Marshall on the Nose Again

Once again, Josh Marshall has hit the nail on the head in his latest posting regarding the WMD scandal. David Kay seems to think the CIA owes Bush an apology; but what really does Kay know?

What we have here is a serious intelligence failure, but one that in itself would almost certainly not have led to war, at least not on the grounds of there being an imminent threat to the United States. Recognizing that it was an insufficient casus belli the White House then hyped it up with all manner of unsubstantiated mumbo-jumbo.

And for this the Intelligence Community owes the president an apology?

Just as the president did last summer when he forced an apology from George Tenet over the Niger-uranium claims and then tried to put the matter to rest without firing Tenet or asking for any kind of investigation, he now wants to pocket the blame being heaped on the Agency (because it absolves him politically) without having any sort of investigation to get to the heart of what happened.

Why? Simple. Because any truly independent investigation of how this all unfolded would expose the administration’s systematic exaggeration of what we knew about the threat Iraq posed and, almost certainly, its willful deception of the American people.

I hope Bush isn’t able to block an independent investigation. I’m certain that he’ll try; but let’s hope he fails. It is imperative that we understand why we went to war against Iraq, especially as we will be an occupying power there for many years to come.

Good Question

Josh Marshall asks the following really excellent question on his weblog, Talking Points Memo:

Should an advisor to the Pentagon be pocketing a fee for helping to raise money for a terrorist organization?

The issue seems to be that everyone’s favourite hawk, Richard Perle, was paid to give a speech to a group that the state department considers to be a terrorist organisation. Perle is the same guy who’s been beating the drums about going to war with Iran and the rest of the Axis of Evil.

You should really read both the first entry discussing the Perle matter and the follow up entry.

Marshall provides really excellent commentary on the media’s coverage of politics. He’s a little left of center; but definitely not – as my father likes to say — a “liberal mouthpiece”.

Goodnight, Sweet Temp

As many of you are probably already too aware, for the past four months I have been working as a temp for a local financial services company. In fact, yesterday I celebrated the fact that I had been working for exactly four months continuously- almost a new personal record (since I returned from California).

Alas, it would appear that today is my last.

I have been quite fortunate- most temps don’t last more than a month. I have met a number of really sweet people who I would consider my friends. I have also had the opportunity to exercise and strengthen some of my flabby office skills, and gained the confidence to try new roles I had not even though of previously.

But damn, I am not happy about my impending departure!

As my good buddy, Hamlet, once said:

Who would [9-5] bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life,
but that the dread of something after [employment],
the undiscovered country from whose bourn no [worker] returns,
puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear [that job] we have,
then fly to others we know not of?

Perhaps I’m being overly dramatic about this.

No, not me.