Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed neocons can destroy the world

[laststeamtrain]

By Coleen Rowley

<snip>

No matter what you may think of their ideology or ethics, one cannot help being shocked and awed at the ability of this relatively small group to control the papers and politics of our country against all odds and against all reality. So they are hardly ready to Rest In Peace despite such predictions after the 2006 elections --see Salon article "Neoconservatism-RIP" for good analysis but lousy prediction. They have, in fact, proven so pre-eminently powerful that their next apparent task of rolling out this new campaign for pre-emptive massive bombing of Iran, seems nothing but a formality, a cakewalk if you will. Yes, while the rest of us mere mortals were caught up in the real reality of these first two terrible war quagmires, the neocons were already bent on making a third new war our reality.

They've given the ticket this time to first string and first-rate warmonger Michael Ledeen, with his "Iranian Time Bomb" book set to hit the airwaves and newsstands conveniently enough on the eve of 9/11. Folks may recall Ledeen as being the neocon with all that curiously coincidental but never quite proven connection to the forgery of documents about Saddam's seeking yellowcake uranium in Niger, the forged documents that Bush used to lie us into pre-emptively invading Iraq; that led to Plamegate and one other neocon (Scooter Libby's) conviction and pardon. The FBI of course couldn't solve the underlying mystery of the crude forgery. And how much do you want to bet that author Ledeen's talking head will not face one question on any news shows about his probable role in the yellowcake misadventure as he argues for new and improved war?

Sadly, you don't find hardly anyone asking the hard questions or exposing the neocons' "noble lies" except on blogs like DWT! (and Kick! which was DWT!'s original source for first and second tier neocons)--those not afraid of being politically incorrect (and, it goes without saying, from bloggers unafraid of being smeared as anti-Semite which is this "cabal's" preferred method of suppressing those who would expose them). The original blog piece, by the way, continued with the insight that "Neocons differ from old school conservatives in that they are so consumed with bombing the crap out of people all over the world that they have little inclination to bother with the social issues of guns, abortion, homos, religion and race. I suppose they could be considered the Vikings version of Rockefeller Republicans."

So do we all stand here, like helpless bystanders awaiting more world destruction from these Viking pillagers and plunderers? Or do we remember some wisdom learned the hard way, from the sign on the Holocaust Museum: "Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander." And, similarly phrased by Albert Einstein: "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." These quotes certainly don't mean that any one bystander is worse than any particular perpetrator. All they mean is that the perpetrators are few in number while the bystanders are many and could easily stop the perpetrators if they only tried.

On page 362 of the Epilogue of his insightful book Chain of Command, Seymour Hersh asked the question back in 2004 that I predict will become the major question all historians will have to answer: "How did they do it? How did eight or nine neoconservatives who believed that a war in Iraq was the answer to international terrorism get their way? How did they redirect the government and rearrange long-standing American priorities and policies with so much ease? How did they overcome the bureaucracy, intimidate the press, mislead the Congress, and dominate the military? Is our democracy that fragile?"

Historians may soon have to extend this question to include neocon-produced war on Iran. Their answer will probably not be that democracy was that fragile. Only that we had too many bystanders. Who preferred to shut their windows and close their ears so they wouldn't hear as our poor democracy was being strangled in the alley. Just like Kitty Genovese.

<more>

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/coleen-rowley/never-doubt-that-a-small-_b_63408.html?view=screen

[leveymg]

1. If it were simply nine Neocons, we could simply round 'em up, and be done with the problem

But, they're just the front men for a much larger, more powerful -- but practically invisible -- group of defense contractors and hedge funds who have made trillions by looting the US Treasury during the past eight years.

An interesting post here, everyone should take a look at it, on exactly which companies have made a killing off the Iraq War:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/WhosProfitingFromTheIraqWar.aspx?page=2

10 companies making the most in Iraq* (millions of dollars) Rank Company Amount

2003
2004
2005
2006
Total

1.
KBR Inc. (KBR, news, msgs) and Halliburton (HAL, news, msgs)
$2,550
$5,809
$4,505
$4,362
$17,226

2.
Veritas Capital Fund
0.7
208
850
386
1,444

3.
Washington Group International (WNG, news, msgs)
111
205
533
82
931

4.
Environmental Chemical
0
192
360
326
878

5.
International American Products
58
283
310
108
759

6.
Fluor (FLR, news, msgs)
116
413
123
105
757

7.
Perini (PCR, news, msgs)
72
312
185
81
650

8.
Parsons
0
248
120
172
540

9.
First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting
0
7
469
24
500

10.
L-3 Communications (LLL, news, msgs)
1
9
148
201
359

[tom_paine]

3. The Madmen who rule Amerika could get nowhere without weak-minded

Right-Wing Authoritarian Followers, propagandized into cultish obedience and gullibility.

Click on the link to my sigline and understand that the Bushies ARE in fact, replicating the relationships that brought the Nazis to power.

With the same attendant dangers, to say the least.

[snot]

2. Everyone, pls K & R this! nt

[Usrename]

4. They only get away with it when there is no opposition to them.

Both political parties support their agenda.

No one is afraid of getting Dixie-Chicked anymore, just for standing up to these thugs. They'd be heros if they did that.

They just sort of all agree with the whole neocon ideology. Nothing else makes any sense at all.

We won't impeach because it is more important to fight to stop the escalation of the war.

Oh yeah, and by the way, we want to escalate the war in the mean time.

[tomreedtoon]

8. They are driven by an agenda. Which Democrats are?

Most of what I've seen from the Democratic candidates is a defense game. Only a few have presented any ideas similar to those of the New Deal. Where is a sense of purpose, a driving vision?

[Usrename]

9. The party leadership just wants to increase their power.

It's no different than what motivates the republican leadership.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/26527

A nice, lengthy expose on Rahm Emanuel and the DCCC. Read it and weep.

[chill_wind]

5. The Office of Special Plans never really disbanded. Now called the Iran Directorate. Be afraid.

Names and organizations. Very familiar and well-entrenched ones.
Mother Jones was writing in effort to warn of and expose their existence and fresh activities a full year ago. Corporate Media and our own Democratic Congress have been steadfastly determined to remain deaf and dumb to the fact of their Replication.

Another whole year has passed since that article. Despite Iraq and all t half-hearted, white-washed investigations, we as a country have just kept on giving them the gift of time to further craft and hone their lies and to sharpen their propaganda.

"Meet the 'Whack Iran' Lobby."
http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2006/09/iran.html

DU discussion regarding the article, again from a whole year ago, plenty relevant today.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2871945

[chill_wind]

6. The news of their demise was greatly exaggerated. Kicking. n/t

[DemReadingDU]

7. afternoon kick