Consequential Lies
by Ray McGovern
The veteran CIA analyst describes the lethal consequences of Bush and Cheney's insistence on repeating the lie that Iraq had a relationship with Al Qaeda.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/consequential_lies.php <snip>
The continual spinning—not only about cosmic issues like Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda and WMD but also more limited episodes like the “Jessica Lynch Story”—constitutes what might be called consequential lies, not only for what they do to U.S. credibility, but also for the effect that have day to day on the ground in Iraq.
Consider the explanation offered, with no hint of shame, by U.S. Army Corporal Michael Richardson in Iraq to the London Evening Standard in June 2003:
“There was no dilemma when it came to shooting people…I just pulled the trigger…If they were there, they were enemy, whether in uniform or not…There’s a picture of the World Trade Center hanging up by my bed and I keep one in my flak jacket. Every time I feel sorry for these people I look at that. I think, they hit us at home and now it’s our turn. I don’t want to say it’s payback but, you know, it’s pretty much payback.”
The lies about WMD have been no less consequential. Consider Iraqi Gen. Amir Saadi, a British-educated chemist and erstwhile liaison between the Iraqi government and UN weapons inspectors. He was the first of the 55 “most wanted” senior officials to surrender. He did so on April 12, 2003, and took pains to ensure that German TV filmed his surrender lest he disappear down the memory hole. Yet he has been in solitary confinement ever since.
According to Pentagon and intelligence officials, Charles Duelfer, who took over from David Kay as head of the group still searching for WMD believes that Saadi “has not fully answered questions.” Rather, it seems to be a case of coming up with the “wrong” answer.
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