Month: July 2004

Condoleezza Needs to Call Anonymous Great piece. I think it very wise for Antiwar.com to post articles by people who have worked for the state and recognize the missteps. And like other recent pieces by former intel analysts, this one reminds me of Sam Adams’ book about the CIA during the Vietnam entitled War of … Continue reading “Backtalk July 17, 2004”

This week’s decision by the U.S. State Department to cut up to $18 million in aid to its staunchest anti-terrorism ally in Central Asia is being welcomed by human rights activists, who called the move long overdue. The slap at the government of President Islam Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan with an iron hand since … Continue reading “US Cuts Aid to Uzbekistan”

Some observers believe that with the departure of George Tenet as CIA director, along with critical reports from both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the 9/11 commission (surely the House Intelligence Committee cannot be too far behind) regarding massive intelligence failures of radically different kinds, the time for reform may be at hand. Indeed, the … Continue reading “Toward More Intelligent Intelligence”

LONDON – The long-awaited inquiry report into intelligence failures that led Britain to join the invasion of Iraq reveals what went wrong, but stops short of saying who went wrong. The 196-page report by Lord Butler discloses "serious flaws" in intelligence that led to Britain’s involvement in the war. Key intelligence relied on third hand … Continue reading “Report Reveals Lies, Not the Liar”

According to several military analysts working both inside and outside of government, the Bush administration’s oft-repeated claim that militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the direct link between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein does not ring true. Zarqawi, a Jordanian who heads a group that reportedly claimed responsibility Tuesday for killing a Bulgarian worker held captive … Continue reading “Experts Dispute Bush Line on Zarqawi”

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has concluded that the “key assessments” in the National Intelligence Estimate – which was the basis for the “Congressional Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq” – were “not supported by the underlying intelligence.” Hence, the Committee has essentially accused Director of Central … Continue reading “Dereliction of Duty”

The international goo-goos (Tammany Hall’s old name for the “good government” types) need their humanitarian crise du jour, and the Sudan currently fills the bill. The usual celebrities are wringing their hands and we are all supposed to care, deeply. The realist replies, “Yeah, that’s life in the global village,” but realism is out of … Continue reading “Fourth Generation War In the Sudan”

UNITED NATIONS – Lobbying has shifted into high gear on a resolution to be brought before the UN General Assembly on Friday that will call on Israel to tear down a wall it is building around the West Bank and pay reparations to affected Palestinians. The motion will be introduced in an emergency session called … Continue reading “US, Israel Against the World on Wall”

In my June 29, 2004, column, “Role Reversal,” I pointed out that now it is the Republicans who argue that government can be trusted with any amount of power in the name of the “war on terror.” I quoted from Al Gore’s speech at Georgetown University Law Center, in which Gore argued that the “war … Continue reading “Role Reversal: A Response to Readers”

If Dick Cheney isn’t F-you-ing Democrats on the floor of the U.S. Senate, George W. Bush is flipping off teenage boys in East Lampeter, PA, as the Bush-mobile swings through town and the residents come out to greet their sovereign Lord: "The action got started off right when we arrived on the scene, and seven … Continue reading “Bush on the Bus”