They Knew

This is one of those brilliant articles that makes you wonder why it hasn’t been written before.  Thank you for your work, I’m pointing it out to everyone I know, and many that I don’t.

If you ever decide to do a sequel regarding 9/11, I’ve been looking into what Bush knew about planes used as weapons at the Genoa G8 Summit in July, 2001.  I’m including my brief work below:

The Bush Administration would like us to believe that the August 6, 2001 memo entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US” was not itself an “inkling” of warning.  Fine then, let’s forget about the memo for one moment.

Let us never forget, and in fact let us remind the public as often as possible, that Bush himself admitted prior knowledge of the terrorist plot to fly jetliners into buildings. 

In his prime time news conference disaster of March 6, 2003, Bush referred to intel he received before the G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy:

“Ed, I asked for the briefing. And the reason I did is because there had been a lot of threat intelligence from overseas. And so—part of it had to do with Genoa, the G8 conference that I was going to attend. And I asked, at that point in time, let’s make sure we are paying attention here at home, as well.

“The report, itself, I’ve characterized as mainly history, and I think when you look at it you’ll see that it was talking about ‘97 and ‘98 and ‘99. It was also an indication, as you mentioned, that bin Laden might want to hijack an airplane, but as you said, not to fly into a building, but perhaps to release a person in jail. In other words, serve it as a blackmail.”

This, like the majority of his utterances, was a lie.  The threat was specific: al Qaida operatives might hijack aircraft and assassinate Bush and other foreign leaders by crashing them into the meeting itself.  This is why, as mulitple news sources reported, anti-aircraft guns were stationed strategically throughout Genoa during the conference.  (Think about it: why would you use anti-aircraft battery to prevent blackmail?) Additionally, Bush stayed on an aircraft carrier and other leaders slept on luxury cruise liners.  The Italian government closed off local air space and had fighter jets patrolling the skies during the summit. (http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0406-11.htm) Security measures were unprecedented and underreported.

These events took place in July of 2001.  If the Bush Administration dares to suggest that they had no warning of the kind of attack that took place on September 11, we must conclude that they are dangerously incompetent in forgetting the G8 warnings and the August 8 memo, and not making the elementary connections between the two before and during September 11.  Or they are lying.

Ow.  Someone did their homework.

Another vote of thanks for an excellent article.

It is this calculated use of deception and falsehood that we should fear, more even than the wrongheaded policy.  When our leaders cease to know the difference between the truth and a lie, the nation is headed for disaster. 

If I may shamelessly flog two articles on this topic: 

www.americanpolitics.com/20020405Utwater.html

www.americanpolitics.com/20020426Utwater.html

Dear David and Christy,
Thank you for this awesome piece of investigative journalism, and thanks as well for your work with Air America.

As a side question, what really is going on with mainstream media? Tens of millions of people are unaware that they are constantly lied to. They come home to a sofa and a cold beer, and suck this misinformation in. Part of the problem is their lack of curiosity, yet most Americans have been taught to have faith in this system.

What we are witnessing is a collapse of the 4th Branch of government.

Thanks again for all your dedication to democracy.
Scott

It’s alarming that a generation of people that did not trust their government in their youth can be so complacent about it in their adulthood.

I agree with Charles.  The “calculated use of deception and falsehood” is the single most dangerous weapon a government can wield against it people.

This article contains much pertinent information that should be broadcast across America.  I would love to show this to my conservative friend, but I know she wouldn’t even read it.  Or she would just think that I don’t get it.  How can we get through to them? If the media reported the truth, they wouldn’t be able to escape it. I am not against republicans or conservatives (in theory), but I am against losing our democracy.  It’s like a certain portion of Americans have forgotten what our veterans have died for, and for what our troops are fighting (and dying) for, and what our founding fathers’ vision of our country was.  It’s inspiring to know that there is a growing majority of people who can see through the corporate fog-and who will hopefully vote accordingly. Thank you.

A very informative article, for those that have been in the dark and not keeping up with the 9/11 Commission, this article is well written and factual.

It saddens me that we are so far ahead (at least I believed that) and that at this time and day it is still possible for someone like George W. Bush to be President.

To think that Clinton almost got impeached for a Cuban Cigar and yet Bush has lied, openly lied to a Nation and he is on the ballot for November.

((shakes head in disgrace))

The more you read the more weary you become at the continued signs of journalistic laziness.  As an example, newspapers are now carrying stories claiming that Bush supports a new intelligence chief as recommended by the 9/11 commission, but differs only on whether the post should be inside or outside the White House.

Josh Marshall (www.talkingpointsmemo.com) today matched what Bush is really saying about the commission’s plan and what he really plans to do if such a post is created, and discovers that in fact, Bush’s plan would create an essentially powerless post with no budgetary authority.  If Josh, who is a trusted journalist who writes for a number of respected publications, can discover this in less than 24 hours, why can’t the brains at the NY Times do likewise?

And has also been noted, someone should clearly have called Bush on his claim that he wants the post to be OUTSIDE the White House “so it won’t be subject to undue influence.”

Given the clear evidence of how the Bush Administration badgered and circumvented our traditional intelligence channels with its own Special Office on Intelligence in the Pentagon and then went around the CIA to present its patently flawed (and now proven false) claims of WMD directly to the President, one should begin laughing out loud if it weren’t so tragic.

Well done!  I knew most of the bits and pieces but appreciate your pulling them all together in one comprehensive narrative.

Q.E.D.

Q.E.D.

Outstanding.........provocative.........so true!!

.........and, THANK YOU!!

The article is great, but isn’t this just kicking
a dead horse? GWB said in his terrornews conference
yesterday that, he would have attacked Iraq, even
knowing what he knows today. So he has indeed made
a mea culpa that he was hell bent on invading Iraq,
no matter what the CIA or NSA told him early in 2003.
All of the wmd talk was just that, talk for
the masses and the history books. Now the situation
is so grave in Iraq, that the press hardly ever gives a true picture of events.
It is worse than VietNam, because if we tried to retreat back to the
Kuwaiti frontier, we would be ambused from all sides.
I for one believe that we are on the verge of a total defeat in Iraq.
It isn’t over, by far.
The worst is yet to come. We have 6 million
Shia’s between Bagdad, and Kuwait. If we start
a pull out, would they not draw as much blood as
they could? Think about it.

The great thing about this article is about how it has resources for the readers to view if they are skeptic and is very thorough on its information than other Bush pre war articles which ridicule him on the basis of their opinion; not facts. I knew this from the beginnign and im glad that it’s published.

Thank you for a factual article!
The truth eventually comes out, but who pays for the errors?

Great article. I would just add that the paleocons have been pointing out that these guys were lying for months now. Here’s the former editor of the Washington Times, Arnaud de Borchgrave:
http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20040209-090308-2252r.htm

There is still time to remind ourselves WMDs were not the principal reason for going to war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq; they were the pretext. And that’s why irrefutable evidence was not the standard. Axis of evil regime change was the lodestar.
When this writer first heard from prominent neoconservatives in April 2002 that war was no longer a question of “if” but “when,” the casus belli had little to do with WMDs. The Bush administration, they explained, starkly and simply, had decided to redraw the geopolitical map of the Middle East....
The liberation of Iraq, in the neocon scenario, would be followed by a democratic Iraq that would quickly recognize Israel. This, in turn, would “snowball” — the analogy only works in the Cedar Mountains of Lebanon — through the region, bringing democracy from Syria to Egypt and to the sheikhdoms, emirates and monarchies of the Gulf.
All these new democracies would then embrace Israel and hitch their backward economies to the Jewish state’s advanced technology. And Israel could at long last lower its guard and look forward to a generation of peace. That was the vision.

