NPR’s Morning Edition reported yesterday that Douglas Feith, the Bush Administration’s former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, has a new job since leaving the Pentagon. Apparently he’s busy rewriting history as a professor at Georgetown University.
In apparent and extreme denial, one of the main Neocon architects for Bush’s failed war had the following extraordinary exchange with host Steve Inskeep (who, unfortunately, didn’t correct the record, so we guess we’ll have to) concerning the rationale for going to War in Iraq. Feith turned downright indignant when Inskeep suggested that there were analysts who didn’t see Saddam Hussein as a threat before the war…
DOUGLAS FEITH: He had demonstrated that he was interested in WMD and the danger was that he could take action in the future that would get him in a major fight with us. At which point he might use the WMD capabilities and connections to terrorists to hurt us.
NPR: Is there any point in that that you ended up assuming too much?
FEITH: I think that…I think that was a reasonable assumption under the circumstances…
NPR: Still…
FEITH: …Do you not?
NPR: It sounds reasonable the way that you put it.
FEITH: Well that’s what we were worried about (laughs)…I don’t think that there’s anything unreasonable in in…
NPR: …But of course there were analysts making an entirely different…
FEITH: No, there weren’t. No, there weren’t….I mean that’s just false. I, I, I hope you can do something to clarify this point. I mean, this notion that there were analysts who were saying that Saddam Hussein was not a threat?! There was nobody saying that.
“Nobody saying that”?! Really? Here’s just two of them for a start. Names that Mr. Feith might be familiar with:
“[F]rankly, [the sanctions on Iraq] have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors.”
– Colin Powell, February 24, 2001“But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let’s remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt.”
– Condoleeza Rice, July 29, 2001
What planet do these Bush dead-enders live on, anyway?! Amazing.
Bush administration want ad:
“Make up your own world at home in your spare time, AND GET PAID $$$”
I don’t recall not remembering that.
Oh no, not another Feith based system … the Feith gummit is like the ghost ship … lights on but nobody is home.
Feith sold the war to both of these well-educated but otherwise naive figures. He should be making a fortune doing seminars for insurance trainees.
..er…uh…Saddam was a threat…Everyone knows that…Don’t they??…Er…uh… (650,000 civilians killed, 3316 American soldiers killed, parenthetically speaking)
Feith and the whole bunch are finished. There is no way to spin the broken top anymore. Those who don’t go to prison need to retire and muse about inexorable fate. They made their places in history of crime and corruption, and there is nothing they can do about it now.
The big lie. Just keep telling the lie over and over and over again (and have media who don’t argue) and eventually (stupid) people believe it.
Feith is a war criminal and should do (very hard and nasty) time for it.
maybe he didn’t know about the analysts who disagreed with him because he had his fingers in his in ears while singing la la la la la ….
To answer your question, these idiots live on planet PNAC
One thing that we can agree on, there are no analysts that say that Doug Feith isn’t full of shit. At least, note tone that he wasn’t paying directly, anyway.
Nothing new as far as NPR’s slovenly coverage. I’m glad I’m not the only one who flipped when he heard this interchange.
We had to create a false rationale for going in [to Iraq] to get public support. The books were cooked, in my mind. The intelligence was not there. I testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee one month before the war, and Senator Lugar asked me: “General Zinni, do you feel the threat from Saddam Hussein is imminent?” I said: “No, not at all. It was not an imminent threat. Not even close. Not grave, gathering, imminent, serious, severe, mildly upsetting, none of those.”
After hearing this from General Zinni and not immediately PUTTING ON THE BRAKES, the entire Senate Foreign Relations Committee deserves to be impeached then sent over to the International Criminal Court – they can’t say they weren’t warned that Saddam POSED NO THREAT!!
Look, if the invasion of Iraq was not a CLASSIC WAR CRIME – what in the hell is? If members of Congress unwisely and contrary to the Constitution gave the President the power to declare war and the war turns out to be a disaster – WHY SHOULD THEY GET COMPLETELY OFF THE HOOK? If it had been a smashing success, of course they would take all the credit – now that it is a monumental and colossal failure resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries – They say oops and move on – Did Goering say oops, enter the civilian sphere and land a cushy job with a lobbying firm – I don’t think so, dead people whether they are Jews or Arabs are still dead people. This will go on ad infinitum, until those responsible for the unnecessary deaths are held accountable! What have we turned into?
They would of course say, “Secret evidence! If you knew what I know you’d go along with these war crimes.”
Of course, that’s what war criminals nearly always say.
Hey, let’s make up a list of all the war criminals in this government who knew Saddam was no threat and still voted to go to war!
That oughta be an interesting list.
Humm… Seems more like Slug Filth . . .
I wonder how many idiots don’t know history, politics or philosophy, but write stupid opinions on every subject. Shameless website you have!