"Run of the Mill": the Plame Threads unplugged

H2O Man

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Fri Sep-24-04 11:18 AM
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"Run of the Mill": the Plame Threads unplugged

Edited on Fri Sep-24-04 11:27 AM by H2O Man

Run of the Mill: Plame Unplugged

(1) I spent several hours yesterday talking with two friends about the Bush plan for a military draft, about 9-11, and about the Plame/ Niger document forgeries/ neocon spy scandal. My friends, "Delaney and Bonnie," are from the Lakota nation. The son, a Pipe Carrier, believes that 9-11 was MIHOP; the mother, a gifted healer, believes 9-11 was LIHOP. I believe something a little different, closer to what is shown in Michael Moore's "F 9-11." But we all agree that the Bush administration has an unholy alliance with the "royal family" from Saudi Arabia, and that the 9-11 Commission purposely avoided revealing the truth about what happened on that day.

The purpose of our meeting was to organize opposition to the Bush plan for a huge draft in 2005. They were amazed at the amount of valuable information available on the Democratic Underground. They reminded me of how decades ago, Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons had warned a group of us that everything is a consequence of what has happened before, and that when Americans allowed the federal government to ignore the USA-Native American Treaties that define Indian rights, it was merely a matter of time until that same government would violate the constitutional rights of the larger society.

The more we talked, the more we agreed that the key to reaching the larger society about a large number of related issues -- including the wars in the Middle East, the oppression of women, the environment, the draft, the truth about 9-11, and many more -- need to be brought to the public's attention in an organized manner. And we agreed that the issue that is most likely to be easily understood by the largest number of Americans is our new three leaf clover: the Plame/Niger document forgeries/neocon spy scandal.

(2) Several months ago, an ad hoc group of DUers began a fascinating discussion of the Plame case. This led to many of the group investigating several important aspects of the case, and how it relates to other important issues in Campaign 2004, including the illegal and immoral sale of the weapons of death and destruction; of the unconstitutional war in Iraq; and the attempted coup by neocons who are determined to subvert our constitutional democracy.

The Plame threads have provided significant information to a wide audience of democratic activists who are determined to reclaim that constitutional democracy defined by our Founding Fathers, and upheld by the patriotic generations who have come before us.We produced a number of valuable "research" and "position" papers on Plame. And while the original group has since "disbanded," with some members moving in other important directions, the core group continues to contribute to the Plame threads.

I reviewed a couple of those papers with my friends yesterday. The first outlined our theories on why the White House exposed CIA operative Valerie Plame: {a} to punish her husband for exposing President Bush for lying about WMDs as a justification for his invasion of Iraq; {b} to intimidate others who could show the public the criminal behaviors of the administration; and {c} to derail an investigation into the sale of WMD components that Plame was involved in.

The second paper of interest related to the structure of our constitutional democracy. The federal government is supposed to have a separation and balance of powers: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches all play an equal though not exact role. This administration is intent on destroying that balance by {a} claiming a "right" to declare pre-emptive wars, and {b} control the nation's "purse strings" as related to the wars they start. Both of these actions are absolutely prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

This week, we have found out that CBS was prepared to run a story that exposed the Niger "yellow cake" documents as forgeries. This story would absolutely expose this administration as the treasonous felons they are, and the election would be as humiliating a defeat for Bush as 1992 was for his dad. But, of course, that story was derailed in the same manner as Plame's investigation.

In order to really appreciate what is occuring today, we need to take a brief look at two other executive branch scandals that are very closely related.

(3) "Watergate" was a series of closely-related scandals within the Nixon administration. On 6-17-1972, police arrested 5 men who had broken into the Watergate office building, which housed the Democratic National Headquarters. The men were carrying electronic eavesdropping equipment. Although Nixon would win an easy re-election, his public support eroded as an investigation by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward connected the break-in with the president's "inner circle."

