Bush Forcefully Attacks Iraq Critics

November 11th, 2005 2:28 pmBush Forcefully Attacks Iraq Critics
By Deb Riechmann / Associated Press
TOBYHANNA, Pa. - President Bush, in the most forceful defense yet of his Iraq war policy, accused critics Friday of trying to rewrite history and charged that they're undercutting America's forces on the front lines.
"The stakes in the global war on terror are too high and the national interest is too important for politicians to throw out false charges," the president said in his combative Veterans Day speech.

"While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began," the president said.

Bush's defense of his policy came at a time of growing doubts and criticism about a war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,050 members of the U.S. military. As casualties have climbed, Bush's popularity has dropped. His approval rating now is at 37 percent in the latest AP-Ipsos poll, an all time low point of his presidency.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who ran unsuccessfully against Bush last year, quickly challenged the president's charges. "I wish President Bush knew better than to dishonor America's veterans by playing the politics of fear and smear on Veterans Day," said Kerry, who voted in 2002 to give Bush the authority to wage war but later voted against additional funds for Iraq and Afghanistan reconstruction. Kerry argued at the time that Bush didn't have a solid plan to restore peace.

"This administration misled a nation into war by cherry-picking intelligence and stretching the truth beyond recognition," Kerry said.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said, "It's deeply regrettable that the president is using Veterans Day as a campaign-like attempt to rebuild his own credibility by tearing down those who seek the truth about the clear manipulation of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war."

The president spoke at the Tobyhanna Army Depot on a stage decorated with posters that said "Strategy for Victory."

His appearance came as his primary justification for the 2003 invasion — that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction — has come under fresh attack on Capitol Hill. Democrats have seized on the indictment of a now-resigned senior White House aide in the CIA leak case to shine the spotlight on how the president and other officials used intelligence about Iraq in the weeks and months leading up to the war.
A congressional inquiry into the administration's handling of prewar intelligence is pending.

Bush said that foreign intelligence services and Democrats and Republicans alike were convinced at the time that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

"Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and mislead the American people about why we went to war," Bush said.

He said those critics have made those allegations although they know that a Senate investigation "found no evidence" of political pressure to change the intelligence community's assessments related to Saddam's weapons program.

Bush also said they know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing Saddam's development and possession of weapons of mass destruction.

"More than 100 Democrats in the House and the Senate who had access to the same intelligence voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power," he said.

Bush did not single out any critics by name but said many of them had supported Kerry. The president said the criticism has taken a toll on U.S. forces.

"These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will," Bush said.

"As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them," the president said. "Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough. And our troops deserve to know that, whatever our differences in Washington, our will is strong, our nation is united and we will settle for nothing less than victory."

"We will never back down. We will never give in. We will never accept anything less than complete victory," Bush declared.

Bush said the United States and its allies are determined to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of extremists and prevent them from gaining control of any country.

Bush singled out Syria for particular criticism, saying its government had taken "two disturbing steps" in recent days. He cited the arrest of Syria pro-democracy activist Kamal Labwani and a "strident speech" by President Bashar Assad. In that speech, Assad said his government would cooperate with a U.N. investigation that implicated Syrian officials in the killing of a Lebanese leader, but warned he would no longer "play their game" if Syria "is going to be harmed."

Bush said Syria "must stop exporting violence and start importing democracy."

Bush's political adviser Karl Rove, who is still under the cloud of the CIA leak investigation, hopped Air Force One to attend Bush's speech.

The president's appearance came as Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, where the president traditionally goes on Veterans Day.

Cheney laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and told a crowd of about 6,000 at the cemetery's Memorial Amphitheater that U.S. forces have toppled two dictatorships and liberated 50 million people.
"Difficult missions are still to come and we cannot know every turn that lies ahead," he said. "Yet we can be certain that by the resolve of our country, by the rightness of our cause...we will prevail."

Long Time No Blog

It's been forever and a day since I've updated this thing. Since my daily chores are done, I'm feeling like letting the world know what's been happening with me!

I survived my final auction back in May. it was without a few of my dear friends. Zippy left WOSU in January. Little did we know, her final day at work would be Ron's final day on earth. For me personally, that was a life altering moment. I just kept telling myself, you can get through this dammit, so do it! With that and no choice, I buried myself in work. At the end of the tunnel was a good event and an annual trip to the Cape with a decision to move to MA. I know, I can't believe it at times either! The girl from Columbus picked up and moved in with the chick from Jersey!

