becomes old news. When we all know, where government is involved, there is more to the story that rarely gets discovered or is even investigated.

Posted by: TRH at July 31, 2006 05:15 PM

19

We need media corps, with the BIG voices going non-stop 24/7. But that's just the pipe-dream of those who desire truth, is it not?

What we get is 2 minutes of expolsions, mutilated bodied of children and then..."OH MY GOD! Mel Gibson's STILL a drunk asshole!"

Posted by: Hajji at July 31, 2006 03:43 PM

True. True.

Posted by: O'Reilly at July 31, 2006 05:15 PM

20

In other news, the nation's heat wave proceeds eastward. It is hot enough to take two nuclear reactor power generating units off-line and down.

Meanwhile, several locations in South Asia report flooding.

Posted by: David B. Benson at July 31, 2006 05:16 PM

21

Throwing Stones - Grateful Dead

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky, brush in some clouds and sea
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face.
But afraid, we may our home to waste.
There's a fear down here we can't forget hasn't got a name just
yet
Always awake, always around singing ashes to ashes all fall
down.
Now watch as the ball revolves and the nighttime calls
And again the hunt begins and again the bloodwind calls
By and by again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some men's eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets
Stalking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat, you and me, you and me.
Click, flashblade in ghetto night. Rudies looking for a
fight.
Rat cat alley roll them bones. Need that cash to feed that
jones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Commissars and pin-striped bosses role the dice
Any way they fall guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray, selling guns instead of food
today.
So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
While the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Heartless powers try to tell us what to think
If the spirit's sleeping, then the flesh is ink.
History's page, it is thusly carved in stone
The future's here, we are it, we are on our own.
If the game is lost then we're all the same
No one left to place or take the blame.
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or this shinning ball of bule we can call our home
So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
While the politicians are throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Shipping powders back and forth
Singing "black goes south while white comes north"
And the whole world full of petty wars
Singing "I got mine and you got yours."
And the current fashions set the pace.
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical he rant and rage, Singing "someone got to turn
the page"
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing "Just leave well enough alone"
But his pants are down, his cover's blown
And the politicians are throwing stones
So the kids they dance they shake their bones
Cause its all too clear we're on our own
Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
It's dizzying, the possibilities. Ashes, Ashes all fall down.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 05:22 PM

22

Did anybody watch the story on 60 minutes about how the White House edits scientific reports by government researches who are expert in glabal warming research?

------------------------------------

"In my more than three decades in the government I've never witnessed such restrictions on the ability of scientists to communicate with the public." -
James Hansen

As a government scientist, James Hansen is taking a risk. He says there are things the White House doesn't want you to hear but he's going to say them anyway.

Hansen is arguably the world's leading researcher on global warming. He's the head of NASA's top institute studying the climate. But as correspondent Scott Pelley first reported last spring, this imminent scientist says that the Bush administration is restricting who he can talk to and editing what he can say. Politicians, he says, are rewriting the science.

But he didn't hold back speaking to Pelley, telling 60 Minutes what he knows

LINK

Posted by: O'Reilly at July 31, 2006 05:25 PM

23

falseflagnews.com/
keeping us apprised of wargames and terror alert drills.

9/11 had numerous wargames running concurrently, some mirroring the wtc and pentagon attacks, and london 7/7's terror attack coincided with and mirrored an exact same terror attack drill.

mere coincidences all around. as will be the next one of course!

Posted by: spy on this! at July 31, 2006 05:26 PM

24

wouldn't be great, you folks who hate bush could became muslims, then join the REAL Islamic radicals, hate dubya even more, get to kill any one who disagrees with you, (the ultimate liberal dream come true) take over the whole world, kill some more people who are christian or jewish, blow yourself up with a bomb, killing even more people, and get to go to heaven and and then,(here's the best part) recieve 72 hot little virgins for your reward-- this is so cool!! I wonder if the girls who do this would get 72 hot virgin studs?? no booze though-- too bad.

Posted by: lee at July 31, 2006 05:30 PM

25

Group identifies new flaws in Diebold evoting machines

GROUP: 'Vote counts can be changed with the flip of a a switch'
The Open Voting Foundation, a California-based nonprofit organization that works to promote the adoption of "open source" technology to the nation's voting machines, has announced it has found what it calls the "worst ever security flow found in Diebold RS voting machines."

The Foundation claims to have discovered a switch inside of the machine which, when flipped, can have the machine operate in "a completely different manner compared to the tested and certified version."

