David Hackworth
We can’t go to war based on ignorance.
Tue Feb 10 16:28:24 2004
64.140.159.19

David H. Hackworth: Calling Maj. Ritter:

What a shame that the president and his platoon of let’s-get-Saddam neocons, Congress and the CIA’s Tenet didn’t listen to the man-in-the-know when he cautioned: “U.S. and Iraqi casualties will be significant. ... We can’t go to war based on ignorance.”
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Hacks%20Target%20Homepage.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=52&rnd=937.7758801612099

http://tinyurl.com/2sc28

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By David H. Hackworth



Like it or not, Maj. Scott Ritter had it right all along.



Most of the rest of us, from the president to his key advisers, such as Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, Wolfowitz and Tenet, to the majority of Congress and to most of the talking heads – including the pre-Iraq War NBC analyst David Kay, who reported WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) behind every Iraqi sand dune – blew it big-time when it came down to the awesome arsenal that Saddam had supposedly squirreled away.



Ritter, the United Nations’ chief weapons inspector in Iraq until 1998, took us all on – virtually alone, against incredible odds – stating, “Iraq is not a threat to the U.S.,” and begging the American people to take charge and not “sit back and allow your government to go to war against Iraq ... (without all) the facts on the table to back this war up.”



As per his reputation on training fields and battlefields, this granite-jawed former Marine stood his ground and never flinched. He reminds me of another two-fisted, tell-it-like-it-is Marine, Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, the recipient of two Medals of Honor, who was almost drummed out of the Marine Corps twice: Once in the 1930s for calling Benito Mussolini a “fascist,” and once again a few years later when he rattled the military-industrial complex by daring to declare that “War is a racket.”



Ritter, too, took serious punishment from his critics – and instead of doing proper due diligence or asking hard questions, the media quickly piled on. It was not Fox’s finest hour when that network gleefully painted him as a 21st-century Benedict Arnold – not that he had many prime-time advocates anywhere else. Even CNN’s usually evenhanded Paula Zahn said to Ritter six months before America unleashed its miscalculated military solution on Iraq, “People out there are accusing you of drinking Saddam Hussein’s Kool-Aid.”



Eighteen months later, Ritter has not only survived the relentless ridicule and all the scurrilous attempts at character assassination, he’s clearly been vindicated. And by one David Kay, who dismissed Ritter’s prewar analysis with: “Either he lied to you then or he’s lying to you now. ... He’s gone completely the other way. I cannot explain it on the basis of known facts.”



Ritter doesn’t come close to buying Kay’s present-day convenient conclusion – now spun into a pre 2004-election pass-the-buck revisionist chant – that our $30 billion-a-year spook op goofed. Ritter says, “It’s the old story of people going-along-to-get-along who put their careers ahead of their country.”



Ritter doesn’t let President Bush off the hook, either: “He should rightly be held accountable for what increasingly appears to be deliberately misleading statements made by him and members of his administration regarding the threat posed by Iraq’s WMD.”



I asked Ritter if he felt totally exonerated. “I would feel a lot better if there were a way to reverse the hands of time,” he told me, “so that people would have paid more attention to what I said in the past, and we didn’t find ourselves caught up in this ongoing tragedy.”



What a shame that the president and his platoon of let’s-get-Saddam neocons, Congress and the CIA’s Tenet didn’t listen to the man-in-the-know when he cautioned: “U.S. and Iraqi casualties will be significant. ... We can’t go to war based on ignorance.”



But go to war we did. And now we’ve filled more than 530 body bags, medevaced thousands of soldiers, caused thousands more to be psychologically scarred, created tens of thousands of Iraqi casualties and stuck ourselves dead center in an ever-deepening tar pit.



For sure, people in high places need truth-tellers like Ritter to keep them straight. Had Bush talked to Ritter before opting for pre-emptive war, Bush might have been convinced to rearrange his options, and we might not be in this mess.



Evaluating intelligence calls for an open mind and sound judgment. Both were AWOL in our political leadership because of a preconceived agenda or an attack of yellow belly-itis that interfered with standing tall.



In either case, it’s time for a reckoning.



My recommendation: Put Ritter on the WMD intelligence probe. We can count on him to tell us the straight skinny, just as he tried to during the fevered, frenzied days of the dance to war.

