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Today's
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February 18, 2004
Greg Weiher
Why is Kerry Getting a Pass?
February 17, 2004
Mike Ferner
The
Countryside Murders in Iraq
Mokhiber / Weissman
Corporation
as Psychopath
Marjorie Cohn
DrakeGate:
a Victory for Free Speech
Kurt Nimmo
Bush's
Endgame: a Review of Chalmers Johnson's "Sorrows of Empire"
Greg Bates
Nader Ambush: a New Low for The
Nation
Ximena Ortiz
A Bush
Doctrine, of Sorts
Gary Leupp
Whatever Happened to Gen. Khazraji?
Sen. John Kerry
"The Cause of Israel is the Cause of America"
Steve Perry
Kerry
1, Drudge 0
February 16, 2004
James Johnston
Huddling
with the Cheeseheads in a NASCAR World
Sara Eltantawi
To
Wear the Hijab or Not
Bruce Anderson
Kevin
Cooper and the Midnight Needle
Elaine Cassel
Feds
on Campus: the Drake Subpoenas
Rahul Mahajan
Bush,
Is the Tide Finally Turning?
Kevin Cooper
The Ritual of Death
Stan Cox
Goodbye, Howard Dean
Larry David
My War
Steve Perry
Bush and the Guard: the Cover-Up's the Thing
Website of the Day
Prison Patriots: Help This Vital Film Get Made
February 14/15, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Milk Bars, Hollywood and the
March of Empires
Jeffrey St. Clair
Oil Grab in the Arctic
William A. Cook
Faith-Based Fanatics
Stan Goff
Beloved
Haiti
Dave Marsh / Lee Ballinger
Rock, Rap & the Election
Hughes / Weiher
Tupac, the Patriot Act and Me
Michael Colby
Bush v. Kerry: the Power Elite's Dream Ballot
Mickey Z.
Michael Moore's Lesser Party: the General and the Lieutenant
Josh Frank
Dean's Demise No Big Loss for the Left
Peter Wolson
The Politics of Narcissism
William James Martin
Clean Break with the Road Map
Daniel Estulin
Religious Extremism in Africa
Standard Schaefer
The Privatization of Culture: an Interview with Michael Hudson
Dave Zirin
Maurice Clarett Gets Off the Plantation
Tracy McLellan
Oprah's Birthday Greedfest
Poets' Basement
Holt, LaMorticella, Guthrie, Subiet and Albert
Website of the Weekend
Progressives Scorecard: Where Do the Dems Rank on the Issues
That Matter?
February 13, 2004
Alan Maass
Kevin
Cooper's Fight to Live
Karyn Strickler
McCarthyism in the Sierra Club
Annie Higgins
On
a Street in America
Adam Federman
Democratic Snipers Target Nader
Mike Whitney
George W. Faces the Nation
Brian Cloughley
Our Imperial Leader Has Spoken
Website of the Day
Lying Action Figure Doll
February 12, 2004
Ray McGovern
George
Tenet's Spin Cycle
Robert Jensen
Bush's
Nuclear Hypocrisy
Saul Landau
Elegy to the Salton Sea
February
11, 2004
Cockburn
/ St. Clair
Hail, Kerry: Senator Facing-Both-Ways
Steve Perry
Bush
v. Bush?
February
10, 2004
Kurt
Nimmo
Inquisition in Iowa
Ron Jacobs
Politics and the Beatles: Don't
You Know You Can Count Me Out (In)
Elizabeth
Schulte
The Many Faces of John Kerry
Mickey
Z
Meet the Oxmans: "The Rich
Shouldn't Sleep at Night Either"
February
9, 2004
Michael
Donnelly
Will Skull and Bones Really Change
CEOs? Inside John Kerry's Closet
Chris Floyd
Smells Like Team Spirit: the Bush
B-Boys Replay Their Greatest Hits
Bill
Christison
What's Wrong with the CIA?
Dr. Susan
Block
Janet Jackson's Mammary Moment:
Boob Tube Super Bowl
February
7/8, 2004
Kathleen
Christison
Offending Valerie: Dealing with
Jewish Self-Absorption
Jeff Ballinger
No Sweat Shopping
Dave
Lindorff
Spray and Pray in Iraq: a Marine
in Transit
Alexander
Cockburn
McNamara: the Sequel
February
6, 2004
Ron
Jacobs
Are the Kurds in the Way?