And here’s Bob Novak:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/rn20030407.shtml

The real reason for attacking the Iraqi regime always has been disconnected from its public rationale. On the day after the U.S. launched the military strike that quickly liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban, my column identified Iraq as the second target in President Bush’s war against terrorism. I did not write one word about weapons of mass destruction because not one such word was mentioned to me in many interviews with Bush policymakers.
The subsequent debate over WMD ensued when Secretary of State Colin Powell, over Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s objections, talked the president into seeking United Nations sanction for military action. Pre-emptive elimination of Hussein would not win over the U.N. Security Council, which had to be convinced the Iraqi dictator was a present danger.

Actually part of the Czech government took back it’s contrition that the meeting never happened. I heard there was even a correction published in the NY Times following an article they did pointing out their denial. Someone once told me that last bit was found by way of a Lexis Nexus search for the article, sorry I can’t remember the date. I don’t have LN so I can’t confirm it.

see Slate below
http://slate.msn.com/id/2070410/

Other than that I think it was a great article.

Great work.  I would like to see Saddam Hussein’s offer to go into exile included in the timeline.  Bob Woodward in “Plan of Attack” indicates that the Bush Administration (I think GW himself) was called by Pres Hosne Mubarak of Egypt to negotiate this very deal.  There were no weapons to capture and they new that, so why not? 

Wouldn’t that have got them the holy grail?  A peaceful transition to democracy--or any new peaceful government--rather than trying to reconstruct bombed out infrastructure and overcoming the massive civilian casualties that would surely result from the bombing, invasion and occupation of an Arab country.  Nevermind the PR fallout, both there and worldwide. 

I’d love to know that answer to that one.

These bastards should be impeached and put into jail. If the Dems had won the Senate in ‘02, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield and Rice would be in the process of being impeached. The harm these arrogant fools have done to this country goes beyond belief. Let’s hope that Bush goes away on Nov 2. If he doesn’t, I fear for the future of America.

Thank you for a great article—I’m sending it to everyone of voting age that I know.  I am amazed that there are citizens that will actually vote for Bush in November.  If he is re-elected, I am afraid of what the next 4 years would bring and the effects that Bush policy will have for years to come, both nationally and internationally.  I am not a wealthy person but I am sending every extra dollar I have to Kerry and the DNC.  For the future of my sons and for the future of this country.

Http://www.sass.caltech.edu/events/ritter.shtml has a copy online of a good talk at Cal Tech, with questions and answers, given by an ex UN Inspector that was an ex US Marine and is an ex Bush voter a Christian and Republican.

This was the most clear headed description, of the long term Iraq conflict, that I have heard or seen, so far.  He predicted on 13 November 2002, that Bush would go to war, no matter what.

It would be wise for people, that really want to know, what has actually been happening, to listen to what he said then, or to find a printed copy.

It would be wise for people, that really want to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution, from enemies both foreign and domestic, to hold our leaders accountable, for not leading with very much wisdom.

Then in March 2003 Ritter predicted that they would find no WMD’s.
check it out:
http://www.dangerouscitizen.com/downloads/418.aspx
“audio recording of
“war on iraq: how did we get here?”
presentation by scott ritter, former un weapons inspector, march 18, 2003, chapman university, orange, ca.”

the truth about the wmd’s. really neat talk on our constitution and how to do inspections in spite of iraq, un and us, and how ignorant bush was about wmd’s. all they had to do is ask scott and or his technical team. it was an accounting problem, not a clear and present threat. us had unilateral policy of regime change that was not un sanctioned. us did not cooperate with inspectors because the president did not really want disarmament. israel did want disarmament. he straight out said that there were no wmd’s and why there were no wmd’s! no wonder blix thought he could finish up in 90 days!
listening to scott, this thought came to me:
even if, there really were tons of wmd’s, bush made it even more risky for us citizens because:
1. it was not risky in the first place because osama and saddam were enemies and saddam would never have let any loose and have them used on himself.
2. if tons of wmd’s were left unguarded in the chaos of war, some could have been stolen and sold to osama’s troops.
3. “bush light” on his troops attack without the recommended troop level to provide order after the main battles created chaos and the risk of letting those tons of wmd’s loose. we are still destroying their conventional weapons. they are still using rpg’s and explosives from shells.
4. bush was creating more enemies, that want to use wmd’s on us.

Hi

I would like to have the footnotes for the work supporting this article. It is great work.

cliff

Thanks for putting the pieces together for me, I knew he was a liar, but he more the facts are there to back it up (and throw light on every gruesome detail) the better. This entire situation and the people behind it sicken me. How can people be so slimy and false? Our pres manages to make Saddam look like a victim more than anything. How was this able to happen? Why didn’t somebody stand up and expose them? Lots of people knew…
So many people all over the world are hurting because of what this administration has done, isn’t doing, and is rightly afraid will happen if Bush stays in office...I dont’ know, maybe this will teach us a lesson...vote, challenge the government, don’t be intimidated by fear tactics and propoganda...no, that’s bs, we shouldn’t have to babysit our government...but we do! They apparently can’t be trusted.

This article proves our assertion that the web of deception and scandalous manipulation has gotten so complicated that it’s made it impossible for any of them individually to be brought into focus on the nightly news and the nightly talking-head fests.  Taken individually, any one of these deceptions could be grounds for the type of media focus and legal scrutiny that accompanied a lie about private adult sexual activity in the previous administration.  But the noise created by trying to give each one of them the coverage it deserves serves to drown out any attempt at significant, easy-to-follow reporting on any one of them individually.  It’s much easier for the average hard-working busy family to follow a story about “sex” than, say, a story about undermining national security by treasonously exposing the identity of an undercover CIA employee, thus endangering the lives of people working to make the U.S. safer.

http://www.worse-than-watergate.com

This article proves our assertion that the web of deception and scandalous
manipulation has gotten so complicated that it’s made it impossible for any
of them individually to be brought into focus on the nightly news and the
nightly talking-head fests.  Taken individually, any one of these deceptions
could be grounds for the type of media focus and legal scrutiny that
accompanied a lie about private adult sexual activity in the previous
administration.  But the noise created by trying to give each one of them
the coverage it deserves serves to drown out any attempt at significant,
easy-to-follow reporting on any one of them individually.  It’s much easier
for the average hard-working busy family to follow a story about “sex” than,
say, a story about undermining national security by treasonously exposing
the identity of an undercover CIA employee, thus endangering the lives of
people working to make the U.S. safer.

http://www.worse-than-watergate.com

Creating another position of Intellegence Chief in or outside the Whitehouse just evades the question.  The President should be the Intelligence Chief. Along with his National Security Advisor he should be consolidating intelligence from all sources and digesting it in order to make the correct decisions.  Of course, if he did this, he would have to accept responsibility for the outcome.

There’s even a House, Committee On Governmental Reform, sponsored publication that consolidates and sumarizes all the misstatements that prove unequivocably that the White House was NOT misled by bad intelligence.

http://www.house.gov/reform/min/pdfs_108_2/pdfs_inves/pdf_admin_iraq_on_the_reco ord_rep.pdf

Of course they knew. Anyone with just an average degree of awareness in the 18 months before March 2003 knows very well that the current
“administration” was determined to effect regime change in Iraq irrespective of terrorism or WMD, and that the latter was simply a flimsy pretext that insults the intelligence of any thinking American.

Thanks for doing all this work.  We knew, but we didn’t have it documented.  Very well done.