More.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 05:37 PM

26

Robert,

Hardly surprising...

-T

Posted by: Hajji at July 31, 2006 05:41 PM

27

Protesters paralyze Mexico City over presidential vote outcome

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Thousands of supporters of Mexico's leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador camped out in the streets of Mexico City, demanding a recount of the July 2 presidential vote and causing massive traffic jams.

Lopez Obrador, who is challenging electoral results that gave victory to his conservative rival Felipe Calderon, led the protest from a yellow canvas tent on the downtown Zocalo square, facing the presidential palace.

He and thousands of supporters spent the night camping out in a protest the politician said would continue until authorities agree to a recount of the votes cast in what he called a fraudulent election.

More.

************************************

Now, that's the ticket!

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at July 31, 2006 05:42 PM

28

O'Reilly, I didn't watch the TV. I read all about it on Real Climate.

Posted by: David B. Benson at July 31, 2006 05:42 PM

29

David - Hint:

The can is empty!!!!

Posted by: LBH at July 31, 2006 06:10 PM

Posted by: Gerald at July 31, 2006 06:12 PM

31

David, this is what Congress should be investigating:

Gitmo Guards Often Attacked by Detainees
Jul 31 2:21 PM US/Eastern

By JOHN SOLOMON
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON


The prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay during the war on terror have attacked their military guards hundreds of times, turning broken toilet parts, utensils, radios and even a bloody lizard tail into makeshift weapons, Pentagon reports say.

Incident reports reviewed by The Associated Press indicate Military Police guards are routinely head-butted, spat upon and doused by "cocktails" of feces, urine, vomit and sperm collected in meal cups by the prisoners.

They've been repeatedly grabbed, punched or assaulted by prisoners who reach through the small "bean holes" used to deliver food and blankets through cell doors, the reports say. Serious assaults requiring medical attention, however, are rare, the reports indicate.

The detainee "reached under the face mask of an IRF (Initial Reaction Force) team member's helmet and scratched his face, attempting to gouge his eyes," states a May 27, 2005, report on an effort to remove a recalcitrant prisoner from his cell.

"The IRF team member received scratches to his face and eye socket area," the report said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where's the ACLU when our guys need them?

Posted by: LBH at July 31, 2006 06:15 PM

32

#25 Robert Schwartz, your post gives us a clue why the GOP will slaughter the Democrats in November, 2006.

Posted by: Gerald at July 31, 2006 06:18 PM

33

#6 Hajji

You hit it on the nail. They can't find any way to whitewash it. But I think everyone knew Phase II would not be published before the 2006 elections.

I wouldn't accuse David Corn of naivte, however. He simply is pointing this out. That's a good journalist's job.

Folks, I've been thinking alot since watching the Scholars Symposium on 9/11 theories this weekend. It strikes me that what we must worry about most of all is not that it could be an inside job. We have to be concerned about the undermining of the election with corrupt Diebold machine results.

After talking with other like-minded individuals, it occured to us all that Bushco is so damn incompetent, probably too incompetent to pull off a job like 9/11 which crossed many agency boundaries if it was, indeed, calculated.

What appears to be absolutely calculated was the aftermath response, the opportunies 9/11 brought to the criminals in the admininstration. That is where any "intelligence" figures in. Think about it, they are just too incompetent to pull something like 9/11 off without someone sane leaking the plans. Really, just too incompetent period. The high crime here, is ignoring the warnings, I think, mainly through incompetence, something Bushco unquestionably excels at.

This does not preclude, though, the chances of a staged terrorist event or two in the future. That I wouldn't put past them once they've learned what can be achieved through "terrorist" fear.

As Molly Ivins points out in the following link, it's fear that these clowns are good at--making us all fearful.

What the Republicans have proved however, is that they are good at rigging elections. We have seen that in 2000 and 2004 and expect to see this year. This is where our fears should take hold. Let's do what we can, each of us, to ensure that registration procedures are not deterred and stop in the tracks all other forms of corrupting the vote counts.

You know, no one will ever know for sure what really happened on 9/11. That's been purposely kept from the public eye. But after watching Bushco for five and a half years, you gotta wonder.

Intellectual and public resources should be spent on saving the dwindling democracy and our Constitution through ensuring our elections are not rigged.

I've got to go continue working on the move. Do you know that poor Jeanne has had to help her daughter move in temperatures over 100 degrees? Ay chihuahua!

