Just desserts for this shameful hustle.

Submitted by mariana (United States), Dec 17, 2006 at 16:25

Thank you, Daniel, for your wonderfully concise breakdown of this disgraceful report. It seems pretty clear that GW's not particularly interested in it. [Apparently, a couple of ISG's "military experts" convinced them from the onset that we lacked the "where with all" to change their interpretation of facts on the ground, so, they immediately withdrew "victory" or "winning" from consideration, and proceeded, downward, from there.]

Bush has made that clear that since "victory" was not even considered, and since he reiterated his policy's objective is "victory," I am a bit less worried than I was before the report came out. In fact, I was surprised at the magnitude of the "overreach." Baker obviously believed his own press releases [and leaks], and believed that he had GW in a box. That's the kind of error people who've never had a conviction in their lives could easily make. That the magic word "bipartisan" should suspend all thought and consideration of merit or consequence... as an end in itself; bother that the effort was a naive, feckless foregone conclusion, cynically put forth as blackmail: Baker thought he'd made GW "an offer he could not refuse."

Baker's media campaign was, as always, brilliant: A GQ cover by Annie Liebowitz arranged a week before the 'publication' of the totally leaked report; all the media-maven bases covered with "confidential tetes a tete," massaging the vanity of fools like Frank Rich, a former drama critic with "delusions of adequacy," who feels quite competent to announce with finality, that "the war in Iraq is lost." And the most brilliant idea of all: No fruit salad, no cherry picking! Choke it all down and set aside the entire elected presidency and administration in favor of a bunch of "has beens" with a few "wannabe's" thrown in; certainly no one with any credibility on the Near/Middle East or without an axe to grind or ass to cover after having made serious blunders when they were in "power."

The critical piece of "fruit" to be swallowed whole, is their basic premise: Iraq, [it's neighbors' meddling] and sectarian Muslim strife are not really the problem; It's all Israel's fault, and America's, too, for not permitting Israel to be overrun; hence, the ISG's not satisfied with dismembering Iraq....they need also to dismember and disarm Israel, empower Iran and Syria by acceding to their fondest dreams of total US capitulation [with Bush going hat in hand to beg Syria to stop killing Lebanese officials and AhmadiNejad to "play nice" in Iraq, slow down the re-arming of Hizbullah and the overthrow of the elected Leb. gov't - just long enough for us to get the hell out. Just like Vietnam, "with Honor." No surprises here. It was all predictable - except for the "salad bowl," which was breathtaking, even for an ego of Baker's ilk. ma

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