Actually, Bush buddie Richard Perle basically confessed on the Charlie Rose show way back in (January 04?) He said that they never wanted to include WMD in the argument because they knew it was a lame claim, but that the lawyers “made” them do it, to secure legal legitimacy to the case. I was flabergasted to hear it, and watched and recorded the shows later re-play just to make sure I had heard it right. I was surprised no one picked up on it.

All this points very well to the fact that the President and his supporters are playing on a different field and listening to a different drummer.  I can’t escape the intuition that the drumbeat is the fantasy world of the “Left Behind” series, which plays “good” against “great evil” in “Babylon,” whose historical location is 50 miles from Baghdad.

Consciously or not?  Epic power and primal urgings are often entwined.

Thanks for the facts.

Someone needs to print this article out, drop it on every Bush Administration desk and say “Spin THIS.”

Nobody wants to believe that their president and his handlers (which, in the case of a real presidency are called advisers) could so blatantly betray the people’s trust. But the truth is the truth, and no matter how ugly it gets, it cannot be changed. We must, as a nation, deal with the lies accordingly and send the liars packing in November. The longer we wait to take our country back, the harder it will be to do.

Thank you so much for your excellent work!

READ MORE TRUTH HERE

Thank you.  Finally something well researched and factual to share with those blinded by the right.

Thanks for a great report.  You’ve performed an
invaluable service in bringing all this data
together in one place.

At the time all these things were happening,
I was dismayed that the press was not taking
take greater notice of “clues” that the administration was fudging.  All the data was
right there on the Internet.  But unfortunately
the press, like many others, were blinded by fear.

I’ll pass along a note about your report to the
peace e-mail networks I subscribe to.

Uh...great article but, am I missing something here or was the following quote just a typo?  Wasn’t Rommel the “Desert Fox” ,in WWII of course, and bushleague I’s adventure in imperialism in Iraq “Desert Storm?” And, why does the left continually, and quite correctly, berate the bush regime for obvious pathological lies regarding it’s twisted excuses for a totally unwarranted invasion of a soveriegn country and yet seems to buy it’s equally, if not more so, false explanation for 9/11?  True or false:  did or did not one of Bush’s evil cronies say after they cooked up the Project for a New American Century, but well before bushleague II stole power, “what we need is another Pearl Harbor?” Uh, duh...wouldn’t you say?  Complacency in 9/11?  How about creation?  The bush regime from top to bottom are low life traitors...the writer of the following may not be clairvoyant or a prophet, however, you surely remember, loosely paraphrasing, “...it doesn’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows...”

“We do not have any direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its weapons of mass destruction programs.”

Please keep in mind that any writer pretending to put things in ‘black and white’ is doing their readers a disservice.  Though I would strongly agree about the complacency on behalf of the public, and the media in terms of the current administration, replacing their views with polar opposites (yes with some ‘supporting’ evidence) is every bit as misguided.  The only person who has the answers, is the one who says there are none.

Great article!

I would like to point out that like Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld was also caught on camera lying to the american people. In an interview with “Meet the Press” Rumsfeld said that “...you and a few other critics are the only people I’ve heard use the phrase ‘immediate threat’, I didn’t, the president didn’t… and it’s become kind of folklore that that’s what happened”. He was then confronted with his own words: “No terror state poses a greater or more ‘immediate threat’ to the security of our people and the stability of our world than the regime of Sadam Hussein in Iraq”. To see the video go to:
http://www.moveon.org/censure/caughtonvideo/

the only sad thing about this article is that the people who need to read it won’t. If by some miracle
one or more of those that need to did find the curiosity and courage to make an attempt at some form of enlightenment i’m sure they would find some
way to offend the truth and infuriate free speech.

How will the white house be held accountable for its dishonesty? The elites are so elite that they are omitted from court appearances, local and international. Not getting elected again is bullshit and not enough.

Great work. If only Kerry would piece it together like that. It seems that the Bush administration has been taking notes from the Hitler/Goebbels (sic) Propaganda Playbook. Is there anyway you could sneak this onto the Fox news web site?

Great job of stating the facts and backing them up with reliable sources!  I was never one for politics until this present admidistration came to be.  It is great that more people are writing and searching for the truths concerning this pathetic war!  The sad truth of the whole matter is that GWB and his war dogs will never be made accountable for their actions!  If in fact he looses come Nov, he will just walk away into a world of protection and priviledge!  On the other hand if he wins it’s just business as useal.  We as Americans living in this so called “Democracy” need to stand up and stop relying on our biased and over processed media outlets to take action for us!  I feel that we must urge our elected officials through protests, marches, ralleys, whatever it takes to get heard!  I believe that the voice of truth united in harmony has the power to transend our country back in the right direction once again!  Lets get out there and be heard!

When is our lapdog going to quit sucking up to the REPUBLICAN PARTY AND START TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSH THAT HE AND ALL OF HIS PEOPLE ARE CROOKS. I SAY LETS BREAK UP THE CORP: MEDIA THAT IS GOING TO BE THE ONLY WAY WE ARE EVER GOING TO STOP THIS LAPDOG NEWS COVERAGE.

Any reservations voters might have about speaking up will be absolutely obliterated by your focused and well documented chronology of lies. 

Not only am I sending this link to my friends, I am sending it to my legislators.  Then I’m going to forward it to mainstream media outlets. 

The truth may be uncovered, but it also needs to get out there!

Excellent reporting.
It is way too late but all progressive newspapers and news services ought to be coordinating a publicity drive for Bush and Cheney’s impeachment and the others’ firings and indictments.

My fear is that too many ‘progressives’ out there feel that this would hurt Kerry’s chance if we diverted our message to this plan of action. I, like the rest of the world, would love to see Bush out, but the thought of Kerry in doesn’t give me any hope that we won’t continue with corporate controlled policy making on everything from foreign to environmental policies.

If not just for the sake of our country, we have an obligation to demand their immediate impeachment, regardless of the political consequences.

Myles Hoenig, Green Party candidate for Baltimore City Council

is it possible that someone can tell me where - exactly - in the 911 commission report it spells out that there is no Iraq-Al Quida link?  I am trying to debate with someone and would like to cite the reference...i have the book - just can’t find the quote!!! thanks!

Think of the Michael moore movie and the Bush/Bin Laden family connection, perhaps the reason that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld oil fellows are convinced of the Iraq/bin Laden connection is because the bin Laden’s told him that that was so, and perhaps 9/11 was planned by Osama to help benefit the overall wealth of the bin Laden fortune by giving the Saudis and the bin Laden family cointrol over the Iraqui oil fields

What has Kerry done since (his 4 months in) Vietman?  He certainly didn’t cover any of his Senate record during his acceptance speach.  He was in Vietman though, correct?  I mean, I guess he spent some time in Vietnam.  Just enough time to sustain some self-inflicted wounds, right?

If he could just show me something I would be willing to listen.  However, all I hear is Michael Moore, Ben Afflick, and all of the other Hollywood bone-heads preaching about how bad Bush is.  Is that the stratagy?  Down play Bush and therefore Kerry looks better?  What does Kerry stand for and HOW WILL HE GET IT DONE?

Yet more brilliance from the good folks at the Center for American Progress…

What would the people who care about TRUTH do without you?!?!?!?!

Three cheers to David and Christy...job well done!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

It cannot be said enough...THANK YOU!!!!!

shameless plug:
www.effort4change.com

thanks,
:) Dan

Thank you for this open, honest article on the present administration’s hidden agendas.  It is difficult to believe that any thinking individual would consider voting for GWB in Nov 04 and thereby subjecting our Country and indeed the world to more of these dishonest, secretive and extremely dangerous political programs. Our own press here in the US does much to “cover up” and to distort facts which should be made known. It appears that GWB is the worst president we have had in office since Warren Harding.

