War Crimes
The key to the Valerie Plame leak is not simply this one criminal action by Karl Rove...The focus needs to be pulled back to the bigger picture. This has everything to do with the Bush Administration's case for war in Iraq.
As the downing street memos have confirmed, the Bush Administration was "fixing the facts around the policy". In other words, the Bush Administration knew that, based on the facts, there was no case for war in Iraq. The Bush Administration lied to the American people to convince the of the necessity of declaring an illegal war based on false pretences. I would argue that this was a criminal act, and that we now have the evidence to prosecute the case in the court of public opinion, if not the court of law.
In any serious criminal case, there needs to be a motive. The Bush Administration was well aware of the fact that Saddam did not have Weapons of Mass Destruction, and that there was no connections between Al Qaida, 9/11, and Iraq. So, what possible motive does that leave us? Luckily, we have documentation from the Project For a New American Century (PNAC) that has been intent on invading Iraq since the mid-90's. Look at the titles of these documents straight from PNAC's website, with an archive of articles written from 1997-2000. This organization is rife with players from the Bush Administration: Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Pearle. Look at the titles of the late '90s essays: How to Attack Iraq (1998), A Way to Oust Saddam (1998), Bombing Iraq Isn't Enough (1998)
These chickenhawks having been itching to invade Iraq for almost a decade, and have simply been waiting for a political expedient opportunity to do so. Invading Iraq was never about U.S. national security...It has always been about attempting to stabilize the Middle East. Quite simply, the non-OPEC oil reserves in the world are quickly becoming depleted. As China continues to become a more important player in the energy consumption race, it is clear that something must be done soon to alleviate the possibility of another Arab Oil Embargo. Rather than properly deal with the issue, by investing heavily into developing alternative technologies, and developing policies that reduce our massive energy requirements, the neocons have decided that securing the Middle East would supply us with a reliable oil supply for the next two or three decades.
The RNC is desperately attempting to persuade public opinion on this matter. A close examination of the RNC talking points shows that they are more concerned with the defamation of the character's of Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame than they are with actually defending the actions of Karl Rove. They can't defend the actions of Rove, because they haven't a leg to stand on.
Why are they trying so hard to defame Wilson and Plame? To muddy the waters, and to confuse as many people as they can that this is simply partisan politics, rather than a legitimate and justified claim on the lies and deception within the Bush Administration.
You see, the Bush Administration has somehow managed to build up a solid reputation based on "moral values" and good character, despite the mounting evidence of continued corruption within the Administration. The general public has maintained a relatively benign opinion of the Bush Administration. If this Karl Rove leak scandal gains too much traction, the administration will loose it's credibility with the general public, and the entire House of Cards that Rove Built will all come tumbling down.
So, back to the criminal case against the administration -- condemnation for conducting an illegal war. We have the motive - openly admitted to by the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). We have the evidence - The Rove Leak and the Downing Street Memos, for starters. Hopefully, we will also have the testimony of CIA experts and intelligence experts, some of who previously resigned in protest over administrative "groupthink" -- they will no longer be cowed by the threat of an administration no longer held highly in respect by the general public.
Is there a real possibility of an impeachment with a Republican House, a Republican Senate and a Republican Supreme Court? Perhaps not, but a lame duck presidency, cowed by immense public scrutiny and disapproval and unable to with their neoconservative agenda is not too much to hope for.
As the downing street memos have confirmed, the Bush Administration was "fixing the facts around the policy". In other words, the Bush Administration knew that, based on the facts, there was no case for war in Iraq. The Bush Administration lied to the American people to convince the of the necessity of declaring an illegal war based on false pretences. I would argue that this was a criminal act, and that we now have the evidence to prosecute the case in the court of public opinion, if not the court of law.
In any serious criminal case, there needs to be a motive. The Bush Administration was well aware of the fact that Saddam did not have Weapons of Mass Destruction, and that there was no connections between Al Qaida, 9/11, and Iraq. So, what possible motive does that leave us? Luckily, we have documentation from the Project For a New American Century (PNAC) that has been intent on invading Iraq since the mid-90's. Look at the titles of these documents straight from PNAC's website, with an archive of articles written from 1997-2000. This organization is rife with players from the Bush Administration: Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Pearle. Look at the titles of the late '90s essays: How to Attack Iraq (1998), A Way to Oust Saddam (1998), Bombing Iraq Isn't Enough (1998)
These chickenhawks having been itching to invade Iraq for almost a decade, and have simply been waiting for a political expedient opportunity to do so. Invading Iraq was never about U.S. national security...It has always been about attempting to stabilize the Middle East. Quite simply, the non-OPEC oil reserves in the world are quickly becoming depleted. As China continues to become a more important player in the energy consumption race, it is clear that something must be done soon to alleviate the possibility of another Arab Oil Embargo. Rather than properly deal with the issue, by investing heavily into developing alternative technologies, and developing policies that reduce our massive energy requirements, the neocons have decided that securing the Middle East would supply us with a reliable oil supply for the next two or three decades.
The RNC is desperately attempting to persuade public opinion on this matter. A close examination of the RNC talking points shows that they are more concerned with the defamation of the character's of Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame than they are with actually defending the actions of Karl Rove. They can't defend the actions of Rove, because they haven't a leg to stand on.
Why are they trying so hard to defame Wilson and Plame? To muddy the waters, and to confuse as many people as they can that this is simply partisan politics, rather than a legitimate and justified claim on the lies and deception within the Bush Administration.
You see, the Bush Administration has somehow managed to build up a solid reputation based on "moral values" and good character, despite the mounting evidence of continued corruption within the Administration. The general public has maintained a relatively benign opinion of the Bush Administration. If this Karl Rove leak scandal gains too much traction, the administration will loose it's credibility with the general public, and the entire House of Cards that Rove Built will all come tumbling down.
So, back to the criminal case against the administration -- condemnation for conducting an illegal war. We have the motive - openly admitted to by the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). We have the evidence - The Rove Leak and the Downing Street Memos, for starters. Hopefully, we will also have the testimony of CIA experts and intelligence experts, some of who previously resigned in protest over administrative "groupthink" -- they will no longer be cowed by the threat of an administration no longer held highly in respect by the general public.
Is there a real possibility of an impeachment with a Republican House, a Republican Senate and a Republican Supreme Court? Perhaps not, but a lame duck presidency, cowed by immense public scrutiny and disapproval and unable to with their neoconservative agenda is not too much to hope for.
posted by markh100 at
9:27 PM
