I was looking through key names in Bob Woodward’s book “Play of Attack”. There are several paragraphs that have jumped out that I just wanted to share.
First off…I wonder how many American’s know this
In early January 2001, before George W. Bush WAS INAUGURATED, Vice President DICK CHENEY pass a message to outgoing Secretary of defense, William S. Cohen, a moderate Republican who served in the Democratic Clinton Administration. “We really need to get the President-elect briefed up on some things.” Cheney said, adding that he wanted a serious “Discussion on IRAQ and different opitions.” The President-elect should not be given the routine, canned , round-the-world tour normally given in-coming presidents. TOPIC A SHOULD BE IRAQ…Cheney had been Secretary of defense during George H.W. Bush’s presidency, which included the 1991 Gulf War, and he HARBORED A DEEP SENSE OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS ABOUT IRAQ.”….Cohen, who was leaving the Defense Department in 10 days, believed that the new administration would soon see the REALITY about IRAQ. They would not find much, if any, support among other countries in the region or the world for strong action against Saddam, which would mean going it alone in any large-scale attack. (jump to)……On the 17th DAY OF THE BUSH PRESIDENCY, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5th, RICE chaired a principals committee meeting that included CHENEY, POWELL, and RUMSFELD. CIA director JOHN E. McLAUGHLIN substituted for TENET. The purpose was to review the IRAQ POLICY….and consider how intelligency collected could be increased on IRAQ’S suspected weapons of mass destruction.
Clearly Cheney was obsessed with finishing the business with Saddam and Iraq. Thus becoming rich with all the money he would make off his Haliburton stock. Always follow the money. TOPIC A was IRAQ in what would be the BUSH ADMIN. IRAQ was discussed before Bush was even sworn in as the New President of the United States.
On or about Jan. 20th, 2002 this happened.
At the White House State Department, ARMITAGE received a call from WH communtications office saying that they had compiled a 33 page document called “Apparatus of Lies” on Saddam’s propaganda. They wanted him to unveil it in public. CARD’S White House Iraq Group (WHIG’s-Woodward knew all about the WHIG’s and wrote about them a lot in his book)was planning a big rollout of speeches and documents to counter Saddam and the growing international anti war movement. Millions had marched in European, Arab and Asian capitals.
ARMITAGE read through the document and thought, WHAT BULLSHIT! It was mostly old stories and Saddam’s lies stemming from the 1991 Gulf War period, with no clear rationale about why the administration might go to war in 2003. If the United States were to go to war with every regime that told lies, there would be nothing but war. ARMITAGE told the White House, “THIS IS AWFUL. I’M NOT GOING TO TOUCH IT….ARMITAGE was finding it harder and harder to keep from being sucked into the White House’s PROPAGANDA APPARATUS.
One Saturday, Janurary 25, LIBBY gave a lengthy presentation in the Situation room to RICE, HADLEY, ARMITAGE, WOLFOWITZ, DAN BARTLETT and MICHAEL GERSON. Though she had formally left the White House staff KAREN HUGHES was there. KARL ROVE was in and out of the meeting.
Holding a thick sheaf of paper, libby outlined the latest version of the case against Saddam. He began with a long section on satellite, intercept and human intelligence showing the efforts at the concealment and deception. THings were being dug up, moved and buried. No one knew for sure what it was precisely, but the locations and stealth fit the pattern of WMD concealment. He began each section with blunt conclusions-*Saddam had CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS*, was producing and concealing them; his ties to *BIN LADEN’S AL QAEDA NETWORK WERE NUMEROUS AND STRONG.*
“As Powell was preparing for his Presentation (to the UN). Cheney called Powell.
Colin, the VP said, look carefully at the terrorism case that Scooter (the now 5 count indicted one-heh) prepared. Give it a good look.Sure, Dick, Powell said. He generally used the VP’s first name when they were alone. Cheney was not ordering him or trying to direct him. It was just a request to take a serious look.
Powell looked at it. Four Mohammed Atta meetings in Prague. That was worse than ridiculous. He pitched it.(meaning tossed that info out)
Powell thought CHENEY HAD THE FEVER. The vice president and WOLFOWITZ kept looking for the conncetion between SADDAM and 9/11. It was a separate little GOVERNMENT THAT WAS OUT THERE- Wolfowitz, LIBBY, FEITH and FEITH’S “GESTAPO OFFICE,” as Powell privately called it. He saw in CHENEY A SAD TRANSFORMATION. The cool operator from the first Gulf War just would not let go. CHENEY NOW HAD AN UNHEALTHY FIXATION. Nearly EVERY CONVERSATION or reference came back to al Qaeda and trying to nail the connection with Iraq. He would often have an OBSCURE PIECE OF INTELLIGENCE. POWELL thought that CHENEY took Intelligence and CONVERTED UNCERTAINTY and AMBIGUITY INTO FACT. It was about the WORST CHARGE that POWELL could make about the VICE PRESIDENT. But there it was. Cheney would take an intercept and say it shows something was happening. No, no, no, no, NO, Powell or another would say, it shows that somebody talked to somebody else who said something MIGHT be happening, and Cheney would convert that into a “WE KNOW.” Well, Powell concluded, we didn’t know. No one knew.
Bush State of the Union speach.
Bush then spoke the 16 words that would become notorious..(you know what they are, Saddam sought lotz of Uranium from Africa..bla, bla)
But less than 4 months earlier, Tenet and the CIA had excised the sentence from the Preznits speech in Cincy because the assertion could not be confirmed and was thought to be shaky. Tenet had not reviewed the State of the Union Speech, and HADLEY HAD FORGOTTEN THE EARLIER CIA WARNING.
Well-placed officials in the administration were skeptical about the WMD intelligence on Iraq-Among them ARMITAGE…..
ARMITAGE was appalled at what he considered overreaching and Hyperbole. Libby was drawing only the worst conclusions from fragments and silky threads.
On the other hand, WOLFOWITZ, who had been convinced years ago of Iraq’s complicity in anti-American terrorism, thought Libby presented a strong case.
After re-reading a lot of Woodwards book LIBBY which means CHENEY is the one who lied and lead us into Bush’s illegal War.
Thanks to Diane101 for teaching me how to finally make those simple yet fancy boxes.