Thank you SO much for this article.  While pro-war types can call ME names for my views, it’s hard to ridicule HARD information like this.

Again, thanks and keep up the sterling and excellent work!

Thank you for doing the hard work of researching the facts that place my beliefs into context.  We need more of this to combat the Bush/Cheny lies.  Could it be that the mess in Iraq was intentional?  First, replacing Gen Garner who wanted to keep the Iraqi army working and being paid.  Second, at shown by recent reports, spending alomost none of the billions Congress appropiared at Bush’s request, to rehabilitate Iraq.  Third, allowing the country to decend into chaos, when there was ample force to restore order.  Fourth, failure to secure the widely known ammmunition and weapons dumps scattered around Iraq and in plain view.  Fifth, unaccountably failing to restore electricity and water in a reasonable time.  In addition, misplaying the fallujah situation, closing down a popular newspaper, and acting generally like a conquering power.  WAS BREMER SENT OVER TO IRAQ TO MAKE SURE THAT THE AREA WOULD NEED US TROOPS FOR A LONG TIME?  He was sent over immediately after the fall of Baghdad, before Garner has a chance to do anything.  Was Garner not sufficiently malleable?  Were the Bushies suffieciently worried about an unstable Saudi Ararbia and Al Quaeda attacks that they decided that they had to keep a dependent Iraq in order to secure the U.S petroleum supplies?  A lot doesn’t sit right, and the unanswered questions have been papered over with misdirection.

One more glaring example of how the media in this country represent nothing more than an extension of the corporate takeover of the U.S.

But I suupose if my six-figure annual salary depended on access to the White House and the Republican-controlled legislature I’d play the game too.

But would someone, anyone please shut them up on the never-ending blather of opinion media.

Good article.  Might does not make right contrary to the Bush opinion and now that Bush has started a war not supported by the majority of this Nation, its only a matter of time before we loose.  For an agenda of “endless war” however, everything may just be going according to plan.  I’ve ranted for a long time now that America is being dragged into the same trap that brought down the USSR.  There was no Post-war planning, or I should say only rejected State Department post-war planning because perhaps they want Iraq to go completely out of control.  These are the same polictical types that openly and proudly admit they want to strangle our government into bankruptcy.  That makes Bush’s tax cuts, weapons of mass destruction, and the work of a terrorist.  A bankrupt government is easyer for corporate fascists to control and use.  AlQuaeda is treated easy in order for that band of criminal thugs to grow into an adversary worthy of World War III. Maybe they even want to create an adversary here who we can’t defeat, because a bankrupt and defeated America fits more comfortably into a previous President’s cryptic vision for a “New World Order”.  That’s the mission as seen by Bush and for the most part, “Mission Accomplished”.

Here is, I believe, the real reason that the USA has declared war on Iraq.  Our government just can’t tell us about it. 

Please read this very informative and well researched article:

The end?

http://www.zmag.org/weblinks/kerr_endofoil.htm

Also, more good info at the The Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO):

http://www.peakoil.net/

Think about these issues as you drive to the mall, work, vacation, etc.  Oil is THE BASIS of the global economy, and has allowed the world’s population to inflate to unstatainable levels.  What are Western countries willing to give up, in terms of our standard of living (i.e. mega-consumerism), in order to redress the situations outlined above?

Responses are welcomed!

Here is, I believe, the real reason the USA went to war with Iraq:

Please read this very informative and well researched article!!

The End?

Also, much more info at The Association for the Study of Peak Oil:

http://www.peakoil.net/

Think of these issues while you’re driving to work, the mall, on vacation, etc.  Oil is THE BASIS of the global economy, and has allowed the human population to inflate beyond sustainable levels without readily available and cheap oil.  What are the US and other western countries willing to sacrifice in terms of standard of living (i.e. mega-consumerism), in order to redress this situation?

Responses welcomed!

Whoops!  Please excuse my mistake.

The End?

http://www.zmag.org/weblinks/kerr_endofoil.htm

Note to Kirk Larsen re comment above:
kirk, baby—try to stay on message, okay?  bush, cheney, rumsfeld, perle, wolfowitz, powell, et al. lied, distorted, and misrepresented these things to justify a pre-determined conclusion.  this has nothing to do with kerry; it has everything to do with our future.

The only connection I see between Sadaam Hussein and Al Qaeda is that the “liberation” of Iraq and the challenge to such a move by Al Qaeda seems to be that both regimes had to be eliminated for Afghanistan and Iraq to provide US-controlled pipeline access from the Caucasus fields to the Arabian Gulf.  I also am enough of a cynic to think that the Al Qaeda operations were/are directed by Saudia Arabia and Russia.  Those regimes stand to lose the most if the pipeline plan goes through.

Cheney set the stage in his 1998 visit to the Caucasian republics that had been part of the Soviet Union.  Cheney was the Halliburton CEO at the time.  He received many commitments and signed contracts for oil service and supply, too.

Please send this article to John Kerry’s campaign HQ. Considering how wimpy the campaign is going, our bantamweight President is certain to be re-elected. The material offered in the article would justify Bush’s impeachment let alone his election defeat. Why the hell doesn’t Kerry exploit this issue?

These revelations hold not a candle to the CIA interference of the commando raid to kidnap Saddam and his two sons on 17 March 2003 (2 days before shock and awe), carried out by the European Union, to try to prevent Iraqi Freedom. Had the Europeans been successful, the US would have had no reason to go to war....hence, the CIA inteference. The raid failed, with heavy casualties. Bush had his war.

That the 911 commission has so staunchly defended its position that Saddam had no tie with al Qaeda should open another door to questions about the Bush Administration’s so-called commitment to the safety of the American public. 

Never in our history has any major tragic event failed to be investigated in a timely manner.  Yet it too almost three years for our government hear the recommendations of the 911 commission.  Bush, supported by the GOP leadership in Congress simply stonewalled creating any investigative body as long as possible.  Doing so was clearly not in the public’s interest, and delaying the investigation in so contradictory one of the standard protocols of investigating any criminal act, to begin investigating while the evidence is fresh. 

But Bush didn’t want the public to hear the obvious conclusions that he knew an investigation would reach, that Saddam had nothing to do with 911 and that he had no ties to al Qaeda.  It wasn’t that this information wasn’t already well acknowledged and available to the informed populace, it was that he could not sell his war to the masses who get thier news from Fox and CNN if the report had been published first.  The propaganda show would have fallen apart.

LOVED YOUR ARTICLE.  MY REAL FEAR, SHOULD KING GEORGE BE REELECTED, IS, THAT ARROGANT, FOUL-MOUTHED SHILL FOR HALLIBURTON, COULD POTENTIALLY BECOME PRESIDENT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.

FYI to dany:

“Desert Fox” was the code name of the bombing campaign the Clinton admin unleashed on Iraq in 1998.

Great article, to the point, informative, and best of all, truthful.  It shows the ongoing lies to your countrymen (and women) to justify two illegal, expensive and unwarranted wars, not for the reason of anti-terror, but for PRO-OIL!!  Where do the Bush/Cheney families make their money; IN THE OIL BUSINESS!!  Why is your right wing media allowing the continuing loss of American lives in both countries, why are there no editorial calls for impeachment of Bush/Cheney?  It didn’t take the Republican House very long to strenuously try to impeach Bill Clinton for a simple sexual affair in the White House, yet the same party members are refusing to call for the heads of the present regime, for gross misconduct, bordering on treason.  Is this grand old party so afraid that any perception of an attempt to impeach poor old George will finally nail his political coffin closed, in November?