The summer is not a blur, but I do look back and think, how in the hell did this all get done? I had been settled a mere week before our new house projects started. It was quite fun and similar to auction, but on steroids! During this time the hurricane had hit New Orleans. I had the news up rather loud since I was painting a bathroom adjacent to the TV. I found myself in shock everyday as I watched these helpless people be abandoned by our government. I add this up to the ineffectiveness of GW once again. If at this point every freaking American doesn't get the fact this man is a COMPLETE failure to the country, I don't know what will wake your ass up. Oh, maybe 2,000+ dead soldiers fighting a bogus war may help you see light. Ooooops, I went off on a tangent!

Anyhoo, back to life. CA and I are now settled and very happy in our new Harvest Home. I received my final award from PBS in October. That felt pretty damn good, 9 awards in 13 years of service, you gotta love that! I got lucky and also found my true harvesty job at Tea Forte'. I start my new career soon to add with my new vehicle, new house, new life. It all seems to be falling into place quite nicely.

I intend to start bitching about GW again. The CIA leak and all that should come from it will leave alot of us who tried to put Kerry in office saying "I told you so!". But, no one likes a wise arse right? The Clinton blow job is starting to look like a fly on the wall compared to lying to your country to take them into war. I've always felt the truth has a way of finding its way out, this is no different, so pay attention dammit!

Halliburton & Fox News

Ah, two of my favorite subjects. From the Salon.com "war room".

Halliburton's RIO Grande of overcharges
Congressional Democrats released records Monday from the Defense Contract Audit Agency's investigation of Halliburton, revealing that the company overcharged $108 million for one of 10 ten services the company performed as part of its Restore Iraqi Oil contract. U.S.

Representatives Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and John Dingell, D-Mich., also submitted an open letter to President Bush, calling for the release of audit reports on the remaining nine contract tasks, and asking the Bush administration how it plans to recover the funds from Halliburton.

The battle for transparency has been going on ever since Vice President Cheney's former company nabbed its lucrative no-bid contract: As Rep. Waxman told Salon back in Dec. 2003, he's been asking for an explanation of what appears to be Halliburton's "government-sanctioned profiteering" in U.S.-occupied Iraq. But more than a year later the White House still hasn't answered Congressional inquiries, and though President Bush has promised that audit reports on the RIO contract would be made public, neither Congress nor the public has been privy to them so far.

Monday's letter suggests the reason why: It may be even worse than Waxman thought. The "tens of millions of dollars" in overcharges that the Pentagon mentioned in '03 mushroomed into $108 million in the one task report that Congress got from the DCAA. (In one particularly egregious instance, the company paid subcontractors $27 million to transport $82,000 worth of propane from Kuwait to Iraq; the Congressmen, apparently at a loss for words, quoted California oil economist Phil Verleger: "It's as if they've put the gasoline on the Queen Mary and taken it around the world before they deliver it.") Given that the DoD is still sitting on the other nine audit reports, it seems likely that the total overcharges will dramatically exceed the DoD's '03 estimate.

But unless Congress can get its hands on the other reports, it'll be hard to hold Halliburton accountable. And it's not just American taxpayers who should get a refund -- $1.64 billion of Halliburton's total $2.5 billion tab have come out of Iraqi oil proceeds held in the Development Fund for Iraq. Repayment of overages to the development fund could come in handy for the fledgling democracy, plagued as it is by security problems and a lack of funds to cover basic infrastructure and electricity.

The Pentagon still refuses to freeze Halliburton's contract while investigations are underway. And for its part, Halliburton contends that its charges were fair. Never mind the no-bid contract and the various options it had for lower fuel prices; in a statement to the Associated Press, company spokesperson Wendy Hall went with the "all's fair in love and war" defense: "The [DCAA's] report fails to take into account the fact that [Halliburton subcontractor Kellogg Brown & Root] performed an urgent mission at the Army's request and that the mission took place in a wartime environment."
-- Page Rockw

Fair and balanced, at least 27 percent of the time!
The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reports on a new study of TV news. You decide.
"In covering the Iraq war last year, 73 percent of the stories on Fox News included the opinions of the anchors and journalists reporting them, a new study says. By contrast, 29 percent of the war reports on MSNBC and 2 percent of those on CNN included the journalists' own views. These findings -- the figures were similar for coverage of other stories -- 'seem to challenge' Fox's slogan of 'we report, you decide,' says the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

"In a 617-page report, the group also found that 'Fox is more deeply sourced than its rivals,' while CNN is 'the least transparent about its sources of the three cable channels, but more likely to present multiple points of view.' The project defines opinion as views that are not attributed to others."

