Reacting to an article in the June 21 edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that was headlined, "Killing of GI's Barbaric," reader David Hooper of Seattle wrote an interesting letter to the editors that ran in response to this assertion:

"Indeed, Iraqi insurgents brag about their barbaric deeds.  Americans in contrast, torture and kill suspects in secret prisons, then lie about it.  We bomb babies and cover it up.  We've invaded a little country to get its oil, all the while pretending to bring freedom and democracy.

"We are all barbaric.  Who is better, the braggart or the liar?"

That blunt viewpoint might send a stirring message if the Republican Administration has the courage and fairness to honestly and objectively to stop think about what David Hooper wrote.

This isn't the first time.

The Bush Administration and supportive Republicans have been lying about alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction since time began. Amazingly, numerous bloggers were able to find and highlight these lies many months before a single U.S. troop hit the ground in Iraq.

But truth seems not to matter in politics -- only perceptions matter. And Rove, Santorum, Hoekstra, and the rest of the Republican jihadists are always quick to exploit that fact.

Their latest lie enlists the ongoing deception and betrayal of the American people birthed by this administration years ago.

As Fox News reports, "Top administration officials said today that chemical and biological weapons have indeed been found in Iraq and they now worry what this could suggest about other hidden weapons there and the possible dangers to US troops." US intelligence officials "believe the weapons were made prior to the Gulf War in 1991 and officials say they have seriously degraded over time. But the declassified report says they are still lethal and Secretary Rumsfeld said that is a concern for all those in Iraq."

The fact is that these relics of pre-'Desert Storm' history were lost to the sands of time and for Republicans to pretend these are somehow related to or justification for Bush's lie-pressed war is total and complete hokum. Even so, they can keep a straight face -- clearly desperate people in desperate times scraping for the justification of unjustifiable acts.

We have all heard the White House's many statements of the separation of Vice President Dick Cheney and his contacts with Halliburton were severed when he became the Vice President.

We have been told that all he receives is deferred compensation from monies previously earned. We were told that his office played NO role in the award of the Halliburton contracts in the immediate aftermath of the invasion in 2003.

That he has not benefited financially because of the war.  The following documents and information obtained thru FOIA suits by Judicial Watch have uncovered documents showing the lies, and the links to the VP's office and the Corps of Engineer's thru the Pentagon.  Links after the jump.

One of the interesting U.S. Senate candidacies of the 2006 primary season along with Ned Lamont's challenge against Senator Joseph Lieberman in Connecticut is that of James Webb in Virginia.  Should Webb win the Democratic primary his opponent would be Senator George Allen, a Cheney-Bush Republican currently seeking to run away from his roots, given Bush's recent dismal polling numbers.

If one Democrat of all those seeking office at this stage of the 2006 political sweepstakes could be selected who would typify everything that strategist Karl Rove fears as a candidate it would figure to be James Webb.  

An even cursory analysis of Webb's personal and political biography reveals why Rove and the Republican attack machine would have significant reason to worry in the face of a Webb candidacy in the fall election.

James Webb is a Naval Academy graduate who fought in the Vietnam War and won medals for courage and valor.  Webb served with the 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam as a rifle platoon and company commander, receiving the Navy Cross, the second highest award in the Navy, along with the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts.  

This was posted today at Kos, dealing with PTSD and how DOD, the VA and Congress is failing in their obligation to care for the active duty service members and veterans they are creating in the new WW3 as dumya calls it  the rest of us call it PNAC's war.

The Iraq War PTSD Epidemic

The Bush White House and the Rubber-Stamp GOP-controlled Congress have launched so many assaults against the American people that I have lost count. But perhaps the most offensive of these assaults are against the military, military families and veterans.  President Bush saw fit to send our soldiers into an unnecessary war, using misleading intelligence. He then refused to properly protect the them in battle, provide the necessary medical care when they were redeployed homeward, and finally denied them and their families the financial security they have earned fighting for our nation.

When Senator John McCain spoke at Liberty University yesterday, he made an urgent appeal for Republicans to unite.

Unite over what?  Should Republicans unite over conducting the Iraq War, which has morphed into a civil war any way you look at it?