Great reporting.

Where’s Kenneth Starr?

There are so many of what this
scribbler calls “MAGICAL
ANOMALIES” surrounding 9/11
that only a VILLAGE IDIOT
would accept as truth the massive,
Orwellian lies coming through
mainstream media and the feds.

I make my case here:

Evil Magicians

[MY RESPONSE TO A REPORTER’S INSISTANCE THAT I “LOOK AT THE OBVIOUS,” THAT ONLY ISLAMIC TERRORISTS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR 9/11]: “Why ignore what’s right in your face?” you ask.  Well, that’s exactly what a magician asks of his audience--to ignore his slight-of-hand machinations, his well-hidden wires, trap-doors and other props for deception.  Israel’s Mossad knows the value of WARRING BY DECEPTION, as that is its motto.  The magician’s tool is deception, and we Americans have been deceived by magicians--by a cabal of U.S. and Israeli agents, who demand that we focus on the obvious, not their slight-of-hand machinations; not those DANCING ISRAELIS high-fiving each other and laughing about the murdered victims and World Trade Center’s destruction, all of whom were quietly sent back to Israel; nor those two Israeli agents caught trying to sneak explosives into Mexico’s legislature, post-9/11, which incident was quickly buried by the U.S. press, and the intruders sent back to Israel; nor those hundreds of so-called Israeli “ART STUDENTS” who were engaged - pre-9/11 - in the largest spy operation in U.S. history, shadowing those Arab terrorists wherever they travelled, even living next to them, all of which “STUDENTS” were quietly sent back to Israel, and without any in-depth investigation by U.S. spy agencies or investigative journalists in America’s media; nor how such poorly trained Arab flight STUDENTS could have executed those maneuvers, which even expert pilots - with thousands of hours of flying experience - question whether or not they could have made those turns and hit those targets so precisely; nor those photos of each terrorist, so quickly televised after the event, as if U.S. agents had had those photos prepared before 9/11 for broadcasting; nor those FBI-listed terrorists who happen to be alive and well today, after we were told that they had perished with their captives in those doomed airbuses; nor the curious finding of a terroist’s passport, found in pristine condition within the WTC debris field; nor the lack of any matching debris field in front of or within the Pentagon, to match the size and contents of a huge passenger plane crashing into the side of that structure; nor those millions-of-dollars worth of pre-9/11 put options, some of which airline options have not been claimed, and all of which buyers’ identities remain hidden by the FBI; nor the photo of that strange and heretofore unexplained device hanging beneath one of the doomed airbuses; nor President Bush’s strange, devil-may-care behaviour after learning the U.S. was under attack; nor the unprecedented stand-down by U.S. air defenses, upon learning that civilian passenger planes were radically off course; nor the demolition-type collapse of both towers, with the first-hit tower collapsing after the second; nor firefighters’ reports of hearing strange explosions within the towers; nor building seven’s demolition-type collapse, even though it had not sustatined a hit; nor Bush and company claiming they had had no suspicion that Arab terrorists might use planes as missiles, even though every other Western government had known of that possibility; nor . . .; and the list goes on and on for anyone willing to investigate all the magical anomalies surrounding 9/11; that is to say, what may be obvious to the public just might conceal an evil magician’s handiwork, well exposed if you would just take a closer look.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/jointchiefs_010501.html

Federal agencies are lying through
their teeth about 9/11-related
events.

http://www.thepowerhour.com/911_analysis/report.htm

http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/compall_1.htm

What’s that Device Hanging Beneath Doomed Airbus?
http://www.conspiracynewsnet.com/shadow.html
http://www.rense.com/misslepod.JPG

Israel’s Secret War Against America
http://www.liesexposed.net/nfp/issue0207/secwar.htm

Israel and Spying:
http://www.rense.com/Datapages/Israeldata.html

Fox News on Israel’s spying
http://www.rense.com/general31/fnews.htm

Time-Line: Was 9/11 Allowed to Happen
http://www.wanttoknow.info/911timeline2pg

Israel’s Unsuccessful Assasination Attempt
http://www.rense.com/general54/cintact.htm

‘Osama’ Gets Nose Job by U.S. Spy Agency
http://www.awitness.org/news/december_2001/osama_nose_job.html

Never Trust an Israeli?
http://www.rense.com/general54/trhird.htm

By Way of Deception
http://feralnews.com/issues/israeli_espionage/bwod_86-9.html

Was 9/11 Allowed to Happen
http://www.rense.com/general56/allowed.htm

-end

Excellent article.  Tis administration is a disgrace to our nation.

The insanity that began with a stolen election must end this November.  The deconstruction of our environment protection policies, civil rights and international credibility must stop.  We are a demoralized nation, lead by an ignorant, arrogant and self serving administration.  That this could happen in our America has haunted me for the last four years. We must continue to raise our voices, to sound the alarm, this insanity must end now.

Kudos to you for another great piece.  This is a front page, top of the fold story, which, unfortunately will probably not get a fraction of the attention and interest it deserves.  That inspires me to pass it along to everyone who might listen.
Thank you, for keeping the truth alive!

First lets be truthful - virtually all intelligence agencies *knew* that Iraq had WMD. In fact, one of the very real worries about the outcome of the war is where the WMD went. That is, were they destroyed secretly? Did they get transferred to another entity? Or what?

Second, did we really wish to allow the status quo to continue in Iraq? Hundreds of thousands (perhaps millons) of Iraqis killed by Saddam? Did we want Iraq to continue to support terrorism in the Middle East (paying suicide bombers!?!)? Did we really want to continue the sanctions that were on the backs of the Iraqi people, but did little to harm Saddam and his cohorts? Not to mention Saddams repeated attacks on neighboring countries.

It is all fine and good to critise the war. American lives were lost, and we should know why. But i have yet to see what a better alternative might have been. . .

Yes, let’s first be truthful; that is the entire point. Changing the subject does not enhance truthfulness. It appears the only one telling the truth about WMD was Saddam Hussein when he said in February 2003: “Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction.”
Secondly, though, if you have not heard of a “better alternative” to address legitimate issues, then you are either grossly misinformed or dishonest, or both.
WG

To understand the mentality behind the Bush deception, all one needs to do is look at how they “support” their contention that Kerry is a flip-flop artist.  True, Kerry’s positions on certain issues have varied depending on the context and the facts. Isn’t that the sign of a thinking person?  Only someone who fundamentally believes in their own innate access to “higher truth” would say that it is a sign of intelligence never to change your mind.  That’s not intelligence, it’s dogmatism. And that is the stark choice facing the American people in November.

“The Truth about Iraq” DVD is another incredible documentation that we (people & media) were duped into this war. The movie will be, I hope, unveiled in a limited number of theaters this summer. Unfortunately, the ignorant masses of the “red states” will not be inclined to read this great article by David Sirota and Christy Harvey. They just believe what ever “Fox News” tells them.

I would like to extend my highest appreciation to David and Christy for their remarkable compilation of factual evidence that further proves the lack of credibility of our own President and his closest advisors.  It would really be nice to have some level of trust in the executive branch, but I have a hard time trusting much of anything that comes out of there because of the various shady issues of the past 4 years.

What is dissapointing is the fact that many of Bush’s supporters lack the capacity to see the truth.  I’ve been around countless hardline Bush supporters, and most of them, not all, but most seem brainwashed and are completely fine with whatever Dubya wants to do.  These people are so far out of touch with reality, evidence by a still common belief that there are WMD’s and Iraq is a vital stepping stone in the war on terror. They couldn’t be more wrong, as evidenced by this article, but they still passionately believe they’re right.  Unfortunately the irrationality of Bush has trickled down a large portion of his supporters.

