Thursday, September 01, 2005

The tale of two George's; On why the Rove affair may surpass Watergate

In 1776, the army of George Washington was outside Boston and suffering from inaction, and was a various assembly of ragtag volunteers that were scheduled to have their enlistments expire shortly. Washington felt compelled to take some action. Bold action. He called for a meeting of his Council of War, as Congress had required him to do before action.

George Washington met his council and pitched them on an all out amphibious assault on Boston by sending troops across the shallow Back Bay in flat bottomed boats. Winter was coming and the time for action was now! There were no barracks for the troops and no firewood! They had to attack! There was no other choice!(1776, p53)

The council listened. And said unanimously---NO.

George listened and accepted their judgement without retailiation. That response saved the revolutionary army from certain destruction.

Flip forward in time. Another George. Another war. George finds out that there is no basis for the assertion that Saddam Hussein has been trying to buy uranium from Africa. George finds out that there is no basis for the "16 words" in the State of the Union address that seemed to say invading Iraq was necessary to save us from WMD.

The sequence of rigging the intelligence, destroying those who differed with the administration truth, beginning the war, then blaming the gatherers of intelligence, them taking the fall, and proceeding as if nothing happened is stunning for The Observer.

Click the post for an article by Tom Engelhardt that connects all the dots. What do you think of the Rove affair. Outing a CIA operative used to be considered treason. Still is. Why has Rove not been dismissed?