Yellow Dog

Headline from CBS News:8 US Servicemen Killed In Iraq

While the White House is still trying to cover up the lies that led to the war in Iraq (see the post below on the criminal indictments for perjury of a top Whitehouse aide), these eight deaths raised to 2,015 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count.

Meanwhile, while his Whitehouse aides were being indicted and more US soldiers were being killed, Bush was delivering a speech in Virginia about how we need to "stay the course."

Those voters who decided to "stay the course" by giving Bush a second term should be deeply disgusted with themselves.

CBS News | 8 U.S. Servicemen Killed In Iraq | October 29, 2005 09:28:46

Treason in the White House!

The top aide to the VP and assistant to the President, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, was indicted on five felony counts in the CIA leak investigation. Bush's political guru and close advisor, Karl Rove, remains under investigation and still could be indicted.

This is not just about the treasonous act of disclosing the identity of a CIA operative and endangering national security (which is bad enough); it's also about the whole trumped-up rationale for going to war in Iraq. When Joe Wilson failed to substantiate the bogus claims about WMD (the purchase of uraniaum from Niger), the White House decided to retaliate by going after his wife, Valerie Plame, and disclosing her identity, letting politics trump national security.

From the Chicago Tribune:

"The indictment of Libby, a key national security and political adviser, held out the possibility that Bush, Cheney, former CIA Director George Tenet and other top officials might be called to testify at his trial and recount the reasons why the administration pushed so hard to go to war.

It would create the kind of political drama that no White House would want, particularly one already under siege for its appointments to the Supreme Court, mishandling of hurricane disasters, surging energy prices, and the mounting death toll in Iraq.

In the indictment of Libby, the government alleged that he had learned the name of the CIA agent Plame from Cheney in 2003, and understood that Cheney had learned the name from Tenet. The indictment said Libby lied about his conversations with reporters when he was alleged to have identified Plame.

Bush's reasons for going to war, including allegations that Saddam Hussein had developed weapons of mass destruction, have been called into question. The insurgency in Iraq has caused public support for the war to sink. Bush's popularity lingers around 40 percent in the polls.

Libby's role in the case carries special significance because his boss, Cheney, was known to be a prime advocate of ousting Hussein and had visited the CIA to view intelligence about his regime.

Bottom line: when it comes to high crimes, the apple (Libby) doesn't fall far from the tree (Cheney).

Chicago Tribune | Wallop to a weakened White House

Billmon over at the Wiskey Bar puts the 2000 death toll in perspective.



Plus one more today.