It’s really sad how the RNC and the Bush administration have exploited the ignorance of so many people.  I must give them credit, they’ve done a pretty damn good job convincing a lot of ignorant people on the WMD and Iraq=al Queada issues as well as others.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the average American were not so ignorant and complacent on national issues that are of so much importance.

The article above, which appears to be backed up by cited factual evidence, should be brought into the public light.  If it is as concrete as I think it is, there is no way the RNC can dispute it.  In my opinion it would be very difficult for the RNC to classify the above actions as simple ‘mistakes,’ though they can always find someone else to blaim it on. Unfortunately, Bush has scared the hell out of the media (seems like whenever the admin. gets challenged they just get really upset, yell, and insist ‘that’s just the way it is’) to the point that it is un-patriotic to challenge the President.  I wish someone else in the Media who has power besides Michael Moore would step up and show some balls.  This President is dangerous and needs to get voted the hell out of office!

Holt Montgomery, 22

Mega dittos.

Excellent piece of journalism. Can we start the impeachment proceedings right now?

Wes - so what was the better alternative? To let the Iraqis suffer under Saddam and sanctions? While i certainly did not support the war at the beginning, i can certainly see that it has the potential to do great good (the liberation of a people from an unbelievably brutal dictator, and, maybe a chance for a new democracy in a barran political wasteland).

The Iraqi’a are not, and never were our personal responsibility as a nation.  All the hyperbole in the world won’t change that simple fact.  The USA should busy itself with those things that directly benefit Americans.  It amazes me that after two wars, several hundred thousand people dead, and 12-years of brutal sanctions that there are those who STILL claim the US has somehow made things better over there.  We should have left them alone.  Iraq never posed a threat to us.

Keith - You say we should have left them alone. Do you mean we should have kept the “brutal sanctions” or just let Saddam do as he pleased?

As for two wars - do you think we should have let Iraq keep Kuwait?

I’m an isolationist and proud of it, BTW.  The sanctions shouldn’t have been there in the first place.  The fed knew that the only effect they would have would be to punish the Iraqi people, the same people we claim to love like puppies now, BTW.  Yes, Hussein was never a threat to us, in fact he was a great bud at one time.  Hell, he even asked us if it was okay for him to invade Kuwait, and state said “sure.”

Kuwait was a part of Iraq in the not too distant past, why not?  It wasn’t any of our business until Bush 1 MADE it that way.  Are we responsible for ALL borders on the map, or just the ones that happen to have oil under them?  If we don’t learn to mind our own business, and SOON, we’re going to be forced to AND be a lot poorer and less free in the process.  We CAN live in peace, have good relations and trade with other countries without CONSTANTLY trying to bully, bribe and otherwise control them, believe it or not.

We should have kept our big, fat noses out of it in the first place.

Yes, Kuwait is not our responsibilty and wasn’t worth one American life to protect.  Hussein DID ask if it was okay for him to invade Kuwait, the response from state was “sure.” Let’s not forget in our unconstitutional zeal to control the world that lots of people aren’t going to like it and will respond badly.  9/11 didn’t happen because we have great shopping malls or have some say in our political process, as Bush seems to think.

We can have a modicum of peace, enjoy trade and good relations with other nations without trying to bully, bribe or otherwise control them.  If we don’t learn this lesson SOON, we’re going to be forced to learn it and be a lot poorer and less free in the process.

“..It seems that the Bush administration has been taking notes from the Hitler/Goebbels (sic) Propaganda Playbook....” this endlessly repeated idea is in itself a propaganda action,given,that BOTH Hitler/Goebels and all the Bushes are Results of the Freud,Siegmund nephew BERNAYS, Edward L. Propaganda + Brainwashing techniques.
Look up for that name and You will find the real
scandal of the 20.century + ongoing

“i can certainly see that it has the potential to do great good”

You’re not dealing with facts or honesty here. Get help.

Bush [BGW968]-- http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/uncovered/uncovered_the_whole_truth.wmv 45Mg

“i can certainly see that it [the war] has the potential to do great good”

You’re not dealing with facts or honesty here. Get help.

Posted by Wes Gordon on August 7, 2004 at 1:37 PM

Yes. De Borchave has it right. The incredible lies were simply a cover for a fait accompli that Saddam would go. And lovely democratic music would gently waft over the middle east.
The coverage on the yellowcake uranium issue is disapponting. The press almost universally equates the purchase of yellowcake with the purchase of weapons grade uranium. Nothing could be further from reality. Yellow cake requires extensive, expensive and lengthy processing to be weapons grade. Iraq was not even close to having this capability. By insuating that yellowcake was essentially weapons grade uranium, Buts perpetrated an even greater fraud than the other heinous ones.

all you liberal wienies

get over it

if anything he proved to the arab world we will come in and remove you

I was wondering when the chest-thumping morons would show up.  TFB derek, I can out conservative your lame arse any day of the week, but I think for myself.  Grow up boy, this isn’t a cowboy movie.  If you don’t care about being lied to and manipulated you should try to keep it a secret.  Your sort of ignorance should be covert.

I fail to understand why Keith took umbrage at my comment.  i meant that Bush by implying that Saddam’s alleged feelers about buying yellowcake were dressed up on the garb of trying to buy weapons grade uranium which itcertainly is not.

All of this garbage is directed at saving the appearances of the `bush lied! people lied!’ leftist (ie. maintream) media.

You mean the “leftist” media that bought all those Bush lies, hook, line and sinker?

So...I say, TO HELL WITH WAR. Smedley Darlington Butler
Major General - United States Marine Corps [Retired]
Born West Chester, Pa., July 30, 1881
Educated Haverford School
Married Ethel C. Peters, of Philadelphia, June 30, 1905
Awarded two congressional medals of honor, for capture of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1914,
and for capture of Ft. Riviere, Haiti, 1917
Distinguished service medal, 1919
Retired Oct. 1, 1931
On leave of absence to act as director of Department of Safety, Philadelphia, 1932
Lecturer - 1930’s
Republican Candidate for Senate, 1932
Died at Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, June 21, 1940
For more information about Major General Smedley Butler, contact the United States Marine Corps.
---
URL: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4377.htm
In the World War,[I.] we [USA] used propaganda to make the boys accept conscription. They were made to feel ashamed if they didn’t join the army.
So vicious was this war propaganda that even God was brought into it. With few exceptions our clergymen joined in the clamor to kill, kill, kill. To kill the Germans. God is on our side...it is His will that the Germans be killed.
And in Germany, the good pastors called upon the Germans to kill the allies...to please the same God. That was a part of the general propaganda, built up to make people war conscious and murder conscious.
Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the “war to end all wars.” This was the “war to make the world safe for democracy.” No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on which they were going to cross might be torpedoed by submarines built with United States patents. They were just told it was to be a “glorious adventure.”
Thus, having stuffed patriotism down their throats, it was decided to make them help pay for the war, too. So, we gave them the large salary of $30 a month.
All they had to do for this munificent sum was to leave their dear ones behind, give up their jobs, lie in swampy trenches, eat canned willy (when they could get it) and kill and kill and kill...and be killed.
-----
the “war to make the world safe for democracy."-->