Joanne
Mariner
Anita Bryant's Legacy
Saul
Landau
Happiness and Botox
Kurt Nimmo
Horror Non-fiction: A How-To Guide
from Perle and Frum
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
The Real Intelligence Failure:
Our Own
February
5, 2004
Benjamin
Shepard
Turning NYC into a Patriot Act Free
Zone
Khury
Petersen-Smith
A Report from Occupied Iraq: "We Don't Want Army USA"
Mokhiber
/ Weissman
The 10 Worst Corporations of 2003
Teresa
Josette
The Exeuctioner's Pslam? Christian Nation? Yeah, Right
David Krieger
Why Dr. King's Message on Vietnam is Relevant to Iraq
Christopher
Brauchli
Monkey Business: Of Recess and Evolution in Georgia Schools
Norman
Solomon
The Deadly Lies of Reliable Sources
Cockburn
/ St. Clair
Presenting President Edwards!
February
4, 2004
Brian
McKinlay
Bush's Australian Deputy: Howard's
Last Round Up?
Mark
Gaffney
Ariel Sharon's Favorite Senator: Ron Wyden and Israel
Judith
Brown
Palestine and the Media
Frederick
B. Hudson
Moseley-Braun and the Butcher: Campaign for Justice or Big Oil's
Junta?
Kurt Nimmo
Bush's Independent Commission: Exonerating
the Spooks
M.
Junaid Alam
Philly School Workers Fight for Fair Contract
Fran Shor
Whose Boob Tube?
Kevin
Cooper
This is Not My Execution and I Will Not Claim It
February
3, 2004
Alan
Maass
The
Dems' New Mantra: What They Really Mean by "Electability"
Nick
Halfinger
How the Other Half Lives: Embedded
in Iraq
Rahul
Mahajan
Our True Intelligence Failure
Neve Gordon
The Only Democracy in the Middle East?
Laura
Carlsen
Mexico: Two Anniversaries; Two Futures
Terry
Lodge
An Open Letter to Michael Powell from the Boobs & Body Parts
Fairness Campaign
Hammond
Guthrie
Investigating the Meaningless
Website
of the Day
Waging Peace
February
2, 2004
Gary
Leupp
The Buddhist Nun in Tom Ridge's Jail
Justin
E.H. Smith
The Manners of Their Deaths: Capital Punishment in a Smoke-Free
Environment
Tom
Wright
The Prosecution of Captain Yee
Winslow
Wheeler
Inside the Bush Defense Budget
Lee Ballinger
Janet Jackson's Naked Truth
Leonard
Pitts, Jr
For Blacks, the Game of Justice is
Rigged
Jeffrey
St. Clair
The Hollow Candidate:
The Trouble with Howard Dean
Website
of the Day
Resistance:
In the Eye of the American Hegemon
Jan. 31 / Feb 1, 2004
Paul
de Rooij
For Whom the Death Tolls: Deliberate
Undercounting of Coalition Fatalities
Bernard
Chazelle
Bush's Desolate Imperium
Jack
Heyman
Bushfires on the Docks
Christopher
Reed
Broken Ballots
Michael
Donnelly
An Urgent Plea to Progressives: Don't Give in to Fear
Rob Eshelman
The Subtle War
Lee
Sustar
Palestine and the Anti-War Movement
George
Bisharat
Right of Return
Ray
McGovern
Nothing to Preempt
Brian Cloughley
Enron's Beady-Eyed Sharks
Conn
Hallinan
Nepal, Bush & Real WMDs
Kurt Nimmo
The Murderous Lies of the Neo-Cons
Phillip
Cryan
Media at the Monterrey Summit
Christopher
Brauchli
A Speech for Those Who Don't Read
John
Holt
War in the Great White North
Mickey
Z.
