Smeagol-Gollum
31-03-2004, 10:33
March 31, 2004
Manipulation and abuse of power by the American Government puts Watergate in the shade, writes Paul Krugman.
Last week an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz about the killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin said, "This isn't America; the Government did not invent intelligence material nor exaggerate the description of the threat to justify their attack."
So even in Israel, George Bush's America has become a byword for deception and abuse of power. And the Administration's reaction to Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies provides more evidence of something rotten in the state of our government.
The truth is that, among experts, what Clarke says about Bush's terrorism policy isn't controversial. The facts that terrorism was placed on the back burner before September 11 and that Bush blamed Iraq despite the lack of evidence are confirmed by many sources - including by Bob Woodward in Bush at War.
And new evidence keeps emerging for Clarke's main charge, that the Iraq obsession undermined the pursuit of al-Qaeda. From Monday's USA Today: "In 2002, troops from the 5th Special Forces Group who specialise in the Middle East were pulled out of the hunt for Osama bin Laden to prepare for their next assignment: Iraq. Their replacements were troops with expertise in Spanish cultures."
That's why the Administration responded to Clarke the way it responds to anyone who reveals inconvenient facts: with a campaign of character assassination.
Its reliance on smear tactics is unprecedented in modern US politics. Even more disturbing is its readiness to abuse power - to use its control of the Government to intimidate potential critics. To be fair, Senator Bill Frist's suggestion that Clarke might be charged with perjury may have been his own idea. But his move reminded everyone of the White House's reaction to revelations by the former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill: an immediate investigation into whether he had revealed classified information. The alacrity with which this investigation was opened was, of course, in sharp contrast with the Administration's evident lack of interest in finding out who leaked the identity of the CIA operative Valerie Plame to Bob Novak.
There are many other cases of apparent abuse of power by the Administration and its congressional allies. Here's one story that deserves mention. One of the few successful post-September 11 terrorism prosecutions seems to be unravelling. The Government withheld information from the defence, and witnesses unfavourable to the prosecution were deported (by accident, the Government says). After the former lead prosecutor complained about the Justice Department's handling of the case, he suddenly found himself under internal investigation - and someone leaked the fact that he was under investigation to the press.
Where will it end? In his book Worse than Watergate, John Dean, of Watergate fame, says: "I've been watching all the elements fall into place for two possible political catastrophes, one that will take the air out of the Bush-Cheney balloon and the other, far more disquieting, that will take the air out of democracy."
The New York Times
SOURCE : http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/30/1080544485942.html
COMMENT
Crikey.
Where will it end?
When will it end?
More spin than a carousel in a twister.
Manipulation and abuse of power by the American Government puts Watergate in the shade, writes Paul Krugman.
Last week an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz about the killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin said, "This isn't America; the Government did not invent intelligence material nor exaggerate the description of the threat to justify their attack."
So even in Israel, George Bush's America has become a byword for deception and abuse of power. And the Administration's reaction to Richard Clarke's Against All Enemies provides more evidence of something rotten in the state of our government.
The truth is that, among experts, what Clarke says about Bush's terrorism policy isn't controversial. The facts that terrorism was placed on the back burner before September 11 and that Bush blamed Iraq despite the lack of evidence are confirmed by many sources - including by Bob Woodward in Bush at War.
And new evidence keeps emerging for Clarke's main charge, that the Iraq obsession undermined the pursuit of al-Qaeda. From Monday's USA Today: "In 2002, troops from the 5th Special Forces Group who specialise in the Middle East were pulled out of the hunt for Osama bin Laden to prepare for their next assignment: Iraq. Their replacements were troops with expertise in Spanish cultures."
That's why the Administration responded to Clarke the way it responds to anyone who reveals inconvenient facts: with a campaign of character assassination.
Its reliance on smear tactics is unprecedented in modern US politics. Even more disturbing is its readiness to abuse power - to use its control of the Government to intimidate potential critics. To be fair, Senator Bill Frist's suggestion that Clarke might be charged with perjury may have been his own idea. But his move reminded everyone of the White House's reaction to revelations by the former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill: an immediate investigation into whether he had revealed classified information. The alacrity with which this investigation was opened was, of course, in sharp contrast with the Administration's evident lack of interest in finding out who leaked the identity of the CIA operative Valerie Plame to Bob Novak.
There are many other cases of apparent abuse of power by the Administration and its congressional allies. Here's one story that deserves mention. One of the few successful post-September 11 terrorism prosecutions seems to be unravelling. The Government withheld information from the defence, and witnesses unfavourable to the prosecution were deported (by accident, the Government says). After the former lead prosecutor complained about the Justice Department's handling of the case, he suddenly found himself under internal investigation - and someone leaked the fact that he was under investigation to the press.
Where will it end? In his book Worse than Watergate, John Dean, of Watergate fame, says: "I've been watching all the elements fall into place for two possible political catastrophes, one that will take the air out of the Bush-Cheney balloon and the other, far more disquieting, that will take the air out of democracy."
The New York Times
SOURCE : http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/30/1080544485942.html
COMMENT
Crikey.
Where will it end?
When will it end?
More spin than a carousel in a twister.