So...I say, TO HELL WITH WAR. Smedley Darlington Butler
Major General - United States Marine Corps [Retired]
Born West Chester, Pa., July 30, 1881
Educated Haverford School
Married Ethel C. Peters, of Philadelphia, June 30, 1905
Awarded two congressional medals of honor, for capture of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1914,
and for capture of Ft. Riviere, Haiti, 1917
Distinguished service medal, 1919
Retired Oct. 1, 1931
On leave of absence to act as director of Department of Safety, Philadelphia, 1932
Lecturer - 1930’s
Republican Candidate for Senate, 1932
Died at Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, June 21, 1940
For more information about Major General Smedley Butler, contact the United States Marine Corps.
---
URL: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4377.htm
In the World War,[I.] we [USA] used propaganda to make the boys accept conscription. They were made to feel ashamed if they didn’t join the army.
So vicious was this war propaganda that even God was brought into it. With few exceptions our clergymen joined in the clamor to kill, kill, kill. To kill the Germans. God is on our side...it is His will that the Germans be killed.
And in Germany, the good pastors called upon the Germans to kill the allies...to please the same God. That was a part of the general propaganda, built up to make people war conscious and murder conscious.
Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the “war to end all wars.” This was the “war to make the world safe for democracy.” No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on which they were going to cross might be torpedoed by submarines built with United States patents. They were just told it was to be a “glorious adventure.”
Thus, having stuffed patriotism down their throats, it was decided to make them help pay for the war, too. So, we gave them the large salary of $30 a month.
All they had to do for this munificent sum was to leave their dear ones behind, give up their jobs, lie in swampy trenches, eat canned willy (when they could get it) and kill and kill and kill...and be killed.
-----
the “war to make the world safe for democracy."-->the work of guys like

Edward L. Bernays, the Father of Spin.

From his own amazing chronicle Propaganda,

we learn how Edward L. Bernays took the ideas of his famous

uncle Sigmund Freud

himself

and

applied them to the emerging science of mass persuasion.

The only difference was that

instead of using these principles

to uncover hidden themes in the human unconscious,

the way Freudian psychology does,

Edward L. Bernays

used these same ideas

to mask agendas

and to create illusions

that deceive and

misrepresent,

for marketing purposes.

THE FATHER OF SPIN

Bernays dominated the PR industry until the 1940s,

and was a significant force

for another 40 years after that.

(Tye) During all that time,

Bernays took on hundreds of diverse assignments

to create a public perception about some idea or product.

A few examples:

As a neophyte with the

Committee on Public Information,

one of Bernays’ first assignments was

to help sell

the First World War

to the American public

with the idea to

“Make the World Safe for Democracy.” (Ewen)

A few years later,

Bernays set up a stunt

to popularize the notion of women smoking cigarettes.

In organizing the

1929

Easter Parade in New York City,

Bernays showed himself as a force to be reckoned with.

He organized the

Torches of Liberty Brigade

in which suffragettes marched in the parade

smoking cigarettes

as a mark of women’s liberation.

Such publicity followed from that one event that

from then on

women have felt secure about destroying their own lungs in public,

the same way that men have always done.

Bernays

popularized the idea of bacon for breakfast.

Not one to turn down a challenge,

he set up the advertising format

along with the AMA

that lasted for nearly 50 years

proving that cigarettes are beneficial to health.

Just look at ads in issues of Life or Time from the 40s and 50s.

During the next several decades

Bernays and his colleagues

evolved the principles

by which

masses of people

could be

generally

swayed through messages

repeated over and over hundreds of times.

When the value of media became apparent,

other countries of the world

tried to follow our lead.

But Bernays really was the gold standard.

Josef Goebbels,

who was Hitler’s minister of propaganda,

studied the principles of Edward Bernays

when Goebbels was developing the popular rationale

he would use to convince the Germans

that they had to purify their race. (Stauber)

SMOKE&MIRRORS;

. Why Americans Will Believe Almost Anything

“.. public opinion in America.
They trace modern public influence back to the early part of the last century, highlighting the work of guys like Bernays, Edward L., the Father of Spin.
From his own amazing chronicle Propaganda, we learn how Bernays, Edward L. took the ideas of his famous uncle Freud, Sigismund Schlomo himself and applied them to the emerging science of mass persuasion.
The only difference was, that instead of using these principles to uncover hidden themes in the human unconscious, the way Freudian psychology does, Bernays, Edward L. used these same ideas to mask agendas and to create illusions that deceive and misrepresent, for marketing purposes.
THE FATHER OF SPIN ..”
Bernays dominated the PR [propaganda] industry until the 1940s, and was a significant force for another 40 years after that. (Tye) During all that time, Bernays took on hundreds of diverse assignments to create a public perception about some idea or product. A few examples: As a neophyte with the ..”
Committee on Public Information,
one of Bernays, Edward L. s first assignments was to help sell the First World War to the American public with the idea to
“Make the World Safe for Democracy.” (Ewen)
A few years later, Bernays set up a stunt to popularize the notion of women smoking cigarettes.
In organizing the 1929 Easter Parade in New York City, Bernays showed himself as a force to be reckoned with.
He organized the Torches of Liberty Brigade in which suffragettes marched in the parade smoking ..”
“.. followed from that one event that from then on women have felt secure about destroying their own lungs in public, the same way that men have always done.
Bernays, Edward L. popularized the idea of bacon for breakfast.
Not one to turn down a challenge, he set up the advertising format along with the AMA that lasted ..”
“.. years proving that cigarettes are beneficial to health. Just look at ads in issues of Life or Time from the 40s and 50s.
During the next several decades Bernays, Edward L. and his colleagues evolved the principles
by which masses of people could be generally swayed through messages repeated over and over hundreds of times.
When the value of media became apparent, other countries of the world tried to follow our lead. But Bernays, Edward L. really was the gold standard.
Goebbels, Josef, who was Hitler, Adolf’s minister of propaganda, studied the principles of Bernays, Edward L. when Goebbels, Josef, who was
Hitler, Adolf’s minister of propaganda,
studied the principles of Bernays, Edward L.
when Goebbels was developing the popular rationale he would use to convince the Germans that they had to purify their race. (Stauber) ..”
“.. SMOKE&MIRRORS;Bernay’s job was to reframe an issue;
to create a desired image that would put a particular product or concept in a desirable light.
Bernays, Edward L. described the public as a ‘herd that needed to be led.’
And this herdlike thinking makes people “susceptible to leadership.”
Bernays, Edward L. never deviated from his fundamental axiom
to “control the masses without their knowing it.” The best PR [propaganda] happens with the people unaware that they are being manipulated.
Stauber describes Bernays, Edward L. s rationale like this:
“the scientific manipulation of public opinion was necessary to overcome chaos and conflict in a democratic society ..”
“.. democacy was too good for people;
they needed to be told what to think, because they were incapable of rational thought by themselves.
Here’s a paragraph from Bernays, Edward L. s Propaganda:
“Those who manipulate the unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of society..”
Bernays, Edward L. believed that only a few possessed the necessary insight into the Big Picture to be entrusted with this sacred task.

Excellent article - one web site now sums it all up…

I wonder if next year, or years from now, or even at all, will high school students write reports about these insane times with White House leaders who make a living from lies?

Will the students be given assignments to inquire and debate the reasoning or lack of reasoning behind an untruthful White House?

Or will they actually still be debating whether these are lies in the first place?

Or will they simply be apathetic, as they are now, and as is the press?

This article is filled with half truths and outright lies. The very first sentence misrepresents what the 9/11 commission found and the second sentence regarding weapons of mass destruction is absolute lunacy. The article does not get any better from that point on. It is unfortunate that I wasted 10 minutes of my life to read such a partisan piece that has absolutely no merit.

I’m sorry john that you wasted 10 minutes of your life on the truth and facts in this article, but that does say a lot about what a waste the rest of your life must be. If you aren’t aware, and it seems most republicans are not, that freedom of speech, and this concept includes thought, is one of the most significant attributes of American society. So when someone speaks the truth and documents it beyond a shadow of a doubt, and even though it does not seem to parallel your reality you are certainly welcome to display your ignorance for the entire world to see.