Perhaps not a real shocker, but it turns out that Bill O'Reilly, host of the "no-spin zone," is a bona fide leader in dialing in the spin: "As for the most popular prime-time shows, nearly every story -- 97 percent -- contained opinion on Fox's 'O'Reilly Factor'; 24 percent on MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Matthews'; and 0.9 percent on CNN's 'Larry King Live.'"

Indeed, the PEJ report would seem to confirm suspicions that Fox News, above all others, is quite sympathetic in general to the Bush White House's faith-based policies. As Kurtz also notes from the study: "Last March, Fox reporter Todd Connor said that 'Iraq has a new interim constitution and is well on its way to democracy.'

"'Let's pray it works out,' said anchor David Asman."

And if TV viewers end up being too busy at any given moment to get their fix of "news" from the cable nets, they need not worry: 70 percent of the time they'll have missed nothing at all.

"Despite its 24 hours of available air time, cable isn't exactly bursting with new news. Seven in 10 reports involve recycling of the same subject matter, with only 10 percent adding meaningful updates. 'The time required to continuously be on the air seems to take a heavy toll on the nature of the journalism presented,' the report says."
-- Mark Follman

I Miss You Daddy-O

Today marks one of those anniversary dates I'd like to forget. Thus far, I remember it as the worst day of my life.

March 10, 1997 I got a call at work from a Columbus Police homicide detective. As she introduced herself, I was still comprehending her title. She proceeded to tell me they had found my dad, dead, under an overpass. As I completely freaked out, she then started to describe what this man was wearing. I knew instantly it was him, and yet EVERY fiber of my being fought back what she was saying.

I think at the time, I thought I could wish it away and my thoughts could change the reality. I shook so hard I could not stand, I couldn't quit crying. I just spoke to him the night before, this just could not be true.

From there, I remember my sister and brother-in-law picking me up at work. I had to go identify his body. Even as we rode to the coroner's office, I was convinced they were wrong and whoever they had me going to look at would not be my dad. As I was given a photo to ID him, there was no escaping the truth, the reality that my dear ol' dad was no longer here.

For months, and I mean months - I fought a deep depression. I think when you lose someone and are given no reasons as to why, it makes the acceptance of reality far harder to bear. I understood "heart attack", I understood, "car crash" - but, not knowing what happened to him on that ill fated night, will haunt me as long as I live.

My dad was my best friend. We could talk about ANYTHING. I miss his voice, I miss making him laugh so hard he had to cough, I miss his sense of humor. Most of all, I miss my dad for being my dad.

Here's to you Ron. I think about you often. I hope you see things I've done that have made you proud. I carry you with me wherever I go. Through the good and bad. I think of what you'd tell me to calm down, or to enjoy a moment of life's victory. It's nice knowing I have you as my guardian angel. And whether it's true or not, I usually give you credit when something goes right in my life.

The only silver lining I could find in your sudden departure was knowing I was able to tell you one last time, on our final phonecall, I love you dad. For that, I will always be thankful.

U.S. Ends Search for WMD in Iraq

It's offcial....again! Dubya started a war for nothing! Oh, I forgot...it's about the oil stupid.

U.S. ends search for WMD in Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. inspectors have ended their search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in recent weeks, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN.

The search ended almost two years after President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, citing concerns that Saddam Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction and may have hidden weapons stockpiles.
Members of the Iraq Survey Group were continuing to examine hundreds of documents and would investigate any new leads, the official said.

Charles A. Duelfer, who headed the Iraq Survey Group's search for WMD in Iraq, has returned to Iraq and is working on his final report, the official said.

In October, Duelfer released a preliminary report finding that in March 2003 -- the United States invaded Iraq on March 19 of that year -- Saddam did not have any WMD stockpiles and had not started any program to produce them.

The Iraq Survey Group report said that Iraq's WMD program was essentially destroyed in 1991 and Saddam ended the country's nuclear program after the 1991 Gulf War.

The report found that Iraq worked hard to cheat on United Nations-imposed sanctions and retain the capability to resume production of weapons of mass destruction at some time in the future. (Full story)
"[Saddam] wanted to end sanctions while preserving the capability to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction when sanctions were lifted," a summary of the report said.