Posted by: Carey at July 31, 2006 06:23 PM

34

Some info about the contract awarded in March of this year for WTC #7, to a firm in Capt's neck of the woods.

WTC 7 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND COLLAPSE HYPOTHESES
========================
Some of the key figures in that firm...

Dr. Stephen W. Kirkpatrick - doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

Dr. Robert Bocchieri - doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. James Brokaw - MasterŐs Degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University.

Mr. Robert MacNeill - MasterŐs Degree in mechanical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Mr. Brian Peterson - MasterŐs Degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

Note to HAND: there's not a single economist (morgan reynolds), at that firm. haha


Posted by: Alan at July 31, 2006 06:24 PM

35

No way will a Republican publish a report critical of Bush-baby. The Republicans may sell the rope they are hanged with but they decline to tighten the noose around their neck.

The other thread is the MidEast war. It fails to discuss what is the appropriate response to Hezbolla's actions and to consider the potential of Arab nations compensating all the Jews they kicked for being forced to leave and to pay for all the property that was stolen.

Let us see Arabs become a role model for Israel to follow. Let them show how the right of return works and how compensation is calculated.

Posted by: Kal Palnicki at July 31, 2006 06:26 PM

36

Forgot to post the silly article by Molly Ivins!

LINK

Posted by: Carey at July 31, 2006 06:28 PM

37

#22 O'Reilly

I saw it. Finally, some national attention on this on 60 minutes. Will we see any follow-up by other media? Doubt it.

Posted by: Carey at July 31, 2006 06:41 PM

38

Here you go,

Al-Jazirah's url

http://al-jazirah.com/


actual E-mail addresses of the head guys who write the kind of news/lies you choose to believe

president@al-jazirah.com.sa
chief@al-jazirah.com.sa
general_manager@al-jazirah.com.sa


I just wrote E-mails telling them, Allah and Mohammad go down on camels while taking turns doing each other from behind.

I happened to mention this site, if they wanted to talk about it. ENJOY.

Posted by: Pres at July 31, 2006 06:45 PM

39

Dear Archivist, Jimmy Carter Library

I have read an article by Texe Marrs that has the following passage:

*****

No Basis for Peace

In his memoirs of his years in the White House, former President Jimmy Carter wrote that there could have been peace between the Arabs and the Israelis had it not been for the bigoted, Nazi-like racial views of Israeli's Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

Begin, Carter recalled, believed the Jews were a Master Race, a holy people superior to Egyptians and Arabs. Begin also believed that God wanted the Jews to own the land, so there was absolutely no basis for peace. The Jews lusted after the land and intended to have it. Period.

******

Texe Marrs does not reference the above as a quote nor as a footnote.

My question is did President Carter write the above in his memoirs?

Thank you for any help you can give me to ascertain the truth in this matter.

Reply follows:

Dear Kirk:

There is scarcely one true statement in the article quote you sent us. Carter DID bring about a peace treaty (that has stood for almost 30 years) between Egypt and Israel. Begin and Sadat DID sign the treaty, so obviously Begin was not the hold up. Menachem Begin may have apprehension about Arabs, but that is far from accusing him of being Nazi-like and racist. Carter, who has never been a name-caller, certainly did not use these terms in his memoirs.

Begin, like many Israelis, may have thought the Jews were a "Chosen People" (after all, the Bible calls them that) but that is far from assuming that they were a "master race", above all others. In their role as a "Chosen People" the Jews have been as much chastised by God as rewarded. Far from it being a fact that "The Jews lusted after the land and intended to have it" the majority of Israelis were glad to surrender the Sinai and some other land in order to secure the Camp David accords.

Your Texe Marrs sounds a bit "Nazi-like" and "racist" himself. Playing fast and loose with the facts, he seems to want to recruit Jimmy Carter as an unwillling testimony to his anti-semitism. It is no wonder he does not cite his source for his quotes. In neither "Keeping Faith" nor "The Blood of Abraham", Carter's two main writings on the Israeli peace negotiations, does Carter say anything harsh about Begin, though they did not always agree.

Hope this answers your question.

Albert Nason

Archivist, Jimmy Carter Library
Carter Library

Posted by: capt at July 31, 2006 06:45 PM

40

capt, way to go!

Posted by: David B. Benson at July 31, 2006 06:48 PM

41

#39 Good job Capt.

Posted by: Alan at July 31, 2006 06:50 PM

42

Uhm, no surprise, there, Cpt...
Master of the serch for truth.

