Semi-Illuminated Lies

We all know that this administration had no post-war plans for Iraq. What we didn’t know is that Donald Rumsfeld had threatened to fire anyone who wanted to propose post-war plans. In the linked article, Brigadier General Mark Schied, elected to be chief of logistics war plans on September 10, 2001, notes that he and other Iraq planners, placed on the task by Rumsfeld not long after the Afghanistan invasion, tried to write what was called “Phase 4,” the post-invasion operations like occupation.

Even if the troops didn’t stay, “at least we have to plan for it,” Scheid said.

“I remember the secretary of defense saying that he would fire the next person that said that,” Scheid said. “We would not do planning for Phase 4 operations, which would require all those additional troops that people talk about today.

“He said we will not do that because the American public will not back us if they think we are going over there for a long war.”

Scheid stops short of condemning Rumsfeld in the article, and basically says the Secretary of Defense was one man with one opinion.

Elsewhere, gaining more attention, is the final report concluding that Saddam Hussein had no relationship with anyone in al Qaeda. The report refutes statements made by Dick Cheney and George Bush, including statements made by Bush as late as a week ago. Why would he continue lying when he knew that this report existed, never mind that it was going to become declassified? Easy. He’s a man of his principles. If you’re caught in a lie, just repeat the lie and hopefully enough people will believe it’s the truth. The right-wing continues to claim the report is partisan, and that it’s being used as an election-year tool, but the fact remains that this administration lied us into war, and this is just another piece of the overall story coming to light.

Recently, of course, when Bush was asked by a White House reporter, “what was the relationship between Iraq and 9/11,” Bush said, “nothing.”

However, just to refresh your memories, here’s an article from June 18, 2004 where Bush repeated his accusations that Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda were working together.

“The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.” — George W. Bush

“What the New York Times did today was outrageous. The fact of the matter is, the evidence is overwhelming. The press is, with all due respect, and there are exceptions, oftentimes lazy, oftentimes simply reports what somebody else in the press said without doing their homework.” — Dick Cheney on the NY Times Headline, Panel Finds No Qaeda-Iraq Tie