US08: strange landscape for foreign visitors

Americans may view their presidential choices differently; but to a foreign visitor to US websites like myself, it really appears as if the choice between candidates is one of an old, white man who will bomb into the ground any sovereign nation he feels might stand in the way of American interests and a younger, black man who will publicly fall on his knees to pray before bombing into the ground any sovereign nation he feels might stand in the way of American interests.

The gloves are now coming off in this presidential race and it's not found at the campaign rallies, during media interviews or in general 'speechifying'.
No, the gloves are coming off on Capitol Hill as members of the House and Senate prepare to do battle for either the Republican or Democratic candidate.

It's the Democrats (currently dominating the Hill) who predictably have landed the first punches because of the close identification with George W. Bush displayed by Republican candidate, John McCain.

The Washington Post journalist and self-declared Democrat, Walter Pincus, wrote this piece last Sunday reporting that a Senate intelligence committee had supported the claims that Bush's inner Iraq Group had lied about the reasons the Coalition of the Willing went to war.
US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence link to report here.

By Monday, former Democratic presidential nominee Dennis Kucinich (supposedly against the wishes of his party) laid before the House 35 articles alleging high crimes and misdemeanors by George W. Bush and seeking impeachment.

McCain now has to continue answering for an unpopular president and an unpopular war.
At least in this first week of the battle proper ,and in spite of Obama's 17-day "economic tour", it's not yet about the economy stupid.

Finally, the truth begins to emerge on why Howard's friend Bush went to war in Iraq

No matter how often in his old age John W. Howard huff and puffs on the matter of his record as an Australian Prime Minister, the public record is beginning to form in relation to his lickspittle relationship with George W. Bush.

Press Release of Intelligence Committee

Senate Intelligence Committee Unveils Final Phase II Reports on Prewar Iraq Intelligence

-- Two Bipartisan Reports Detail Administration Misstatements on Prewar Iraq Intelligence, and Inappropriate Intelligence Activities by Pentagon Policy Office --

Contact: Wendy Morigi (202) 224-6101
Thursday, June 5, 2008

Washington, DC -- The Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, and a bipartisan majority of the Committee (10-5), today unveiled the final two sections of its Phase II report on prewar intelligence. The first report details Administration prewar statements that, on numerous occasions, misrepresented the intelligence and the threat from Iraq. The second report details inappropriate, sensitive intelligence activities conducted by the DoD's Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, without the knowledge of the Intelligence Community or the State Department.

"Before taking the country to war, this Administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100 percent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our Committee has concluded that the Administration made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence," Rockefeller said. "In making the case for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed."

"It is my belief that the Bush Administration was fixated on Iraq, and used the 9/11 attacks by al Qa'ida as justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. To accomplish this, top Administration officials made repeated statements that falsely linked Iraq and al Qa'ida as a single threat and insinuated that Iraq played a role in 9/11. Sadly, the Bush Administration led the nation into war under false pretenses.

"There is no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate.

"These reports represent the final chapter in our oversight of prewar intelligence. They complete the story of mistakes and failures – both by the Intelligence Community and the Administration – in the lead up to the war. Fundamentally, these reports are about transparency and holding our government accountable, and making sure these mistakes never happen again," Rockefeller added.

The Committee's report cites several conclusions in which the Administration's public statements were NOT supported by the intelligence. They include:

Ø Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa'ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa'ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.

Ø Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.

Ø Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.

Ø Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community's uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.

Ø The Secretary of Defense's statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.

Ø The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.

Additionally, the Committee issued a report on the Intelligence Activities Relating to Iraq conducted by the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group and the Office of Special Plans within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The report found that the clandestine meetings between Pentagon officials and Iranians in Rome and Paris were inappropriate and mishandled from beginning to end. Deputy National Security Advisor Steve Hadley and Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz failed to keep the Intelligence Community and the State Department appropriately informed about the meetings. The involvement of Manucher Ghobanifer and Michael Ledeen in the meetings was inappropriate. Potentially important information collected during the meetings was withheld from intelligence agencies by Pentagon officials. Finally, senior Defense Department officials cut short internal investigations of the meetings and failed to implement the recommendations of their own counterintelligence experts.