Speaking of Begin, did I ever mention that I once sold some CD's to one of Sadat's daughters?

She was doing some kind of residence at Harvard. A real classy lady.

-T

Posted by: Hajji at July 31, 2006 06:58 PM

43

I saw it. Finally, some national attention on this on 60 minutes. Will we see any follow-up by other media? Doubt it.

Carey, the other two segments of the show were pretty good too. Thing is, the whole show was a repeat. We didn't hear alot about it when it was first shown, so I doubt it'll get any 'play' this time either.

Posted by: Alan at July 31, 2006 07:00 PM

44

Cool!

Posted by: capt at July 31, 2006 07:00 PM

45

NIST again? of course, since they have proven so reliable already.

Posted by: spy on this! at July 31, 2006 07:10 PM

46

Of note:

Shanghai Constructs Underground Bunker Capable Of Sheltering 200,000 People
http://www.local6.com/news/9602820/detail.html


SHANGHAI, China -- Shanghai has constructed a massive underground
bunker complex capable of sheltering 200,000 people from a nuclear
attack, a local newspaper reported.
The million-square-foot complex connects to shopping centers, office
buildings, apartment buildings and the subway system via miles of
tunnels, the Shanghai Morning Post said in an exclusive report.
The newspaper said the complex has water, electricity, lighting,
ventilation and protective doors, and can support life for as long
as two weeks.

Posted by: spy on this! at July 31, 2006 07:11 PM

47

I can not believe Liberals think Terrorists would even consider sitting down at a peace table them.

Radical Islam hates American Liberals.

Jerry Falwell or Rush Limbaugh would have a better chance of talking to Radical Islam.

Radical Islam hates everything Liberals stand for. They hate Liberal Hollywood types that put out movies they think destroys their people. They not only hate equal rights for Homos, they just plain hey hate homos. They hate LIBERALS and liberal thinking, as they should.

You would have to be as stupid as a liberal to think Radical Islam would, in their wildest dreams, ever talk peace with those they consider the worst form of human life on the planet, which is the only thing they are not wrong about.

If you actually believe Liberals could bring peace, you are a completely ignorant waste of skin and space.

Posted by: Pres at July 31, 2006 07:18 PM

48

"If one speaks or acts with a cruel mind, misery follows, as the cart follows the horse... If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows, as a shadow follows its source."

~ the Dhammapada

Posted by: capt at July 31, 2006 07:22 PM

49

I wouldn't post here anymore Pres.

You've shown you're true stupidity.

Writing to an outside source allegedly or otherwise as a cornblogger is a no-no that will get you evicted.

Do you really think people at Al Jazeera are that stupid??? Rhetorical, do not answer.

Capt,

Great job with the letter to the Carter archivist, yee master of intellect!

Posted by: Carey at July 31, 2006 07:43 PM

50

Rush Takes the Islamofascist Line

"Until civilians -- frankly, I'm not sure how many of them are actually just innocent little civilians running around versus active Hezbo types, particularly the men -- but until those civilians start paying a price for propping up these kinds of regimes, it's not going to end, folks. What do you mean, civilians start paying a price? I just ask you to consult history for the answer to that."

Rush Limbaugh
On the Qana Massacre
July 31, 2006

"We declared jihad against the US government, because the US government is unjust, criminal and tyrannical. It has committed acts that are extremely unjust, hideous and criminal . . . As for what you asked regarding the American people, they are not exonerated from responsibility, because they chose this government and voted for it despite their knowledge of its crimes in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and in other places."

Osama bin Laden
On His Fatwa Against America
March 1997

I've always wondered when Limbaugh would finally figure out which side he belongs on.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

No small wonder the ditto-heads are confused.

capt

Posted by: capt at July 31, 2006 07:49 PM

51

I may disagree with capt on many things but that was some good investigating on his part.

Congrats, capt.

Posted by: TRH at July 31, 2006 07:58 PM

52

Let's not forget that Israel is the agressor here. They prefer fighting in combat to real negotiations. Hezbollah is dangerous for sure but there are better ways than bombing Lebanon.

Posted by: Joe at July 31, 2006 08:05 PM

53

carey 49
Writing to an outside source allegedly or otherwise as a cornblogger

..............
where do you get that out of this:
..............

"I happened to mention this site"
............................

PS

screw off, you dick weed, freaken moron.