The address of David Hackworth's home page is Hackworth.com. Sign in for the free weekly Defending America column at his Web site. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831. His newest book is “Steel My Soldiers’ Hearts.” © 2004 David H. Hackworth. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
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282 DAYS ... AND STILL NO WMD FOUND IN IRAQ.

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White House Releases Bush Military Record :

The White House, facing election-year questions about President Bush's military service, released pay records and other information Tuesday that it said supports Bush's assertion that he fulfilled his duty as a member of the Air National Guard during the Vietnam war.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040210/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_military_records

http://tinyurl.com/2j85z

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Pakistan Hires Bush's Man As US Lobbyist:

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has hired Frank Howard Jr., the man who managed President George W Bush's election campaign in 2001, as his key lobbyist in Washington.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13385800

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Scores killed in Iraq blast:

Up to 50 people are feared dead and dozens wounded after a car bomb ripped through a police station south of Baghdad.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B1160B80-6769-457B-A49A-33EECBD499B9.htm

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Doubts, dissent stripped from public Iraq assessment:

The public version of the U.S. intelligence community's key prewar assessment of Iraq's illicit arms programs was stripped of dissenting opinions, warnings of insufficient information and doubts about deposed dictator Saddam Hussein's intentions, a review of the document and its once-classified version shows.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/7914462.htm

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Jay Bookman: Bush bullied CIA in order to dupe us:

The Bush administration is now admitting that WMD were never the reason for the war. They chose to invade Iraq not to protect us from anthrax or nuclear attack, but because they hoped that an invasion would inspire new respect for U.S. power and would allow us to use Iraq as a base from which to transform the entire Arab world.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5634.htm

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Russia proved right on Iraq WMD: Russia's UN ambassador:

"We said that we don't have information which would prove that the WMD, weapons of mass destruction, programmes remain in Iraq.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5E41869D-16E7-4234-82BF-A4682BB1B08E.htm

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Pundit O'Reilly Now Skeptical About Bush :

Conservative television news anchor Bill O'Reilly said on Tuesday he was now skeptical about the Bush administration and apologized to viewers for supporting prewar claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040210/people_nm/campaign_bush_oreilly_dc_3

http://tinyurl.com/27sye

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Trust fades as war cry rings too hollow :

President Bush's appearance on "Meet the Press" on Sunday was the last straw. For months, I've been hoping that the cache of weapons would actually turn up. For months, I've suffered cruel jokes about me trusting a Bush. And for months, I've watched the rationale for the war on Iraq shift from one that I could digest to one that makes me want to throw up. Now I feel betrayed.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/mitchell/cst-nws-mitch10.html

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Bush cried 'wolf' on Iraq's threat:

It was all scare tactics. We now know Saddam had no serious ties to the 9/11 terrorists, and he had bowed to the United Nations and scrapped his nuclear, chemical and biological programs. The British report was bogus. Bush was crying wolf, and he's now scrambling to justify a $150 billion war, 600 U.S. and allied deaths and 13,000 Iraqi deaths.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1076368216317

http://tinyurl.com/2q2rr

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In case you missed it:

Powell Dismisses Latest Iraqi Offers :

10/05/2002: Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed as "utter nonsense" Iraq's call Tuesday for talks on resuming weapons inspections and hinted that President Bush is nearing a decision on how to deal with Saddam Hussein.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,61914,00.html

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In case you missed it:

02/25/2003: Rumsfeld: Iraqi chemical, biological weapons more lethal today
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/25/sprj.irq.rumsfeld.transcript/

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No Contract Certainty In Iraq Post Handover :

Two U.S. government officials said Monday that there was no absolute certainty that recently awarded oil contracts in Iraq would be honored by a new Iraqi government, once a transition takes place in July.
http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2004020921470008&Take=1

http://tinyurl.com/2daj8

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What did the Vice-President do for Halliburton?:

Cheney earned forty-four million dollars during his tenure at Halliburton. Although he has said that he “severed all my ties with the company,” he continues to collect deferred compensation worth approximately a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040216fa_fact

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Transportation Security Abominations:

As if the continuing swirl of corruption surrounding Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney, and a growing number of Bush administration connections and officials weren’t enough, more and more examples of outright executive branch malfeasance are surfacing on a daily basis.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5635.htm

