by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright November 21, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

iring another salvo at White House critics, Vice President Dick Cheney should be answering why he gave covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's name to his now indicted former Chief of Staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. While President George W. Bush was visiting Asia, decorated 73-year-old war veteran Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) called for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, convinced the U.S. is regarded as “the enemy” and can't win. Those same warnings were echoed by Centcom commander, four-star Gen. John P. Abizaid, who advocated drawing down U.S. forces. Yet when Murtha expressed his opinion, the White House compared him to left wing fanatic filmmaker Michael Moore. Cheney's speech to the conservative Washington American Enterprise Institute attempted to (a) soften the attack on Murtha and (b) rehash the rationale and slogans for the Iraq War.

      Cheney responded to swelling public opinion overwhelmingly seeing the war as a big mistake. Recent reports about prewar intelligence indicate that either the White House exaggerated claims about weapons of mass destruction or grossly overstated the qualified findings of German intelligence about Saddam's bio-weapons' program. Mounting casualties and daily carnage don't jibe with White House claims that there's been great progress toward (a) arresting a bloody insurgency and (b) building a viable democracy. In reality, bombings and casualties have escalated, despite claims that the Iraqi military has assumed responsibility necessary to its own security. “Any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped, fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false,” said Cheney refuting critics that the White House juiced up intelligence to sell the war.

      Cheney still hasn't admitted that German intelligence told the CIA and Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency repeatedly that they couldn't verify reports about Saddam's mobile germ laboratories from “Curveball,” the mentally unstable fabricator supplying much of the prewar hype. Even former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who pitched the White House case for war to the U.N. Feb. 6, 2003, admitted his presentation was based on flimsy intelligence. Cheney continues to deny he manipulated prewar intelligence, concerned about possible impeachment. Even the war's biggest supporters can't deny that the U.S. relied too heavily on psychopathic Iraqi exiles, like Ahmed Chalibi, who had a vested interest in toppling Saddam. Cheney talks about how an abrupt withdrawal would hand “victory for the terrorists,” dishonor the troops and jeopardize U.S. national security.

      When Murtha called for an abrupt withdrawal from Iraq, he could see only more risk and death to U.S. forces. Complaints have registered about the slow pace of transitioning responsibility to the new Iraqi army. There's even been credible reports that Iraq's new military and police are infiltrated by insurgents seeking to end U.S. occupation. “Would the United States and other free nations be better off or worse off with Zarqawi, Bin Laden and Zawahri in control of Iraq?” asked Cheney, suggesting that any abrupt pullout would hand Iraq to Islamic radicals. Four years after Sept. 11, Bin Laden, Zawahri and Zarqawi are still on the loose. Booby traps, Improvised Explosive Devices and sniping have turned the Iraq's battlefield into a slaughterhouse for U.S. troops. Savvy military experts like Murtha see no end to the carnage claiming nearly 2,100 American lives.

      Speaking to the AEI, Cheney continued the hyperbole, telling the audience that terrorists wish to recreate a new Ottoman Empire, radicalizing Islamic states from Spain to Asia. Yet Cheney offers only conjecture and wild speculation while U.S. troops continue to fight an untenable war. Bush, and other GOP officials, including Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), talks of a “victory strategy,” offering no specifics, relying heavily on unrealistic expectations about Iraq's new military. While there's a minority of Iraqis that want the U.S. to succeed, the vast majority has sympathies with insurgents fighting occupation. All Americans—including Democrats—want the U.S.to win but the White House keeps changing the mission to fit its political agenda—not protect the troops. Whether Iraq splits apart or descends into civil war can't be contained or stopped by U.S. forces.

      Calling critics of prewar intelligence “corrupt and shameless,” Cheney takes the offense in an all-out battle to save his credibility. No one at the AEI asked Cheney why he gave Libby Valerie Plame's name. Or whether he, the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, Iraq Survey Group, or, for that matter, the CIA, questioned the highly dubious source of German Intelligence named “Curveball.” When White House hype about Saddam's nuclear program fizzled, Cheney jumped on spurious reports about mobile germ labs. Even after these reports were discredited, Cheney still insisted the U.S. would find Saddam's hidden stash of illicit weapons. Cheney calls it “dishonest and reprehensible” to question prewar intelligence. If he read the newspapers and opened his eyes, he wouldn't be blinded by his delusion that the public hasn't figured out what went wrong.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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