Ex-Treasury Chief O'Neill Rejects Price Of Loyalty - Helen Thomas

[TacticalPeek]

Comments About Bush War Hopefully Motivates Other Whistleblowers

POSTED: 6:48 p.m. EST January 14, 2004
UPDATED: 6:49 p.m. EST January 14, 2004

WASHINGTON -- "I can't imagine I would be attacked for telling the truth."

That statement came from former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill during an interview with
CBS-TV'S "60 Minutes." He has learned differently since then.

...

A Jan. 7 New York Times profile on national security adviser Condoleezza Rice has a fascinating
nugget buried deep in the story.

When Richard Haass, then a top State Department official, came to see her in July 2002 to
discuss the pros and cons of making Iraq a priority.

She told him: "Save your breath -- the president has already decided what he's going to do on
this."

http://www.thelouisvillechannel.com/helenthomas/2765942/detail.htm

[Faygo Kid]

1. Great job, Helen. We thought Reagan was the teflon president.

All of us on DU have always seen through Bush for the freak he is; no matter how much evidence confirming what we have already known comes out, he still gets the support not only of the dittoheads, but of the "legitimate" media as well.

[Printer70]

2. By 2002, I think it was clear

...to most that Saddam was not cooperating with inspectors. We have to make a nuanced argument here. Most Americans supported the war and are glad Saddam is gone. The argument that may resonate with the mainstream is that early preparation for war may bolster the charge that we went in there for reasons other than national security.

[Fovea]

3. Sorry

Call me irresponsible, but I believed at the time that Hans Blix was substantially correct, and doing a very good job. It turns out I was right.

At the time I believed that Bush was pursueing a separate agenda to the operation against al Qae'ida that had exactly zero to do with makeing us safer. Indeed, at the time I typified it as about oil and regional control. It turns out I was at least mostly right.

It took me a while to figure out the whole tank the economy to create a new class of military recruit, the unemployed downwardly mobile young urbanite. We are now being punished for letting Bill Clinton delay the Carlysle/Halliburton/Bechtel plan to bring in the era of oil scarcity for 9 long years. Barb is so proud.

But now we have planted the seeds of instablity in the region, indeed, the chance of nuclear exchange between two or more regional powers by the end of the decade seems almost inescapable. Sadly, so does the chance for one or more of them to nuke us, as well.