Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Weapons of Mass Deception and a Fitting Reward for the Commander in Chief
Casualties of War
In the first 11 days of April, 36 American soldiers have died in Iraq. The total: 2364. Taking the numbers into consideration the report that on May 29,2003, the president crowed "We have found the weapons of mass destruction" leaves no doubts as to what length the president was determined to go to justify the war. There was no evidence to support announcement of the finding of WMD and he knew it. Joby Warrick's report in the Post details the facts.
- The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.
- A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.
The 15th Annual Jefferson Muzzle Award
And the winner is G.W. Bush. There can be no argument about it. The President received the recognition that was due to him for his tireless efforts to curb our rights to protect us from evil doers.
RICHMOND, Va. -Apr.11
- President Bush and the Justice Department are among the winners of the 2006 Jefferson Muzzle awards, given by a free-speech group to those it considers the most egregious First Amendment violators in the past year.
- Bush led the list, compiled by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, for authorizing the National Security Agency to tap the phones of U.S. citizens who make calls overseas. The wiretaps were conducted without authorization from a federal court. The White House defended the warrantless wiretapping program as necessary to fight terrorism.
- The Justice Department earned a Muzzle for demanding that Google turn over thousands of Internet records, prompting concerns that more invasive requests could follow if the government prevails.
- "If individuals are fearful that their communications will be intercepted by the government, such fears are likely to chill their speech," the Jefferson center said.