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http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/support.htm

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Iraq governor feels heat of democracy:

Sabri al-Rumayith's plight in this Shi'ite town of a million highlights problems faced by U.S. occupiers as they try to shape Iraq's future.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=455655§ion=news

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Iraq: Uranium Contamination:

Recently completed laboratory analyses show two members of Uranium Medical Research Centre’s (UMRC) field investigation team are contaminated with Depleted Uranium (DU).
http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=1420&blz=1

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First award for depleted uranium poisoning claim :

A SCOTS ex-soldier has become the first veteran to win a pension appeal after being diagnosed with depleted uranium (DU) poisoning during the 1991 Gulf war.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/9272.html

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Defense Dept. Seeks Bush's Guard File :

The Defense Department has requested that President Bush's payroll records from his service in the National Guard be sent to Washington from a DOD archive in Colorado, to ascertain whether they can be released to news organizations
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26843-2004Feb9?language=printer

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Ex-judge on Iraq inquiry 'involved in cover-up' :

Laurence Silberman, a retired judge nominated by the Bush administration as the co-chairman of the commission investigating pre-war intelligence on Iraq, was involved in a major cover-up during the Reagan era, his critics alleged yesterday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1144586,00.html

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9/11 Panel Threatens to Issue Subpoena for Bush's Briefings:

Members of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks warned the White House on Monday that it could face a politically damaging subpoena this week if it refused to turn over information from the highly classified Oval Office intelligence reports given to President Bush before 9/11.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/10/politics/10PANE.html

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Canadian tried in secret:

Ex-Ontario resident pleads guilty in U.S. to terror charges: While it has been reported that Jabarah had been co-operating with American agents and faced unknown charges, his case has been shrouded in secrecy. Hearings have been held in private. There is no listing of his case on New York court databases and prosecutors with the Southern District of New York state won't comment to reporters.
http://tinyurl.com/29xjm

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Bush Aides Testify in CIA officer Valerie Plame Leak Probe :

Several sources involved in the leak case said the questioning suggests prosecutors are preparing to seek testimony from Novak and perhaps other journalists. "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26979-2004Feb9

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'Press freedom under fire':

If the first casualty of war is truth, then the War on Terror has dealt a body blow to those trying to get at the bottom of the story: journalists.
http://www.heatherwokusch.com/columns/column58.html

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The Wars of the Texas Succession:

For four generations the Bush family has thrived by exploiting its political connections, especially in the secret world of intelligence, to get ahead in business, as well as exploiting its business connections, especially in finance and oil, to get ahead in politics.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16911

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Wounded U.S. veterans get a raw deal at home :

There's no emotional sting like the one inflicted by that 500 number. It's larger now, the total of Americans dead from an Iraq war launched on false pretenses, but 500 is getting a lot of usage as the ultimate cost of this mess. It's a cost 500 can't begin to illuminate.
http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20040208gene0208fnp1.asp

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Shaken father writes to president :

Burying a child will no doubt be the hardest task that his mother and I shall ever have to do. The one question I have, and the one question I would like you to answer, is, "Why did my son and every other soldier that was killed, maimed and wounded have to suffer settling your vendetta?
http://www.thnt.com/thnt/story/0,21282,901315,00.html

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Americans should be expressing some outrage:

I keep asking myself, "Where is the outrage in this country? When are we going to wake up and see what's happening under the 'leadership' of George W. Bush?" People need to inform themselves. Forget the soundbites -- do some serious reading. You'll see that Bush, while sending us into a disastrous war, has ignored the real issues facing us.
http://ydr.com/story/op-ed/18720/

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Dollar slide ignores G7 warning:

The dollar has sunk against other major currencies, squashing hopes that a meeting of leading industrial nations in Florida could stem its decline.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3471413.stm

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Senator Tim Ferguson: A New American Century? Not! :

Even as the dollar is steadily dropping against the Euro after the end of fighting in Iraq, Washington appears to be deliberately worsening the dollar fall in public comments. What is taking place is a power game of the highest geopolitical significance, the most fateful perhaps, since the emergence of the United States in 1945 as the world's leading economic power.
htt

• Why Not ??? — Anonymous, Tue Feb 10 22:37