An online version of this issue of our newsletter is available, complete with
color images and pithy quotations, at
http://www.theemailactivist.org/weaponsgate.htm.
Friends,
Although the mainstream news outlets have at least been paying some attention
to the "Weaponsgate" story, they are, as usual, missing the most important
aspect of it. Their focus has been directed on how information from a
document that was a known forgery ended up in the President's State of the
Union Address. But isn't it more important to ask if the disinformation from
the Niger-uranium forgery is just part of a larger overall plan to mislead the
American people about White House motives?
Media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has been kind enough
to compose a short list of other deceptions that ought to be considered part
of the Bush administration's broader pattern of deception. It is the
COMBINATION of the following lies and half-truths that the media should be
investigating.
1. The notorious Aluminum Tubes. The White House claimed that Iraq was
trying to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes in which to process uranium.
But leading scientists and former weapons inspectors seriously question the
administration's analysis, and have pointed out that the tubes are barely
suitable for uranium production and were more likely intended for common
artillery rockets.
2. The creation of Saddam bin Ladin. In a May 1 speech aboard the USS
Lincoln, Bush said of the defeated Iraqi regime: "We have removed an ally of
al-Qaeda." And although the alleged connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda was
one of the administration's earliest justifications for going to war, there is
still NO evidence to support it.
3. The mysterious Trailers of Iraq. The discovery of two unusual trailers in
Iraq prompted our pre-emptive president to prematurely announce: "We found the
weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." Yet here we
are a month later with NO evidence to confirm that the trailers were designed
for anything other than the production of hydrogen for artillery
balloons--which, incidentally, is exactly what a group of captured Iraqis said
they were for.
4. Colin Powell's Address to the United Nations. To give Powell some credit,
he at least did not use the forged Niger-uranium document to bolster his case
to the U.N. He did, however, exaggerate an intercepted conversation about
weapons inspections between Iraqi officials to make it sound more
incriminating, changing an order to "inspect the scrap areas and the abandoned
areas" to a command to "clean out" those areas. According to FAIR, Powell
also added the words "make sure there is nothing there," a phrase that does
not appear in the State Department's official translation. What's more,
Powell relied heavily on information provided by Iraqi defector Hussein Kamel
without bothering to mention that Kamel had also asserted that all those
weapons had been destroyed.
5. The unabashed Altering of History. As recently as July 14, Bush was still
telling reporters that one of the main reasons the U.S. invaded Iraq was that
Saddam Hussein had refused to admit U.N. weapons inspectors. "We gave him a
chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in." The truth,
of course, is that Hussein had given inspectors complete access to Iraq and
that their inspections were proceeding vigorously when the Bush administration
ordered the inspectors to leave so that bombing could begin. As Walter Pincus
pointed out in the Washington Post, the dubious Niger-uranium claim was
undoubtedly inserted into Bush's State of the Union address because "almost
all the other evidence had either been undercut or disproved by U.N.
inspectors in Iraq."
6. Inventing Imaginary Reports. Bush cited a report from the United Nations
International Atomic Energy alleging that Iraq was "six months away" from
developing a nuclear weapon, yet no such report exists.
7. Inventing Imaginary Delivery Systems. Bush claimed that Iraq maintained a
growing fleet of unmanned aircraft that, in his words, could be used "for
missions targeting the United States." But Iraq has NEVER had a delivery
system capable of reaching our shores.
Okay, so that's seven, not even counting the fact that NO WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION HAVE BEEN FOUND IN IRAQ. If this isn't a clear pattern of
deception and disinformation, then nothing is. As John Dean once said when
speaking of another administration: "There is a cancer growing on the
presidency." It is this cancer--this habitual deceit--which should become the
focus of media and congressional investigations.
Here's what you can do to help.
First, forward this message to everyone you know.
Second, send a contribution to FAIR so that they can keep a watchful eye on
what the mainstream media is missing: http://www.fair.org/.
Third, send a copy of the letter below to both of your U.S. Senators and to
your representative in the House. You can find their contact information at
http://www.vote-smart.org/.
Dear Senator (or Representative) __________________,
I am appalled by the web of lies and half-truths woven by the Bush
administration in its effort to get the American people to support its
invasion of Iraq. Not only have no weapons of mass destruction been found,
but no evidence has been found that those weapons even existed in Iraq after
the 1991 Gulf War.
If that were the end of it, I probably would not be writing you today, but in
fact, that is just the tip of the iceberg. The Bush administration has made
misleading and unsupported claims about aluminum tubes and a pair of abandoned
trailers found in Iraq. Both discoveries turned out to be nothing. President
Bush himself made direct references to a United Nations IAE report that turned
out not even to exist. Colin Powell went so far as to alter some of the
wording of an intercepted Iraqi transmission so that it would sound more
ominous when he presented a transcript of it to the United Nations. And the
president, believe it or not, is still insisting that links exist between Iraq
and al-Qaeda despite a glaring lack of evidence. Moreover, he is still
telling reporters that Saddam Hussein ejected U.N. weapons inspectors when in
fact it was the White House that removed them so that the bombing campaign
could begin.
Please take a few minutes to read a more complete analysis of the Bush
administration's misuse of information that was compiled by media watchdog
group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. It can be found online at
http://www.fair.org/press-releases/beyond-niger.html.
It is my opinion that the Bush administration must be fully investigated by
Congress. It has shown a clear pattern of deception and an overwhelming
disregard for the public's right to know what the Executive Branch is doing in
the name of The People. It is time to shine some bright lights on the Bush
White House so that we can finally learn the truth about this highly secretive
administration. It would not surprise me one bit to discover that impeachment
proceedings are warranted.
Sincerely,
(Your name and address)
Fourth, send a copy or your own version of the following letter to the editor
of your local newspaper.
Dear Editor,
I am appalled by the web of lies and half-truths woven by the Bush
administration in its effort to get the American people to support its
invasion of Iraq. Not only have no weapons of mass destruction been found,
but no evidence has been found that those weapons even existed in Iraq after
the 1991 Gulf War.
But that's not the end of it. In fact, it's just the tip of the iceberg. The
Bush administration has made misleading and unsupported claims about aluminum
tubes and a pair of abandoned trailers found in Iraq. Both discoveries turned
out to be nothing. President Bush himself made direct references to a United
Nations IAE report that turned out not even to exist. Colin Powell went so
far as to alter some of the wording of an intercepted Iraqi transmission so
that it would sound more ominous when he presented a transcript of it to the
United Nations. And the president, believe it or not, is still insisting that
links exist between Iraq and al-Qaeda despite a glaring lack of evidence.
Moreover, he is still telling reporters that Saddam Hussein ejected U.N.
weapons inspectors when in fact it was the White House that removed them so
that the bombing campaign could begin.
It is my opinion that the Bush administration must be fully investigated by
Congress. It has shown a clear pattern of deception and an overwhelming
disregard for the public's right to know what the Executive Branch is doing in
the name of The People. It is time to shine some bright lights on the Bush
White House so that we can finally learn the truth about this highly secretive
administration. I urge all readers to write their federal legislators and
demand a full investigation of Weaponsgate.
Sincerely,
(Your name and address)
______________________________________
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