The televised US Senate investigation uncovered massive abuses of power by the executive branch. These included the obstruction of justice and involved campaign contributions, the CIA, FBI, IRS, and other federal agencies. America was stunned by the extent of the crimes committed by members of the administration.

In July of 1974, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach Tricky Dick Nixon. He resigned in disgrace on 8-9-74. Over 50 people connected to Watergate would be convicted of serious crimes, with about half experiencing well-deserved incarcerations. Nixon, of course, was pardoned by Gerald Ford.

The Nixon administration had posed the greatest threat to our constitutional democracy since the Civil War. Two things continue to stand out: that a small group within the administration attempted to subvert the separation of powers by controling the ability to wage war with other nations, and to control the purse strings. Also, it is extremely important to remember that many of the Nixon administration are among the most influential in the Bush 2 administration.

(4) Those same criminals did not go directly from the Nixon to the Bush 2 administration. They were first to be found in the Reagan-Bush 1 administration(s). From 1982 to 1992, they were involved in a series of scandals known as the "Iran-Contra" scandal.

On 10-5-86, a US cargo plane was shot down over Nicaragua. Within hours, VP Bush was notified, including by a CI message from Costa Rico that said that the "situation requires we do necessary damage control." The damage, however, led to a series of cover-ups that showed how out-of-control that administration actually was.

Like Watergate, Iran-Contra was a series of crimes and attempted cover-ups that involved a significant group of neocons within the administration. This group was intent on controling the war powers and the purse strings that our Founding Fathers had granted exclusively to the congress. The scandals included the sale of weapons to Iran to attempt to secure the release of American hostages in Lebanon, and to raise funds for the "contras" in Nicaragua.

On 6-5-87 a joint House & Senate Committee began televised hearings. The American public saw a group of criminls from the executive branch lie under oath about the crimes they had commited. The public also saw "businessmen" from Iran and Saudi Arabia testify about the complex financial dealings the neocons in the administration were involved in.

This congressional committee would conclude that a "cabal of zealots (had) undermined the powers of Congress as a co-equal branch and subverted the Costitution." They were describing the administration efforts to control the war powers and purse strings.

Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh would find that both Reagan and Bush had participated at some levels in parts of the series of scandals. Walsh was able to convict 11 felons from the administration. However, as he was leaving the presidency in disgrace, Bush 1 would pardon most of these criminals, saying it was "time for the country to move beyond" the scandal.

Just as in Watergate, a group of the criminals from the Reagan-Bush 1 administration(s) would become key players in the Bush 2 administration.

(5) The Plame/Niger forgeries/neocon spy scandal is a consequence of both Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandals. It is also our three-leaf clover for teaching this truth to the American public. These treasonous felons know the public will recognize for what they are if the news media were to report this case accurately. That is why the neocons are pulling out all the stops to abuse the news media with lies and distortions about Dan Rather. He was getting CBS too close to telling the truth.

People on DU know that Rather was hated by the Nixon and Reagan-Bush1 administrations. We also know those same people have a passionate hatred for John Kerry that dates back to the Nixon and Reagan-Bush1 administrations. Both Rather and Kerry played significant roles in exposing their efforts to take control of the federal government.

When we take back the White House, and begin to restore the life breath of constitutional democracy, including a separation/balance of federal powers, the American public will again be witness to televised hearings of investigations into the crimes of this group of un-American felons. There will be convictions. There will not be pardons.

Then and only then will we be in a position to actually understand the issues which keep America from being able to be an agent for peaceful change in the Middle East. Then and only then will we be able to have the moral authority to reconcile the hatred that has brought us to the brink of another world war. And then and only then will we be in a position to examine the other terrible scandals in our recent history, including 9-11.

(6) "Everyone has the choice, when to and not to raise their voices. It's you that decides." -- George Harrison, "Run of the Mill."

We have several weeks left before the election. We need to raise our voices. We need to decide this election. Please consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the Plame/Niger forgeries/neocon spy scandal. Thank you!