Posted by: Pres at July 31, 2006 08:06 PM

54

Number of Iraqi refugees from violence swells

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Raging sectarian violence has pushed up the number of refugees in Iraq by 20,000 in the last 10 days alone, the migration ministry said on Monday.

It said in a statement the total number of people displaced has reached 182,154.

The crisis is likely to be far graver because ministry figures include only those who formally ask for aid within the country, some of them living in tented camps. By excluding thousands fleeing abroad or quietly seeking refuge with relatives, officials accept the data is an underestimate.

The figure of 182,154, based on the ministry's data of 30,359 families, is the number of those claiming aid since the February 22 bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra sparked a new phase of killing by Shi'ites and minority Sunni groups.

Some 27,744 people have fled Baghdad alone in the past five months. More and more houses are boarded up in the capital and many shops in once bustling commercial districts have shut after being threatened with violence or attacked.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Seems like the Iraqi people will not be able to stand for much more "freedom and democracy", eh?

capt

Posted by: capt at July 31, 2006 08:06 PM

55

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."

~ Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

Posted by: capt at July 31, 2006 08:09 PM

56

With his expertise, Eric Hoffer could have been Bill Clinton's BJ boy. Now that's probably your job capt

Posted by: Pres at July 31, 2006 08:13 PM

57

If you actually believe Liberals could bring peace, you are a completely ignorant waste of skin and space.
Posted by: Pres at July 31, 2006 07:18 PM

Your measured language is far too cryptic to be deciphered. By cipher, I mean coded message, nothing, zip, zero, nada.

Posted by: Veep at July 31, 2006 08:17 PM

58

micki, still, not one comment on the issue at hand. Of all the quotes posted you can only find one to pick at? What about the rest? Do these Zionist leaders feel they are the chosen of God or not? Have their actions not been completely in line with all of those quotes or not? Are they not, as we speak, engaging in a war of ethnic cleansing, as they have been, by their own admissions, for the past 75 years? Did they cut off the water supply? Did they rout out 800,000 native peoples to create a state? Have they not expanded their borders against all UN and international laws? Have they not engaged in terrorist activities to accomplish these goals? Are they not religious extremists? Does President Bush and all his cabal not support these neocon Zionists in all their efforts? You debate one comment that can be neither supported nor refuted conclusively, while writing every other corroborated quote off. Don't you know the same people who invaded and destroyed Iraq are doing the same all across the Middle East? Negroponte, an acknowledged Zionist, has prevented a ceasefire in Lebanon, his loyalties are to Israel, are OK with that, as long as you can argue with me? Whether that particular quote is accurate or not, the fact remains that Begin was the leader of a terrorist organization that murdered innocent people, and later became PM, and that speaks louder than words. Yet Israel bitches and moans when the Palestinian people finally get fed up with the corrupt PLO and elect Hamas. Maybe when a few more American relief workers get ran over by Israeli bulldozers, the fucking people in this country will wake up. Or, maybe not.

Posted by: RedAlert at July 31, 2006 08:46 PM

59

Red,

The biggest alarm clock in history probably wouldn't do the job.

I'm having a pessimistic day...

-T

Posted by: Hajji at July 31, 2006 08:51 PM

60

Hajji, every day is a fucking pessimistic day in this country. People would rather argue because of personal issues than debate facts. Hundreds of people are dying needlessly because of Israel and their never ending greed for space. Yet that can't be faced. The Zionist agenda has been shamelessly brought forward, yet people call others who post against this tactic full of hate. Maybe Jimmy Carter could weigh in, prove that terrorist Begin innocent. Who cares if he blew up buildings in the past, I'm sure he has long since repented and gone straight to Heaven.

Posted by: RedAlert at July 31, 2006 09:02 PM

61

the Zionist agenda

Red, if you're up for it, I think this is worth exploring. If you have a handle on the agenda of the Israeli government at this point in history, tell it if you wish, and explain what makes you think it is so. I won't argue or call you names, I'll just ask quetions.

Posted by: O'Reilly at July 31, 2006 09:36 PM

62

David,
He ought to be ashamed.

Posted by: Jeanne at July 31, 2006 10:19 PM

63

The Republican controlled congress needs to have a blow job to investigate crimes in a serious way. It is just not serious enough for them to consider holding those accountable for the false pre war intelligence that has resulted in tens of thousands of people having lost their lives due to the false WMD bull that these criminals put together.

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? AMERICANS HAVE BECOME THE WALKING DEAD......

Posted by: kathleen at August 2, 2006 10:05 AM

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