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Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib

Seymour M. Hersh, Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib, 2004 (with 2005 afterword)
You don't have to be a genius, or even up on current news, to know that America fucked up in Iraq. To learn the intricacies of America's mistakes, however -- the sheer lack of competence and vision -- is enough to fry anyone's braincells and leave them cowering in the corner like a psychiatric ward patient. Hersh, a Pulitzer-prize winnining journalist, exposes the turmoil many countries have been thrust into since 9/11 and how directly it is related to the Neo-cons close to Bush. The picture that emerges is a horrifying one: instability has grown in the Middle East since 9/11; nobody with power seems to have a vision; thousands of innocents are being killed and tortured, with no end in sight; and the American public continues to be lied and patronised by a small enclave of powerful men and women who absolutely don't hold their best interests to heart.

My question after reading this book was: why has nobody stormed the White House yet and overthrown Bush? Similarly, why are the British so apathetic to Blair? Is it because we are democracies and we will punish them next time an election comes around (like the recent Senate/Congress elections in America?)

And this book's scariest news: Pakistan has been selling nuclear weapon know-how across the Islamic world and we are ever closer to the point when extremists will have a warhead in their hands. It may be time for Kevin and I to get extra serious about moving away from London...

"There are many who believe George Bush is a liar, a President who knowingly and deliberately twists facts for political gain. But lying would indicate an understanding of what is desired, what is possible, and how best to get there. A more plausible explanation is that words have no meaning for this President beyond the immediate moment, and so he believes that his mere utterances of the phrases makes them real. It is a terrifying possibility." (p.367)

Date: 2007-06-22 07:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] noondaydemon.livejournal.com
Hate to say it, but I think the Olympics held in London will be nothing but dire:-/ And I'm not just talking about an already-overloaded public transport system. I think it's a big invitation for extremists to go nuts (remember how we weren't even allowed to celebrate securing the games ie the bombings?)

Date: 2007-06-23 07:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] commonpeople.livejournal.com
The Olympics is certainly dire news for the arts, now that the government have decided to take money away from it to sponsor the event. Montreal, in Canada, had its economy devastated by their Olympics and they took decades to recover. The same could happen here, with the Olympics becoming a larger "Millenium Dome".

Depending on world events leading up to the Olympics, the government might fill up the city with men carrying machine guns.

and it gets even worse,,,

Date: 2007-06-22 11:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] saint-narcissus.livejournal.com
King Cheney

The following press release sent out today by Representative Henry Waxman is almost unbelievable.

The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an "entity within the executive branch."

As described in a letter from Chairman Waxman to the Vice President, the National Archives protested the Vice President's position in letters written in June 2006 and August 2006. When these letters were ignored, the National Archives wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in January 2007 to seek a resolution of the impasse. The Vice President's staff responded by seeking to abolish the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the President's executive order.

In his letter to the Vice President, Chairman Waxman writes: "I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions....[I]t would appear particularly irresponsible to give an office with your history of security breaches an exemption from the safeguards that apply to all other executive branch officials."

Not an "entity within the executive branch"? What branch of government, then, does Cheney's office belong to? I'm no constitutional lawyer, but I believe there are only three possibilities. He's no judge, and he's not a member of Congress. That leaves only the executive branch. Unless, of course, the veep's office transcends the Constitution. Yes, perhaps it's supra-constitutional. Oh heck, why don't we just call him King? But that would create a problem: what to call the president?

Waxman's letter can be found at www.oversight.house.gov.

Re: and it gets even worse,,,

Date: 2007-06-23 07:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] commonpeople.livejournal.com
It's just another way for him to place himself beyond guilt and any kind of liability. Their megalomania and disrespect for what America should stand for is what makes me wonder why there hasn't been more outrage on the streets of America.

Re: and it gets even worse,,,

Date: 2007-06-23 04:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] saint-narcissus.livejournal.com
it's quite simple actually,,,
keep the public entertained with:
xbox, myspace, utube, Paris, Brittany,,, etc,,,
oyur average American has more than his father had,
has a car, fast food restaurants, mindless amusements,,,,

sad and too simple, but I really think it is a big factor.

Date: 2007-06-25 12:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vilia64.livejournal.com
No one's stormed the White House yet because they're too busy watching American Idol- more people in this country vote for their favorite singers on that show than the amount of people that vote in the presidential election, or any election for that matter.

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