Much of the mischief and malfeasance that we experience comes during periods of obscurity. Sometimes that darkness is a physical lack of illumination. At other times, the darkness is a product of lack of reliable and objective information that has been concealed or that no one has made the effort to uncover. During the GOP control of the Congress in the first six years of the G. W. Bush Administration, there were many examples of both types of darkness. Likewise, the Democrats in Congress failed to make a sincere effort to uncover the facts. The media also failed to uphold its traditional responsibility as watchdog and investigator of underlying facts. The result of this concealment and negligence has been devastating to the country. Whether the damage is measured in loss of lives, waste of money, loss of stature and prestige around the world or loss of domestic faith in the Government’s respect for the rule of law, the toll has been monumental.
With the change of control in Congress, mandated by the American people more than by inspired leadership from Democratic politicians, the obstacles to inquiry and disclosure of the factual evidence were reduced and the potential to shed light on the Administration activities increased. Whether driven by a sincere desire to uncover the truth or because of a sense of embarrassment and feeling compelled fulfill their Constitutional duties, Democratic leaders of Congressional Committees have pressured the release of numerous official reports that illuminate the activities and the machinations of the Administration that have taken the country so far off course.
The contrast could perhaps not be more stark than the events of the past couple of days. Vice President Cheney reasserted in an interview on the Rush Limbaugh Show that a strong relationship between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda existed prior to the US invasion in 2003. Since he appears not to have been listening to the many reports by various independent sources thoroughly debunking that “myth,” Cheney may be relying upon a Memorandum provided by former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Douglas Feith, that opines that such a relationship existed prior to the US invasion of Iraq. The only other reasons for Cheney making such a statement would be unbridled arrogance or delusional senility.
At the same time that the Vice President was making his appearance on the Darling of the Right Wing’s radio show, the Pentagon was releasing a declassified official report by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense demonstrating and documenting how the Feith report was contrived and how Feith “cooked” the intelligence by claiming a relationship between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. The Inspector General's report that Armed Services Committee Chair Sen. Carl Levin requested be released confirms the overwhelming consensus of the Intelligence Community, including that CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, that there was no conclusive evidence of any substantive relationship between Al Qaeda and the Hussein regime and there was no evidence of any active support. The report is based in part upon a July 25, 2002 memorandum exposing the lack of foundation in the Feith memorandum that the Administration used to support its case for invasion of Iraq. Had this information come to light sooner, the debacle in Iraq might have been avoided. Instead it was concealed for years.
The intrigue in the Justice Department over the firing of US Attorneys is another example. Now that light is being shed upon the machinations of that political blunder, evidence seems to spread like the proverbial stain in the rug that gets worse with each attempt to clean it up. The inquiry started as an examination of possible improper political motivation for replacing the US Attorneys, and possible obstruction of important prosecutions. As a result of information uncovered, the investigation has now spread into evidence that high level White House aides have been illegally using Republican National Committee e-mail accounts to avoid the mandatory archiving of documents created in the performance of White House business. This deliberate concealment raises additional questions [or provides plausible explanation] for the sudden late “discovery” of a large set of documents that were delivered to the Special Prosecutor almost two years after they were requested in the Scooter Libby case.
Congress is now concerned about what other transactions have been concealed through use of this underground communication network. And now the chief aide to Attorney general Gonzalez, who was primary liaison between the White House and the Justice Department in connection with the US Attorney firings has resigned her position. She has declared that she will plead the 5th Amendment right against criminal self-incrimination in response to any attempt by Congress to question her about Justice Department connections with the White House relating to the firings.
The lights are being turned on all over Washington and the mischief makers are scattering. It will take a while, perhaps even a thorough housecleaning to rectify the mess that has been made during the six years of darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment