Former Secretary Of State Colin Powell Issues New Book… Time To Recall The Iraq Lie

“It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership” by Colin Powell Begs Us To Evaluate Truth Of Iraq War

 

The Consequences

•  $3 trillion cost to the U.S. Treasury & Taxpayers, plus massive debt burden on future generations
• 4,487 U.S. service members dead
• 100,000 Innocent Iraqis killed
• 32,226 U.S. service members wounded
• 500,000 US citizens/service members toll from cumulative psychological and physiological damage

 

The Lie

• Bush insisted in his own 2010 memoir, “Decision Points,” that the invasion was something he came to support only reluctantly and after a long period of reflection. During his book tour, he even cast himself as “a dissenting voice” in the run-up to war. “I didn’t wanna use force,” he said.

 

The Truth

• In his new book, “It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell provides the most authoritative confirmation yet AND supports the well-documented conclusion that there was actually no decision-making point — or decision-making process — about going to war with Iraq during the events between the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, a sovereign nation which had nothing to do with those attacks.
• In his own 2007 memoir, former CIA Director George Tenet admitted, “There was never a serious debate that I know of within the administration about the imminence of the Iraqi threat.” Nor “was there ever a significant discussion” about the possibility of containing Iraq without an invasion.
• Downing Street Memos, first published in 2005, document the conclusions of British officials after high-level talks in Washington in July 2002 that, “Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.”
• Indeed, history shows through documents and verified facts that W. Bush had long wanted to strike out at Saddam Hussein and was trying to link Iraq to 9/11 within a day of the terrorist attacks.

 

The Traitors of Truth & Democracy

• George W. Bush
• Dick Cheney
• Condoleezza Rice
• Donald Rumsfeld
• Paul Wolfowitz
• Scooter Libby

 

The Truth Revealers

• Colin Powell
• George Tenet
• Valerie Plame
• Joe Wilson
• Col. Larry Wilkerson

The President Supports Equal Freedoms & Rights — What If This Were About Jews? What If This Were About Gays?

I you lived in a Christian nation that by decree and law forbid recognition and constitutional rights to Jews,

…and one member of your family was an ostracized Jew,

…and one historical day your President/Chancellor/Prime Minister publicly pronounced that it was time to provide full rights of citizenship to Jews,

…Would you say something, anything, or nothing to your Jewish family member whom you loved? Would you tweet, text, call, or even Facebook them?

What if they were Gay, and this was about Equality of Rights for Gays?

I know the answer.

Obama Steps Out & Supports Fairness, Equality, Rights…Humanity!

We Must Support Him!

François Hollande Wins French Presidency: Merkel’s Economic Taliban Austerity Rejected

Sunday’s elections in Europe occurred in three countries with diverse economic circumstances (France, Germany, and Greece); and they were for different levels of government (presidential, regional, and parliamentary respectively). Add to this rout last week’s Dutch rebellion against austerity and the resultant collapse of the Dutch government. The clear common message from the electorate is undeniable, reminiscent of a famous line in the 1976 movie Network: “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

Europe’s electorate is angry and has lost confidence in the ability of in-place politicians to solve their crisis. Hollande’s victory means the end of “Merkozy,” the Franco-German confederacy establishing the past two years austerity regime. Stocks moved down initially on the result as conservative investors and business acolytes perceive the french socialist as dangerous to their interests. Perhaps they would have a point if the austerity strategy were working…or, maybe had a reasonable chance of working. Austerity isn’t and doesn’t… time for a changed course.

What’s wrong with the current German Austerity Regime? See previous posts, “Transform France Into A German Economic Model? Me Thinks, Not So Fast…” and “Europe’s Debt Trap: Austerity Is The Wrong Path.”

As American economist Paul Krugman wrote, “Europe’s voters, it turns out, are wiser than the Continent’s best and brightest.” Citizens yearn for alternatives but, as yet, are not coalescing around a common view of what these should be, just as in the United States. As a result, political realities will complicate even more what is an already tenuous economic and financial outlook for Europe, the world’s largest economic area.

Compromise and a new course should rule the day with coordinated stimulus added to mitigate austerity, and this must include,

• greater harmonization of labor markets and corporate taxation,
• imposition of financial transaction fees, and
• proper rebuilding of the eurozone structure/european central bank with,

1. common eurobond issuance funding all national governments in conjunction with the new common fiscal harmonization pact,
2. ECB purchase of government bonds like a U.S.-styled Quarterly Easing program as instituted by our own Fed — and…
3. in particular, to assign a new mission for the European Central Bank away from obsession with inflation and toward focus on growth.

Europe must pull together in their anger and act as one interest, instituting intergovernmental transfer payments from wealthier EU regions (states) to those in need, just as occurs already in individual EU states internally with money transfers ongoing from Western Germany to the former East Germany, Northern Italy to the poorer Southern Italy, London and South England to Northern England/Scotland… just as transfer payments and block grants within the U.S. ameliorate regional economic disharmonies without turmoil (aside from the occasional right-wing rant).

What Europe needs in order for these significant changes to take root is the sudden appearance of decisive leadership at the EU-wide national level to overcome long-standing impediments to growth, jobs and financial stability. What they will receive more immediately is greater fragmentation amongst regions as cross-border coordination and collaboration grow more complicated with new political interests empowered.

I have faith in my beloved Europe that they will kick the s+#t out of each other and then regroup and dynamically move forward on the required reforms mentioned here…for without them, all European political and business leaders know that Europe will devolve into small nation-states at the mercy of jungle-violent globalization…where the a#^-kicking will be unrelenting.