Today's reports are the culmination of efforts that began in March 2003, when, as Vice Chairman, Senator Rockefeller initially requested an investigation into the origin of the fraudulent Niger documents. In June 2003, he was joined by all Democrats on the Committee in pushing for a full investigation into prewar intelligence, which was eventually expanded by the Committee in February 2004 to include the five phase II tasks.

The Committee released its first report on July 9, 2004, which focused primarily on the Intelligence Community's prewar assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs and links to terrorism. Those findings helped lay the foundation for some of the intelligence reforms enacted into law in late 2004.

In September 2006, the Committee completed and publicly released two sections of Phase II: The Use by the Intelligence Community of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress; and Postwar Findings About Iraq's WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How They Compare with Prewar Assessments.

In May 2007, the Committee released the third section of Phase II: Prewar Intelligence Assessments About Postwar Iraq.

Separately, in early 2007, the Pentagon Inspector General released its own report on the intelligence activities conducted by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and also concluded that those activities were inappropriate.

###

National Whale Day 14-15 June 2008

Australia celebrates National Whale Day on the 14th of June 2008.
Show your support this weekend for these magnificent creatures which inhabit Australian territorial waters.
Link to National Whale Day website here.

Some NSW land-based vantage points for sighting whales:

• Cape Byron state recreation Area near Byron Bay
  
• Broken Head Nature Reserve near Byron Bay
  
• Solitary Islands Marine Park north of Coffs Harbour
  
• Hat Head National Park near Kempsey
  
• Crowdy Head National Park near Taree
  
• Tomaree National Park near Nelson Bay
  
• Barrenjoey Headland in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park near Sydney
  
• North Head in Sydney Harbour National Park
  
• Cape Solander in Botany Bay National Park at Kurnell
  
• Jervis Bay National Park near Nowra
  
• Ben Boyd National Park near Eden

Clarence Valley will be celebrating National Whale Day on Sunday 15th June.

* At Pilot Hill, Yamba, where the mouth of the Clarence River meets the Pacific Ocean.
Starts at 11a.m. and includes whale watching and interpretive session with National Parks & Wildlife, community whale wall and family barbecue. Everyone is welcome.
Come and show support for the Valley's adopted humpback whale, Yuraygir.

Further information phone: (02) 6643.0200 Susan Lynch - Clarence Valley Council

Heard 'round the traps

An elderly man leaving a Grafton shopping centre to his mate:
"I've seen the future. I can't afford it."

A reminder to Pandora Archives on the folly of Internet censorship

Went to Pandora Archives yesterday to look up some information on a contentious blog and found this:

This resource has been restricted in Pandora
Access to this item is restricted for 70 Year(s) from the date of archiving. During this period it is only accessible to National Library staff for preservation purposes.

Which begs the question - haven't the archives heard of the Internet Wayback Machine which happily allows everyone who read Club Troppo's Missing Links yesterday to find out what Caz and The Hack had been up to (over 50 snapshots of homepages) even if they had never followed that contentious blog.

All the Australian Government's Pandora Archives has done with its 70 year restriction is hold government up to ridicule.

Well done, NSW North Coast

The 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours list contained the names of a few Northern Rivers folk who well deserved their recognition.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to Jim Agnew of Yamba, who has been taking on government and bureaucracy for years in an endeavour to obtain decent health care for his town.

An Order of Australia (OA) to Elizabeth Davies of Minnie Waters and Braunstone, for her long service to nurse and midwifery education.

An Order of Australia (OA) to Laurie Marchant of Grafton, for services to the community spanning decades.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to John Beasley of Lennox Head, for services to the lifesaving movement.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to John Mace of Northern Rivers, for his work with bush fire brigades.

An Order of Australia Medal (OAM) to James Crethar of Goonellabah, for his work with youth in the Lismore area and beyond.

And to any other NSW North Coast quiet achievers I may have missed here - well done!