Could it be that McCain wanted Republicans to unite over those big tax cuts for the rich while the costs of conducting the Iraq War are skyrocketing?  Perhaps some students of economics at Liberty University can see the foolishness of this, if they consider future generations paying off the debt, which is now reaching around $10 trillion?

Does McCain want the Republicans to unite over bringing in immigrant labor so millions more can eventually wind up on Social Security and Medicaid along with Medicare, which is already overburdened?

Hey!  At last trapped by his own words, words recorded on TV interviews prior to the Iraq War debacle.

Oh!  You can chase around he country trying to polish your tarnished image.  But Rummy, it won't work.

One dissatisfied individual in Atlanta challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld point blank at a public forum, "You said you know where the weapons of mass destruction were located!"  

But the record is clear, no matter how many times Rumsfeld denies making his dramatic declaration.

Surely the far right Republicans who have dominated so much of this Republican-dominated Administration know the Biblical admonition that if you "sew to the wind, you will reap the whirlwind."

In almost every area where they have had voting power they have "sown to the wind".  They rushed to war when the war machine went into high gear with forged documents and lying advisors providing false information about Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction".  A series of generals who totally miscalculated what the cost of going into the Iraq War would cost.

They apparently had no idea how resistant the Iraqis would be to taking over.  Perhaps the U.S. track record of its conduct in the Middle East had taught them a lesson regarding letting Americans control their destinies.

It was the much-heralded Republican Ronald Reagan, a so-called "foreign policy expert", who left office with the scorching scandal of the Iran Contra arms deals, breaking international law.  The notorious Oliver North dared to run for office and we can thank God that Nancy Reagan stepped in with the voice of reason, cautioning Virginia voters against voting for North.  

When U.S. and British forces first invaded Iraq, they were quick to infiltrate the oil fields and seemingly indifferent to the ancient artifacts that defined the rise of man in the cradle of civilization. Many historically invaluable objects were looted and stolen from museums and archaeological sites as city streets provided the path to anarchy.

Now, our presence is being felt once again as the destroyer of human history.

For three long years, U.S. troops have wrecked what little remained of the ancient city of Babylon.

They've built roads over the 5,000-year-old walls, poured a concrete helicopter landing pad over an archaeological site, filled sandbags with "soil rich with precious artifacts" and dug trenches through temples.

At least those sins were done for military reasons. There's no such excuse for the graffiti left by American Marines ("Cruz chillen' in Saddam's spot") or the thousands of precious objects the troops sifted from the sand to take home as souvenirs. Looted cuneiform tablets from Babylonian museums have already shown up on eBay.

TOO BIG TO FAIL.

That concept is as old as Goliath, but a hell of a lot more durable.  The term was popularized about 20 years ago when the Federal Reserve bailed out a Midwestern bank to (the then) unheard of tune of $1 Billion.  Congress was dismayed by this largesse and promptly held hearings.  

Appalled by the apparent socialist stench of this state intervention in private enterprise, the late Congressman McKinney (R-CT) uttered the now famous phrase:

"Mr. Chairman, We have a new kind of bank.  It is called,
"too big to fail," TBTF, and it is a wonderful bank."

You have to admit, the idea of Congress holding hearings to learn why a federal agency bailed out a private business like that is -- to borrow a phrase from Attorney General Gonzales -- quaint.  If a billion dollars of questionable spending was all it took to trigger hearings today, they would be having at least two hearings a week just on Iraq.

Right now the latest installment in an apparently never-ending series of off-budget-down-payment-without-oversight-emergency-appropriation bills is heading for the Senate floor.  The total bill is $106 Billion.  This omnibus bill is for Iraq and Katrina relief.  

In case you missed it, "emergency" was one of the adjectives.    We have been at war in Iraq for 3 years and no one has ever submitted a budget for the effort.    In fact, I don't think anyone has submitted an honest accounting for any of the money spent either.    I could understand the need for one "emergency" appropriation, but three years into a campaign that is slated to last indefinitely?   Some might consider that poor planning.    Others might consider it a great opportunity too good to pass up.    Consider this example from a recent Washington Post article:

Mississippi's two U.S.   senators included $700 million in an emergency war spending bill to relocate a Gulf Coast rail line that has already been rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina at a cost of at least $250 million.