Many of the military and intelligence personnel, who had been assigned to the weapons search, are now working on counterinsurgency matters, the official said.

Worse Than Fiction

January 7, 2005
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Worse Than Fiction
By PAUL KRUGMAN

I've been thinking of writing a political novel. It will be a bad novel because there won't be any nuance: the villains won't just espouse an ideology I disagree with - they'll be hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels.

In my bad novel, a famous moralist who demanded national outrage over an affair and writes best-selling books about virtue will turn out to be hiding an expensive gambling habit. A talk radio host who advocates harsh penalties for drug violators will turn out to be hiding his own drug addiction.

In my bad novel, crusaders for moral values will be driven by strange obsessions. One senator's diatribe against gay marriage will link it to "man on dog" sex. Another will rant about the dangers of lesbians in high school bathrooms.

In my bad novel, the president will choose as head of homeland security a "good man" who turns out to have been the subject of an arrest warrant, who turned an apartment set aside for rescue workers into his personal love nest and who stalked at least one of his ex-lovers.

In my bad novel, a TV personality who claims to stand up for regular Americans against the elite will pay a large settlement in a sexual harassment case, in which he used his position of power to - on second thought, that story is too embarrassing even for a bad novel.

In my bad novel, apologists for the administration will charge foreign policy critics with anti-Semitism. But they will be silent when a prominent conservative declares that "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular."

In my bad novel the administration will use the slogan "support the troops" to suppress criticism of its war policy. But it will ignore repeated complaints that the troops lack armor.

The secretary of defense - another "good man," according to the president - won't even bother signing letters to the families of soldiers killed in action.

Last but not least, in my bad novel the president, who portrays himself as the defender of good against evil, will preside over the widespread use of torture.

How did we find ourselves living in a bad novel? It was not ever thus. Hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels have always been with us, on both sides of the aisle. But 9/11 created an environment some liberals summarize with the acronym Iokiyar: it's O.K. if you're a Republican.

The public became unwilling to believe bad things about those who claim to be defending the nation against terrorism. And the hypocrites, cranks and scoundrels of the right, empowered by the public's credulity, have come out in unprecedented force.

Apologists for the administration would like us to forget all about the Kerik affair, but Bernard Kerik perfectly symbolizes the times we live in. Like Rudolph Giuliani and, yes, President Bush, he wasn't a hero of 9/11, but he played one on TV. And like Mr. Giuliani, he was quick to cash in, literally, on his undeserved reputation.

Once the New York newspapers began digging, it became clear that Mr. Kerik is, professionally and personally, a real piece of work. But that's not unusual these days among people who successfully pass themselves off as patriots and defenders of moral values. Mr. Kerik must still be wondering why he, unlike so many others, didn't get away with it.

And Alberto Gonzales must be hoping that senators don't bring up the subject.

The principal objection to making Mr. Gonzales attorney general is that doing so will tell the world that America thinks it's acceptable to torture people. But his confirmation will also be a statement about ethics.

As White House counsel, Mr. Gonzales was charged with vetting Mr. Kerik. He must have realized what kind of man he was dealing with - yet he declared Mr. Kerik fit to oversee homeland security.

Did Mr. Gonzales defer to the wishes of a president who wanted Mr. Kerik anyway, or did he decide that his boss wouldn't want to know? (The Nelson Report, a respected newsletter, reports that Mr. Bush has made it clear to his subordinates that he doesn't want to hear bad news about Iraq.)

Either way, when the Senate confirms Mr. Gonzales, it will mean that Iokiyar remains in effect, that the basic rules of ethics don't apply to people aligned with the ruling party. And reality will continue to be worse than any fiction I could write.


E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com

New Year Message

I felt compelled to say a few things before 2004 signs off and we start a New Year. I think I'll start off with the 'bad' of '04. I've always felt no matter how bad things get, you can usually find a thread of something positive or something to take with you and move forward with. So, here's just a few things that shaped my year.

In October, by brother-in-law Steve finally lost his heroic fight against cancer. I don't know if I fooled myself for months, or just wanted to believe if anyone could beat it, he would. What strikes me now is how he never gave up until the bitter end. He seldom complained about the disease that was ravaging his body. Knowing things might not turn for the good, he continued with experimental treatments, hoping that someday, his fight would be able to benefit someone else down the line. If that isn't a lesson in selflessness, I don't know what is. I miss you bro - and I know one day our paths will cross again in another life.

