Saturday, March 15, 2008

Early to Bed, Early to Rise ...

...is one of those ideas that works well in the planning phase, and even in the 1st half of implementation.

But now that I'm "up early", what the heck am I doing?

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Pentagon Iraqi Perspectives Project Hidden from Public Due to Inconvenient Truths

Who says there was no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda? Our own military.

Where on the internet can you read the detailed report behind that claim? You can't.

The report, called the Saddam and Terrorism, was created by our own Armed Force's Joint Forces Command, in its Iraqi Perspectives Project. They studied all available documents, including a huge treasure trove of paperwork from the Saddam regime (...in cruel dictatorships, underlings tend to CYA.) And they found: no connection.

Normally, such JFC reports are proudly posted on the internet as PDFs so We The People can understand what's really going on (and how our tax dollars and blood are being spent.)

(For example, a study of military operations in Iraq is available here.)

But the inconvenient truths in the Iraqi Perspectives Project: Saddam and Terrorism will not get the usual press release, will not be posted online and will not be distributed by email.

Asked why, the spokesman for Joint Forces Command said: “We’re making the report available to anyone who wishes to have it, and we’ll send it out via CD in the mail.” That's right! In the internet era, posting and emailing PDFs are the standard, the Pentagon has chosen effectively to hide the information by making it available only by mail --- and by not telling anyone how to order a copy.

A Pentagon official is reported to say the study was “too politically sensitive.” Apparently, the officer's oath to protect the Constitution has been replaced by an oath to protect current political leaders.

WHAT TO DO: Order the CD, d'uh!

It's not clear how to order such a CD. What may work is to ask the United States Joint Forces Command at their official contact page:
http://www.jwfc.jfcom.mil/webapps/forms/USJFCOM/feedback.jsp

I did that today, and within the hour had the email response "Thank you for your email. Your copy will be sent today." So I suggest you give it a try too. Be polite! remember, the soldier who gets your request is not the one who is keeping the report off the internet.

Once you get the report, READ it and pass it around.

KUDOS to ABC News for reporting on this: http://blogs.abcnews.com/rapidreport/2008/03/pentagon-report.html


You can learn more about the reason for the report (but not for its censorship) here:
http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2006/sp032406.htm

Update: Here's the Files!

Big News! The CD arrived in my mailbox Monday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). That's pretty good, really. Kudos to the Pentagon for efficient delivery (too bad it wasn't on the web but, give credit where credit is due.)

Now, IMO you should still order the CD so you can have your own copy. But if you're as lazy as I am, you may wish to get them here. The CD contained 5 large PDFs

Iraqi Perspectives Project
Saddam and Terrorism: Emerging Insights from Captured Iraqi Documents

* Volume 1: http://rewinn.com/P-4287Vol1.pdf - Volume 1 (Redacted) (Note: this is the report itself)
* Volume 2: http://rewinn.com/P-4287Vol1.pdf - Primary Source Materials Volume 2 (Redacted)
* Volume 3: http://rewinn.com/P-4287Vol1.pdf - Primary Source Materials Volume 3 (Redacted)
* Volume 4: http://rewinn.com/P-4287Vol1.pdf - Primary Source Materials Volume 4 (Redacted)
* Volume 5: http://rewinn.com/P-4287Vol1.pdf - Primary Source Materials Volume 5 (Redacted)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Say It Ain't So, Eliot

Denial is a natural first reaction when a man who fought crime is himself accused of crime. The Bush Administration's history of politically-motivated prosecutions, and especially of refusal to prosecute, make it entirely plausible that "they got Spitzer".

But.

Spitzer says he did it. There's no indication that he didn't. It's best to skip the Seven Stages and go straight to Acceptance. (Although a short stop at Anger is appropriate: how could he be so stupid as to think he wouldn't get caught? Part of the answer is obvious: Alpha Males Think With The Wrong Head.)

Whether Spitzer resigns, or whether (like Scooter Libby and David Vitter, he waits until there's an actual jury verdict against him) is up to him and the voters of New York State.

But one thing is for sure: Spitzer isn't going to get our troops home from Iraq, or our jobs back from China, or our nation's honor back from a White House that loves torture.

Although, for the moment, he has taken the Hypocrisy Prize from the GOP.

Don't grieve; they'll have it back soon.