I thought that I was exercising my freedom of speech by writing my review of the article. Apparently, the left does not believe in all freedoms, only those that kill babies and allow commies like you to burn the flag.

“No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war, by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!” Patton

You guys love to buy into this counter-american crap… move to france if you dont like the way we do it

It turns out Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was right.  We should have had an investigation into the events surrounding 911?  What did Bush know and when did he know it?

A more important question is this… If the war on Iraq was not about Weapons of mass destruction, then what is this war really about? I recently saw a documentary by Media Education Foundation called Hijacking Catastrophe:  911, Fear and the selling of American Empire which answers this question!  www.mef.tv

If the war on Iraq was not about Weapons of Mass Destruction, what was this war really about?  A new documentary called Hijacking Catastrophe:  911, Fear and the Selling of American Empire answers theses questions!

Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire examines how a radical fringe of the Republican Party used the trauma of the 9/11 terror attacks to advance a pre-existing agenda to radically transform American foreign policy while rolling back civil liberties and social programs at home.

The documentary places the Bush Administration’s false justifications for war in Iraq within the larger context of a two-decade struggle by neoconservatives to dramatically increase military spending in the wake of the Cold War, and to expand American power globally by means of military force.

At the same time, the documentary argues that the Bush Administration has sold this radical and controversial plan for aggressive American military intervention by deliberately manipulating intelligence, political imagery, and the fears of the American people after 9/11.

Narrated by Julian Bond, Hijacking Catastrophe features interviews with more than twenty prominent political observers, including Pentagon whistleblower Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, who witnessed first-hand how the Bush Administration set up a sophisticated propaganda operation to link the anxieties generated by 9/11 to a pre-existing foreign policy agenda that included a preemptive war on Iraq.

Joining Kwiatkowski in a wide-ranging, accessible, and ultimately empowering analysis are former Chief UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, former Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Norman Mailer, MIT professor Noam Chomsky, Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin, defense policy analyst William Hartung, author Chalmers Johnson, Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff (Ret.).

At its core, the film places the deceptions of the Bush Administration within the larger frame of questions seldom posed in the mainstream: What, exactly, is the agenda that drove the administration’s pre-war deceptions? How is 9/11 being used to sell this agenda? And what are the stakes for America, Americans, and the world if this agenda succeeds in being fully implemented during a second Bush term?

Iraq War Launched to Protect Israel - Bush Adviser http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6692.htm
03/29/04 “IPS”—WASHINGTON - IPS uncovered the remarks by Philip Zelikow, who is now the executive director of the body set up to investigate the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001—the 9/11 commission—in which he suggests a prime motive for the invasion just over one year ago was to eliminate a threat to Israel, a staunch U.S. ally in the Middle East.

Zelikow’s casting of the attack on Iraq as one launched to protect Israel appears at odds with the public position of President George W. Bush and his administration, which has never overtly drawn the link between its war on the regime of former president Hussein and its concern for Israel’s security.

The administration has instead insisted it launched the war to liberate the Iraqi people, destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to protect the United States.

Zelikow made his statements about ”the unstated threat” during his tenure on a highly knowledgeable and well-connected body known as the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), which reports directly to the president.

He served on the board between 2001 and 2003.

”Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I’ll tell you what I think the real threat (is) and actually has been since 1990—it’s the threat against Israel,” Zelikow told a crowd at the University of Virginia on Sep. 10, 2002, speaking on a panel of foreign policy experts assessing the impact of 9/11 and the future of the war on the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

”And this is the threat that dare not speak its name, because the Europeans don’t care deeply about that threat, I will tell you frankly. And the American government doesn’t want to lean too hard on it rhetorically, because it is not a popular sell,” said Zelikow.

The statements are the first to surface from a source closely linked to the Bush administration acknowledging that the war, which has so far cost the lives of nearly 600 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis, was motivated by Washington’s desire to defend the Jewish state.

The administration, which is surrounded by staunch pro-Israel, neo-conservative hawks, is currently fighting an extensive campaign to ward off accusations that it derailed the ”war on terrorism” it launched after 9/11 by taking a detour to Iraq, which appears to have posed no direct threat to the United States.

Israel is Washington’s biggest ally in the Middle East, receiving annual direct aid of three to four billion dollars.

in regards to moving to France, I hope you are referring to the cowards who cannot think for themselves and would rather send someones child to war to fight for their republican parties greedy arrogant insane desire to create a world where there is a class of super elite and a class of poverty stricken majority. Fortunately, in America it is not illegal to be a coward or stupid, however, I would like to remind those that want to oppress freedom of speach and access to the truth to maybe move to a country where these inalienable rights are not accepted. Liberals make conservatives lives easier actually, by making sure the conservatives are allowed to speak freely. http://tvnewslies.org/, see joe republican
article.

WOW.  There aren’t any other words that seem appropriate.

I would have like to have seen some detail on how Ahmed Chalabi, the double agent for Iran, influenced the Office of Special Plans and the White House.

Very well done article, as a recently retired Federal Investigator under the Bush Admin. and the one who appeared on CBS 60 minutes some years ago on the Bush/Perot scandal of Dirty Tricks I know all too well the under handed and often illegal activities the GOP has been up too again this year the same old boys wanted to pull similar acts against the DNC, I am now retired, but watch out they will still create problems. In 92 the FBI asked me to BRIBE Jim Oberwetter then VP of Hunt Oil and now Ambassador to Saudi and former GOP Chair of Texas so watch them close.
Scott Barnes

Gauging Promise of Iraqi Oil
Ousting Hussein could open the door for U.S. and British firms. Chinese, French and Russian rivals would lose their edge.
By Warren Vieth +Elizabeth Douglass
Times Staff Writers

12.Mar.2003
WASHINGTON - Maybe it’s a coincidence, but USA + UK oil companies would be long-term beneficiaries of a successful military offensive led by the but USA + UK to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Industry officials say Hussein’s ouster would help level the playing field but USA + UK firms that have been shut out of Iraq as Baghdad has negotiated with rivals from other countries - notably France, Russia +China, three leading opponents of war.

A post-Hussein Iraq also would be a bonanza for the USA-dominated oil-services industry, which is in the business of rehabilitating damaged infrastructure, reversing declining output from aging fields and providing essential support work to drillers +explorers.
A leader in that industry is Halliburton Co., where Cheney,Dick was thief executive before becoming vice president.
The confluence of foreign policy objectives and commercial interests is fueling suspicions that USA + UK war plans are motivated in part by a thirst for Iraqi oil.
Those concerns would be magnified, experts caution, if USA winds up calling the shots in a postwar Baghdad.
“All over the world, people will be watching very carefully,” said Issam Al-Chalabi, who ran Iraqi National Oil Co. for 4 years + served as Hussein’s oil minister for three.
“Even if they give only 10% of the work to Americans, people will say the Americans are being favored if there is supervision by the USA ,” said Al-Chalabi,-12.Mar.2003- now a consultant in Amman, Jordan. “But let the Iraqis decide, + no one can say they’ve been under pressure, even if they give 50% to USA companies.”
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Does anyone have any further details of the “YEMEN PROJECT” ? it was created by Richard Armitage, Jefferson-Waterman Group of DC and Hunt Oil in conjunction with Enron and CODINA Development. It was a project to move oil thru Yemen and increase the output with a .15 Cent per barrel for Enron and the CODINA Group when Jim Oberwetter was Appointed by Bush to be Saudi Arabia’s newest Ambassador he move large sums of “ Oil” money from Hunt Oil to t