Months before the invasion, Clark's opinion piece in Time magazine (10/14/02) was aptly headlined "Let's Wait to Attack," a counter-argument to another piece headlined "No, Let's Not Waste Any Time."
n the question of Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction, Clark seemed remarkably confident of their existence. Clark told CNN's Miles O'Brien that Saddam Hussein "does have weapons of mass destruction." When O'Brien asked, "And you could say that categorically?" Clark was resolute: "Absolutely" (1/18/03).

But many scientists disagree with the Times. They also believe that the science is settled. They say it shows that predictions of catastrophic warming are baseless. They scoff at forecasts of global catastrophe and argue that, if anything, mankind could benefit from some warming.

"including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH "
Thanks to alert reader Steve S., who asks if Bush hasn't effectively just admitted that he lied to Congress in that letter.

miller: Syria has an ambitious program to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
the testimony was provided to The New York Times by individuals who feel that the accusations against Syria have received insufficient attention.
who's next whos next?

xymph: Even amongst the neocons, who are a completely disgusting group of evil ideologues, Bolton stands out as perhaps the most offensive.

It is impossible to see Bolton's personal attacks on the North Korean leader exactly at the time of the most crucial negotiations by South Korea as anything other than the message of the Bush Administration that it wants a war with North Korea.
who's next?

It appears that the rumor that the Iraqi officials were fleeing to Syria may have been planted by the Israelis in order to lead the Americans to make this attack, hoping that the Syrians would retaliate and be drawn into war.

The New York Times has done us all a great service by continuing to print the short stories of Judith Miller.

" I also venture to say probably the most honest document we've had made public about Iraq was the much maligned 12,000-page statement by none other than Saddam Hussein... It's probably more accurate than anything this government put out." Hersh said.

Date: Apr 22, 2003 12:35 AM
"Israel to U.S.: Now deal with Syria and Iran"
These shocking words unintentionally expose Israel's arrogant and toxic influence over America's political leaders.
"Do we tend to over-rely on the Israelis? Probably, but you have to remember too that the CIA is permanently pissed by Israel and likes to discredit it," he said.
A former very senior CIA official told UPI: "Too often the Israeli intelligence product is hard to distinguish from Israel political messages."
"Syria has given us invaluable help on hunting down members of al-Qaida, and they were instrumental in ex-filtrating some major Iraqi fugitives back to Baghdad," one former senior CIA official said. "That is not to everyone's liking."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., speaking to an audience Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute .
"They do not believe America is exceptional. They do not believe unity is more important than diversity.

Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett agreed that teaching civics and history should not be merely an academic exercise.
In light of Sept. 11, “it’s very important for people to know what to love and not to love, what’s worth defending and what’s not,” he said.

Miller's reporting on WMD follows a pattern established with her articles on the anthrax attacks of October 2001 [see Michael Massing, "Where Germs Rule," December 17, 2001]

Each time Miller produces an article that could induce panic, she almost always mentions, some paragraphs down, that Al Qaeda's capability to deploy or develop these types of weapons has been judged by the Bush Administration to be crude at best. But the effect remains the same.

Hence, what's given to reporters like Miller can generally be assumed to be carefully orchestrated. The leakers know that her reporting will play big.

Jayson Blair used the cover of unidentified sources to make things up. Miller allows sources to hide their identities in order to advance a self-serving agenda.

hersh: the Syrians have a tremendous amount of knowledge of Saudi financing of terrorism.

Assad lived just long enough to witness the total Israeli retreat from Lebanon in May 2000. He was probably the only Arab leader to earn America and Israel's respect, having inflicted defeats on both.

'A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm', suggested that efforts should 'focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq - an important Israeli strategic objective in its own right - as a means of foiling Syria's regional ambitions'. Did the United States invade Iraq with this objective in mind? The leader of the study group was Richard Perle

American Enterprise Institute, Michael Ledeen, was more explicit in conversation with Turner: 'Iraq is not what it's all about. We have been at war for twenty years with a terror network supported by Iraq, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia . . . Now, like it or not, we're in a regional war, and we can't opt out of it. We have to bring down these regimes and produce free governments in all these countries . . . Undermining the governments of other countries? No big deal.'

After Bush's election in 2000, a Presidential Study Group published 'Navigating through Turbulence: America and the Middle East in a New Century'. 'The two main targets,' the group advised the incoming President, 'should be Syria and Iraq.'

The US, they seemed certain, could have the Israeli cake and still eat Arab oil. 'Maintaining a strong alliance with Israel' has not prevented 'every state on Israel's border, except Syria, from accepting America as their principal source of military aid and matériel'.

On 6 May 2002, John Bolton, the Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, filled the gap by accusing Syria of developing chemical and biological weapons and acquiring hundreds of Scud missiles. He warned that Damascus was a step away from inclusion in the 'axis of evil' with Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

When Erdogan said: "I have to submit to Parliament," the Americans could not tell him to go to hell. What Arab leader could say that without the Americans laughing him off the stage?' Syrian democrats are not waiting for democracy as a care package from the American Armed Forces

As for Syria itself, his view was that those who were against the regime were a 'loyal opposition'. He believed the opposition in Iraq, by contrast, had been American agents.

'If we are democratic,' he said, 'we will be unified.' He was thinking of pre-colonial Syria, which the British and French turned into the statelets of little Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel/Palestine. 'If we are unified, we will be a danger to Israel.'

Moreover, people who attend religious services regularly build more wealth than those who don’t, the study found.

"All the media polls cut corners, to save money," he says. "Their samples are questionable. The first CNN survey was a one-night [Friday night, the worst night] following [Schwarzenegger's] announcement [to run]. The Gallup survey let people vote more than once, and it came to 180 percent. Both polls thus inflated Arnold's numbers."
mr ed: freep me

SCALIA: State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, , adultery, fornication, bestiality, masturbation and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers’s validation of laws based on moral choices.

Powell cited almost no verifiable sources. Many of his assertions were unattributed. The speech had more than 40 vague references such as "human sources," "an eyewitness," "detainees," "an al-Qaeda source," "a senior defector," "intelligence sources," and the like.

In recounting this exchange, Powell changed it significantly. In Powell's version, the order from headquarters to "inspect" for ammunition became an order to "clean out all of the areas, the scrap areas, the abandoned areas." Powell also claimed that headquarters told the field officer, "Make sure there is nothing there." This instruction appears nowhere in the transcript.

I learned in my many years of editorial writing to follow I.F. Stone's prudent advice to read texts and not to rush to judgment.

He correctly notes that “coverage of the [Bush-Gore] debates was so egregious it shocked even journalists who were clearly on the Bush team.”