Clueless in America: When Mikey Met Wesley
Mark
Scaramella
The High Cost of Throwing Away the Key
Tariq Ali
Farewell, Munif
Ben
Tripp
Waiter! The Reality Check, Please
Poets'
Basement
LaMorticella, Guthrie, Thomas and Albert
January 30, 2004
Saul
Landau
Cuba High on Neo-Con Hit List
Michael
Donnelly
Bush's Second Front: The War in
the Woods
Elaine
Cassel
Worse Than Jacko: Child Abuse at Gitmo
David Vest
More Halliburton News, Brought to You by Halliburton
Mike
Whitney
The Kay Report: Still Defending Aggression
David
Miller
The Hutton Whitewash
Sam
Husseini
How Many People Must Die Because of This "Mistake",
Senator Kerry?
January 29, 2004
Patricia
Nelson Limerick
John Ehrlichman, Environmentalist
Ron
Jacobs
Homeland Security and "Legalized"
Immigration
Rahul Mahajan
New Hampshire v. Iraq
Greg
Weiher
Bush Calls for Preemptive Strike on
Moon and Mars
Norman
Solomon
The State of the Media Union
Cockburn
/ St. Clair
Does NH Mean Anything?
January
28, 2004
Kathy
Kelly
Bearing Witness Against Teachers of
Torture and Assassination
Hot Stories
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Subcomandante Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
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February
18, 2004
Spinelessness and
Credulity
Why
is Kerry Getting a Pass?
By GREG WEIHER
I was listening to excerpts from a debate on "Democracy
Now" the other day. On one side was Mark Green, Michael
Bloomberg's opponent in the recent mayoral race, and John Kerry's
New York campaign chair. On the other were Robert Scheer, the
Los Angeles Times columnist, and his son Christopher who writes
for AlterNet.
The Scheers' argued that Kerry should
call for Bush's impeachment for lies he told in the run-up to
war. Green pretty much labeled such an approach "wack-job"
politics, and said it would result in Bush regaining the White
House. In defending Kerry, Green painted him as the near twin
of Ted Kennedy, and praised the stalwart service that both had
given to Democratic causes.
Both sides' apparently agreed that Kerry
was not culpable in voting for war since, like everyone else,
he was deceived by the Bush administration. The comparison of
Kerry to Kennedy made this particularly disquieting. As you may
recall, Ted Kennedy did not vote to authorize Bush to attack
Iraq. In Kennedy's own words, "[Bush] did not make a persuasive
case that the threat [from Iraq] is imminent and that war is
the only alternative."
What?
How is it that Teddy could resist the
prevari-con necromancy? How did Teddy see through the befuddling
loquacity of George W. Bush?
Well, let's take a look at what was known
prior to the beginning of hostilities.
· The argument that Iraq sought
enriched uranium from Niger was an inept fabrication
· The case presented to the
U.N. Security Council by Colin Powell included information that
was plagiarized and woefully dated
· The aluminum tubes imported
by Iraq were not suited to the production of fissile material
· The widely publicized meeting
of an Al Qaeda representative and an Iraqi diplomat in the Czech
Republic almost certainly did not happen
There were CIA assessments that criticized
the prevari-con's conclusions with respect to WsMD and Al Qaeda
connections to Iraq. There were veteran diplomats and CIA insiders,
like Ray McGovern and Greg Thieleman, who were vocally skeptical
about the prevari-con intelligence vetting process. How is it
that Kennedy could critically assess the available information
but Kerry could not?
In fact, even after the war began, Kerry
was a vocal supporter. At house meetings in South Carolina, Kerry
avowed that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States
and had to be removed. It was not until the major media jumped
on the "no-WsMD" bandwagon that Kerry dared to differ
with the Bushies.
The simple fact of the matter is that
anybody who was paying attention should have had serious reservations
about the case for war. A million marchers in New York did, and
so did a million in London, and so did other millions in places
around the world. Teddy Kennedy did. How did all of this elude
Kerry?
This is not the only curious case of
Kerry sliding under the press's radar. Much has been made of
Bush family connections with the band of thieves that ran Enron,
but Kerry has his own history of complicity with corporate malfeasance.
He had close connections to David Paul, CEO of the failed S&L,
Centrust. Paul was convicted of ninety-seven counts of bank fraud
and sent to prison for ten years, and the failure of CenTrust
cost taxpayers $2 billion.
Charles Lewis notes that Kerry has never
been reluctant to accept money from special interests.