Today, a meeting between President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao was interrupted by a protester who pleaded, "President Bush: Stop him from killing".

In other news, Bush's disingenuous invasion of Iraq has killed 2,378 American soldiers and an estimated 100,000 Iraqis -- women and children included. But no worries, Saddam Hussein is still alive and Bush is currently having tea with yet another dictator who more closely adheres to the economic interests of the United States.

In fact, in an ironic display of the freedom, liberty, and democracy frequently enjoyed by Americans pre-Bush Administration, White House security allowed a Chinese Protester the freedom to deliver her impassioned message to Chinese President Hu Jintao unabated -- a democratic luxury rarely afforded to protestors directing their concerns toward President Bush.

It was a strange sight as the woman 'heckler' at today's Hu-Bush pomp-o-rama continued her 'rant' with White House security conspicuously slow to the scene.

According to the subscription only US News Bulletin, Bush's staunch defense of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is being buttressed by information being released by the Pentagon. In particular, the information is intended to support the point made by Rumsfeld in a recent interview that the 'criticisms of a few retired generals should not dictate policy or personnel decisions'. According to the data released:

There are currently 881 active duty general officers

There are more than 1,400 general officers if one includes the reserve and the National Guard

There are 8,000 if retired ones are included

Also, the Department of Defense released statistics showing that Rumsfeld 'frequently consults the active-duty brass'. By this count:

He met with the chiefs of the military services 29 times year-to-date

He met with the chiefs of the military services 110 times last year

He held meetings with the combat commanders 45 times this year and 163 times last year

They did not mention whether or not the Defense Secretary actually listened to what these officers had to say.

Nevertheless, the intended point is that the percent of generals calling for Rumsfeld to step down out of the entire population of generals, retired or active, reserve or guard, totals only 0.0875%.

That said, you would think it would be a simple task to bring a larger group from the remaining 99.9125% of generals that would act as equally passionate defenders of Rumsfeld.

Such is not the case.

Why?

Whenever you see a service man or woman struggling, adjusting to a prosthetic device to replace their lost arms of legs, that is your legacy.

No matter how many limos or planes transport you to your lovely homes or fine offices, this represents but one outcome of your fateful Iraq war vote.  This is your legacy.  You and your children and grandchildren must live with this forever.

I can almost hear your quick explanation, "I voted for the Iraq War when Bush and his entire Administration insisted the U.S.A. was dangerously threatened by Saddam's weapons of mass destruction."

The reality is this.  You were duped by a series of liars using forged documents.  The Bush propaganda war machine resorted to distortion while running the flag up the pole and using patriotism in the most shameful way, to generate a conflict against an adversary that posed no discernible immediate threat to America's security.  

Two more generals added to the top-level calls for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign. As has been standard practice in the past, the White House met the criticism of their cabinet member by dismissing it and praising the member... just before that member stepped down. Is it Rumsfeld's turn? The Washington Post reports that the White House came to Rumsfeld's aid yesterday, "rebuffing calls from several retired generals for his resignation and crediting him with leading the Pentagon through two wars and a transformation of the military."

Retired Major General Charles Swannack Jr. is the "fifth retired general now is coming forward to call for Rumsfeld's resignation -- the second one who actually served on the ground in Iraq." The general told CNN's The Situation Room that 'Rumsfeld should make way for new leadership'.

Retired Army Major General John Riggs said Rumsfeld "created an 'atmosphere of arrogance' at the Pentagon in which military advice on Afghanistan and Iraq was ignored or discounted."

And, according to the CBS Evening News, "What makes this all particularly stinging is that all these generals served in high-ranking positions under Secretary Rumsfeld and many were intimately involved in the fighting or planning of the war in Iraq."

In the meantime, Republicans are fed up. CNN's The Situation Room reported, "One source...said we need to -- Republicans -- we need to turn the page on Iraq. ... It's hurting Republicans as they look toward the fall and the elections. So one in a top leadership position said, look, we really need to turn the page. We can't do it while Don Rumsfeld is there."