My sister and niece taught me about strength and courage. Nancy will be the first to say, what choice did I have? Regardless, watching someone you love lose such a battle and being there for them every step of the way takes both attributes. I see Molly, who was 20 years younger than I when I lost my dad hold her composure and move forward. I was amazed by her strength and it serves as a testament to who her dad was.

His passing was literally days before the election. Looking back - another strange time in my life indeed. While all that was going on, I found comfort and a wonderful diversion to what was going on in our lives. It seems a little surreal now. In one moment we fought back tears - the next I was at a rally or doing volunteer work for the Kerry campaign.

Speaking of the election - what the hell were you thinking America?

Living in Columbus meant we had a candidate here just about every other day towards the end. By October 30, Jodi (my best friend) and I had an election to remember. Our first rally in July had us on-stage right behind Kerry as he gave a speech in my neighborhood. I was fortunate to talk with him briefly and
get a signature. When he won the nomination, we attended a rally where Ben Affleck spoke - he truly is hot in person! I was standing at the gate line when Edwards got up on the fencing and had his stomach in my face for a few minutes. I call that my "Monica" moment of the campaign. Suffice it to say, I did get to shake his hand and Kerry's again. I will fondly remember the Zanesville rally in the rain.

The next event, I went solo - I met Teresa. I adore that woman - she's very bright and well spoken. I gave her hug and got her signature. We attended a town hall meeting with Elizabeth. I was struck by her candor and smarts too.

I spent the eve of my 41st birthday with John Edwards at a presidential debate party in downtown Columbus. Another hand shake, but even cooler - on the Kerry site, we were in the main picture in the front row. The day after my birthday we found ourselves in Cleveland at the Vote for Change tour with Bruce.

That led us to private invitation event featuring Kerry and Dana Reeve. Literally, we collectively held back our tears as she spoke of Christopher's passing.

The last rally with Kerry brought us Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuce! WOW! If that wasn't cool, I don't know what was. I have some candid shots of him backstage and he waved at me.

The last two events of the campaign were with Elizabeth at a Mom's for Kerry rally. And, Michael Moore with the Goo Goo Dolls and some other folks. This took place 3 days before the election. I gave Elizabeth a big hug and wished them luck - days later we would find she had breast cancer.

Final stop before election day, Michael Moore. We managed to sang front row seats. The Goo Goo Dolls played, Michael made us laugh and think. I thought for a few moments that this country can turn around.

Kerry brought me hope - I truly supported him and he was my first choice for president. However, we are stuck with a man that has no vision for this country. I'm starting to wonder if I will see full equality in my lifetime. I will continue to voice my thoughts/opinions as he takes our great nation down his path of hell.

Christmas of 2004 began with a blizzard and a power outage. I must admit, that was nerve racking to say the least. As I told my Uncle Bob - watching all those episodes of "Survivor" taught me well. In the end, we are all safe and sound and by the grace of Big Bird, our houses have no damage. Nancy & Molly are still without power, hopefully today is the day!

As bad as that was for us personally, to see the victims of the Tsunami serve as a reminder to how fortunate we are. Everyday as new footage comes out, I'm blown away by the devastation and destruction. I honestly thought Sudan was going to be the story of human tragedy this year. In either case, if you have a dime to send either of these groups of people - please don't wait, people are dying by the hundreds (thousands) and it is our duty in being those fortunate in the human race to help them. It could've been you in their shoes.

Barring any major act of Big Bird, we are headed to Cozumel in a few weeks! I'm so excited. My first cruise AND with Melissa Ferrick if that doesn't rock!

Which leads me to the best person in my life. I thank you for putting up with with my political rants, grumpy moods when I don't get enough sleep and my overall smartass behavior 24/7. Thank you for accepting my flaws - as beautiful as they are! You mean everything to me and I remind myself how 'empty' life would be without you.

Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuah!

And maybe, just maybe, this is our year to start the rest of our lives together. You get the gnome for the garden - but, I really think we should get that white dog from the pound.

I know I've left out bunches of other things - but, my goal wasn't to keep rambling for a change!

To my friends, and family - obviously - I'm there if you need me. To the internet strangers that write and thank me for my web sites, I thank you for taking the time to drop me a line. Your stories can be very inspirational - and they do serve as a reminder as to why I do this in the first place.

To anyone bothering to read this - I wish you the best for 2005. May you and those you love have a safe and healthy New Year.
Cin