"Over the course of his senate career,
[Kerry] has not been averse to taking campaign cash from the
companies and firms with a direct interest in his work. Since
1995, he raised more than $30 million for his various campaigns,
most of it from industries such as finance and telecommunications
companies (which are overseen by the Senate committees he serves
on) and the law and lobby firms that represent them."
It is not clear why the media are so
reluctant to call Kerry on his pontificating about special interests.
But it is possible that they are not asking Kerry about his complicity
in the rape of Iraq because the answers might lead in embarrassing
directions. A recent assessment by Michael Massing in the New
York Review of Books documents the credulity of the mainline
press during the run-up to the war. The reluctance of this same
press to confront its sorry performance is apparent in the fact
that Judith Miller still holds a job at the New York Times.
Miller presents a microcosm of the mainline
coverage of the case for war. Her reporting style is to take
whatever the Bushies say and relay it to the American people.
This is not my description of her work, but hers. She has said,
"my job isn't to assess the government's information and
be an independent intelligence analyst myself. My job is to tell
readers of The New York Times what the government thought about
Iraq's arsenal."
This was her approach when she reported
that Iraq was importing aluminum tubes for enriching uranium
for nuclear weapons, one of her many stories that proved to be
without substance. It also characterized her involvement in a
particularly weird episode once the war was joined. Miller operated
as an ex officio member of "Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha,"
an Army team looking for caches of WsMD in Iraq. Time and again,
MET alpha undertook activities outside its formal writ because
it would result in good stories for the Times. When MET Alpha
was to be reassigned, Miller threatened unflattering coverage,
and the order was rescinded.
The goofiest of all these episodes had
Miller reporting that "a leading Iraqi scientist claimed
Iraq had destroyed chemical and biological weapons days before
the war began . . . the scientist 'had pointed to several spots
in the sand where he said chemical precursors and other weapons
material were buried'" (Washington Post, 5/26/03). In typical
Judith Miller fashion, there was no attempt to consult other
sources or gain independent confirmation of any of this. She
"was not permitted to interview the scientist." She
only saw him from a distance while he was in MET Alpha custody.
The story ran on the Times front page and, of course, was entirely
apocryphal. It is a close question whether the journalistic sins
that got Jason Blair and Rick Bragg fired were more egregious
than Miller's.
Like Miller, the American mainline press
suspended disbelief, sidled right up to the Bush administration,
and spewed whatever nonsense about WsMD the prevari-cons decided
to put out. Like Miller, the corporate media parroted drivel
about Scuds, about mobile weapons labs, about anthrax spewing
drones that might appear over Milwaukee or Paducah. So the big
problem for them now is this: if they start to give Kerry a hard
time for his spinelessness on Iraq, they might just have to confront
their own spinelessness as well.
Greg Weiher
is a political scientist and freelance writer living in Houston,
Texas. Excerpts from this article appeared previously on the
OpEdNews website under the title "George Bush, the Democrats,
and Revisionist History." He can be reached at gweiher@uh.edu.
Weekend
Edition Features for February 14 / 15, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Milk Bars, Hollywood and the
March of Empires
Jeffrey St. Clair
Oil Grab in the Arctic
William A. Cook
Faith-Based Fanatics
Stan Goff
Beloved
Haiti
Dave Marsh / Lee Ballinger
Rock, Rap & the Election
Hughes / Weiher
Tupac, the Patriot Act and Me
Michael Colby
Bush v. Kerry: the Power Elite's Dream Ballot
Mickey Z.
Michael Moore's Lesser Party: the General and the Lieutenant
Josh Frank
Dean's Demise No Big Loss for the Left
Peter Wolson
The Politics of Narcissism
William James Martin
Clean Break with the Road Map
Daniel Estulin
Religious Extremism in Africa
Standard Schaefer
The Privatization of Culture: an Interview with Michael Hudson
Dave Zirin
Maurice Clarett Gets Off the Plantation
Tracy McLellan
Oprah's Birthday Greedfest
Poets' Basement
Holt, LaMorticella, Guthrie, Subiet and Albert
Website of the Weekend
Progressives Scorecard: Where Do the Dems Rank on the Issues
That Matter?
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