These institutional changes and greater solidarity will only materialize properly in the context of a clearly articulated vision of what a unified Europe should look like in three years’ time. And that will take inspired and inspiring leadership of dynamic Heads-Of-State.

Holland of France is on stage. A Deutsch progressive Chancellor willing to speak for more than just wealthy Germany must replace Merkel in 2013. Then, competent, newly installed pro-business technocrats in Italy and Spain will join in unison, followed by the Benelux and Scandinavian countries. New Europe (the former communist bloc) will have little choice but to take up the mantra and get in line.

Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent — A Liberal’s Calm Before The Storm

Made glorious summer by this sun of Windy City;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried…

…for how long?

For some of us the inauguration of Barack Obama ushered in the potential for an era of liberal progress, of recovery from the dark clouds of George W. Bush… illegal wars, reactionary social policy, and economic destruction.

The republican party nomination process stimulated my presaging fear of tumult as I witnessed enthusiastic applause for the proposed destruction / elimination of women’s’ rights, civil and marriage rights, health care access, criminalized physical expressions of hate, and responsible stewardship of earth’s resources.

While I know that I am not alone in my liberal desires for a more progressive and better nation, it sure feels a lot lonelier.

As I contemplated my sense of alienation and just how far I am away from the American political norm, a battery of political spectrum tests proved that, indeed, I am a Liberal Elite in a right wing, conservative nation…and it is not a good feeling.

For the Liberal Elite contemplating the national mood, it may soon be another kind of Winter…the end (winter) of our contentment…

Bush Vs. Obama: Employment & Public/Private Sector Payroll Jobs

Two graphs compare public and private sector job losses (or adds) for President George W. Bush’s first term (following the “dot-com” stock market bust), and for President Obama’s current term (following the housing bust and financial crisis).

Note: Many differences exist between the two periods. Though both followed the bursting of a bubble (stock and housing), the housing bust also led to a severe financial crisis. As Reinhart and Rogoff document, recoveries from financial crisis are usually extremely sluggish: “The Aftermath of Financial Crises“.

Click on graphs for larger images.

The first graph (above) shows the change in private sector payroll jobs from the beginning of Mr. Bush’s first term compared to Mr. Obama’s current term.

Obama – more recovery over shorter period.

The employment recovery during Mr. Bush’s first term was very sluggish. Notably, private sector employment was down 913,000 jobs at the end of W’s first term.

Recovery during Obama’s presidency has been sluggish, too. We are still down 247,000 private sector jobs from when Mr. Obama’s term started; though, significantly, this situation will likely turn positive in just a couple of months.

Obama will end his first term in office with more private sector jobs existing than when he took the oath. We then have to make up for the jobs lost at the end of W’s term.

A big difference between Mr. Bush’s first term and Mr. Obama’s term has been public sector employment (see second graph, above).

The public sector grew during Mr. Bush’s term (adding 900,000 government jobs), but the public sector has declined dramatically since Obama took office (less 590,000 government workers).

Let me make that clear: the free-marketeer anti-government conservative grew government payrolls dramatically during his first term… while the socialist/”communistic” pro-government liberal saw government payrolls shrink. Hummm…

It appears the public sector job losses are slowing, and it looks likely that the decline in public payrolls will probably end mid-year 2012.

So, if Republicans don’t screw it up, this year should see significant job growth overall, with most of it in private sector jobs and no more losses of public sector jobs.

Gas @ $3.79! It’s All Obama’s Fault!…Or Is It?

Two weeks ago I had the unfortunate displeasure of suffering cocktails with a confused businessman. He owns and manages a firm that processes payroll for a large city school district, so one might reasonably assume a certain level of intelligence and sophisticated thinking. Well, I did. Puh! Should’ve thought otherwise.

About a half hour into what had been otherwise a congenial conversation, and from nowhere, this fella spits out, “So…Obama…A fucking Communist, right!” I think my response nearly set his hair on fire.

The next thing out of his mouth is this party-line diatribe folks are attempting to foist onto the public: “My God! Obama has caused gas to skyrocket! His policies have practically shut down oil production in the US!”

Hummm? Gee I thought it was because the oil industry has chosen, under the reign of free market ideology, not to expand or build additional refining and gasoline processing facilities? ‘Cause, when I look at the numbers…they show more oil wells and more gas wells and more of practically everything geared to get product out of the ground…but no industry effort to expand processing to useable fuels for your SUVs. Gees, do you think that bottlenecks things? Maybe.

And, do ya think that maybe an industrializing China and India have increased total demand? Maybe. And do ya think that given the tensions between us and Iran (and the constant party-line drumbeat to Bomb Baby Bomb!) and the threat to the Strait of Hormuz through which most of the oil passes… that maybe the oil speculators have speculated oil futures high? Maybe.

Gees…this stuff isn’t difficult…just doesn’t fit with a mindset that thwarts all reasonable efforts to develop alternative fuels, increase our auto efficiencies, and implement effective and efficient mass transit across the nation.

No, I’m afraid it is shortsighted policies from conservatives and threats to oil transport and the pressures of speculation within a free market and industry refusal to expand gasoline refining capacity and a newly resurgent American economy that are driving gas prices higher.

Where were gasoline prices before the markets and the Bush economy crashed? Oh, yeah, about where they are now (Sept ’08 just before the crash: $3.86… March ’12 as economy grows again: $3.79). Things that make you (thoughtful people) go hummm….

Socialism Viewed Positively by 36% of Americans

Socialism Viewed Positively by 36% of Americans.

Now… How about if Americans learn the third way: Democratic Social-Capitalism? Preserves the best of both Socialism & Capitalism, by making both responsive democratically to society. Otherwise know as Capitalism with the rough edges burred off.