Selling the war product

Operation Deserter Storm Watch

In case you missed it, two reporters from the Washington Post recently published a long article detailing the way Bush's "depiction" of the Iraq threat outgrew the "supporting evidence" for that threat. It is essentially a pretty detailed description of how the American people were fear-mongered into this war, and also how intelligence was manipulated to meet that end (and how intelligence agents were pressured to do so). Not that this is news to anyone. We all knew that the war was a foregone conclusion in Bush's warped brain more than a year ago, it was just a matter of how they were going to "sell it". And they obviously thought, in their hubris, that the war would be a smashing success, and with the people of Iraq throwing flowers at our soldiers feet in their delight of having an occupying force in their country, that everyone would forget about all of the lies they told to get us there. Now that the war is turning into a costly disaster, with not even a barrel of itching powder to show us as a threat from Saddam, we are less likely to "forget". But the Bushies don't even respect our intelligence enough to apologize and just say "we were wrong about the threat". Whatever, Cheney. Your days in power are numbered - suckle the government teat as much as you can in your remaining time.

More on this same theme in an excellent column by Arkansas columnist Gene Lyons. Here is an excerpt on Bush's "faith-based threat assessment":

Bush told us that not to invade and occupy Iraq would be tantamount to 'national suicide.' Now he says he's confident documents will prove that Saddam had 'weapons programs.' Hardly the same thing. He has faith that documents will also prove the Iraqi dictator's 'links' to al-Qa'ida, another inflammatory charge that The Washington Post reports the National Intelligence Estimate he failed to read contradicted.

9-11 Watch

The Bush administration has famously stalled and slowstepped and censored the release of the 9-11 commission report because they know how culpable they will be perceived in it. Even without the 28 pages they expurgated from what was released, it is clear they are guilty of gross negligence, if not worse. Here is an editorial on the release of the report, and a quote from it:

John Dean of Watergate fame, now a Findlaw columnist, has become something of an expert on this Sept. 11 report. He says, "After pulling together the information in the 9/11 Report, it is understandable why Bush is stonewalling. It is not very difficult to deduce what the president knew, and when he knew it. And the portrait that results is devastating."

Bush Action Figure Watch

Please go here and read the description and try to keep yourself from falling on the floor laughing (or crying). The jokes just write themselves, don't they? For example, I wonder if the outfits will include a cowboy outfit for the "Bush Family Ranch" which was purchased in 1999 for the Presidential run. Or if the accessories include a beaker for the urine sample he failed to produce for his pilot's physical when he was in the Texas Air National Guard, after which he went AWOL and deserted his post for more than a year.