The timing of the article is interesting — with Bush in the M.E. begging the Saudi’s to pump more oil, Rice in Iraq (pressuring for a bigger cut of oil fields for US oil majors), plus the overly hysterical Filipino Monkey video, the WH is an embarressment.

The article is a sign of desperation. The True Believers will cling to it, link to it, and make a fuss. But most people will shrug it off and say, “It’s the WSJ. What else would you expect?” No traction.

Weirdly, it’s kind of a backhanded compliment to Fingars.
If he’s aroused their ire, one supposes he’s no bootlicker. But at this point in Bush’s administration, with the subprime meltdown, and the price of oil and gas impacting every industry, who gives a damn what those clowns think?

Most people will probably shrug it off, or ignore it.
Fingars might want to consider sending the WSJ a ‘thank you’ note for enhancing his reputation by showing that he’s not caving to Bush, Cheney, and the rest of those nutcases. Although I’m sure the WSJ didn’t mean it as a compliment, they’ve done Mr Fingars a great favor.

Neoconservatives are incapable of shame. I kid you not. To have shame implies that one lives by a code of honor. Neoconservatives reject any code of honor. If you don’t believe me, just check out the works of David Leo Gutman, a one time shrink emeritus of AEI. Gutman’s objective, in my opinion, is to attempt to justify, at the unconscious level, the genocide of Arabs and, more broadly speaking, Muslims. His work harks back to experiments done at Yale and Stanford,where the general public follows the “elites” to torture people.

Ostensibly, Gutman goes out of his way to describe Arabic and Muslim society as one of honor and the only way to overcome it is through complete eradication of Muslim society. Think Abu G. Think Gitmo. This is the modus operandi of the psychology of Gutman. What he really desires is a clash of civilizations where the USA attempts to eradicate the Muslim world.

“Honor” to the neoconservatives means nothing. If anything, to the Straussians, to live by a code of honor means you are fool. Honor is seen as a vice, not a virtue. Consequently, shame simply doesn’t register with them. So, if anything, if the writers of the op-ed at WSJ read Johnson’s piece, they just laughed.

Here is the only article I could find after a quick search on ‘net re: Gutman.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.aspx?GUID={EFD57D27-54A4-4F05-9DBC-108BE1EE5379}

Tragically, they did Iraqis an even greater disservice!

Sidney Blumenthal’s article about General Powells Revenge directed towards Bolton

When British Foreign Minister Jack Straw complained to Powell that Bolton was obstructing negotiations with Iran on its development of nuclear weapons, Powell ordered that Bolton be cut out of the process, telling an aide: “Get a different view.” The British also objected to Bolton’s interference in talks with Libya, and again Powell removed Bolton. But much as he may have wanted to, Powell could not dismiss Bolton because of a powerful patron: Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Bolton confirmation hearings have revealed his constant efforts to undermine Powell on Iran and Iraq, Syria, and North Korea. They have also exposed a most curious incident that has triggered the administration’s stonewall reflex. The Foreign Relations Committee discovered that Bolton made a highly unusual request and gained access to 10 intercepts by the National Security Agency, which monitors worldwide communications, of conversations involving past and present government officials. Whose conversations did Bolton secretly secure and why?

Staff members on the committee believe that Bolton was likely spying on Powell, his senior advisors, and other officials reporting to the secretary of state on diplomatic initiatives that Bolton opposed. If so, it is also possible that Bolton was sharing this top-secret information with his neoconservative allies in the Pentagon and the vice president’s office, with whom he was in daily contact and well known to be working in league against Powell. If the intercepts are ever released, they may disclose whether Bolton was a key figure in a counterintelligence operation run inside the Bush administration against the secretary of state, resembling the hunted character played by Will Smith in “Enemy of the State.” Both Republican and Democratic senators have demanded that the State Department, which holds the NSA intercepts, turn them over to the committee. But Rice so far has refused. What is she hiding by her coverup?

http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/blumenthal/2005/04/
28/powells_revenge/

Or is it going to take lies told under oath about a blowjob to get those investigative and accountability juices flowing? The Republicans sure have proved that is exactly what it takes for them to get a job done.

Sicko!

I was trying to put my finger on just how a soocer mom/peasant/activist came to the conclusion before the invasion that the “cakewalk in Iraq” team were and continue to be a bunch of dangerous zealots.

I turned on MSNBC and other stations every evening and all I heard was Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Bush doing their WMD dance. Few questions were coming out of the MSM

Besides watching the MSM and being on the web reading articles on Antiwar.com, listening to guest on Amy Goodman I was listening to the Diane Rehm show and Talk of the Nation almost every day. I was thinking that it was the Diane Rehm show that I was hearing so many experts, historians and analyst questioning the validity of the intelligence and the wisdom of the invasion. But as I go through the archives from Oct 2002 to March of 2003) of both Talk of the Nation and the DR show. It was Neil Conan who had show after show on the question of Iraq and WMD’s. David Kay, Joseph Cirincione, Raymond Zilnikas, etc. Rehm had many experts on after the fact I am sorry to realize.

Some friends and I ( war are all over 50) went to the Oct 2002, Dec 2002 and Feb 2003 anti-invasion marches and it was refreshing to see how many middle age, middle class and an incredible amount of people from diverse backgrounds were protesting…but we all know the MSM barely covered these marches. Part of the majority of the MSM’s compliant “groupthink” behavior before the invasion

I am not a pacifist and came to my conclusion that inspections were the most sensible way for the U.S. to deal with Saddam after hearing so many experts question the Bush administration. Although it was pitiful that the MSM that so many Americans watch did the American public such a disservice by not widening the perspective for Americans by having a variety of perspectives and experts on their programs.

Neal Conan was really trying to help the masses become informed before the invasion
Weapons Inspectors Report to U.N. Security Council

by Neal Conan and Mike Shuster

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=970290

Military Intelligence Sources

by Neal Conan
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=940385

The Italians were TOO kind.

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Che Balle!

Cristo, we have the lyingest head of state in the world. Bush today in the United Arab Emirates did what the Italians say is “sparare grosso” (tell a whopper): “Iran finances al-Qaeda”. Well, at least Italian Foreign Minister D’Alema has come out and said something: “Bush is unnecessarily scaremongering”. Thank you Signor D’Alema!

As Bush is whining about Iranian nuclear power plants while visiting the Arabian Gulf States, Nicholas Sarkozy will be in Saudi Arabia tomorrow. I find it quite extraordinary the both Presidents Sarkozy and Bush will be in the area concurrently. Sarkozy is to said to be selling French nuclear reactors to Abu Dhabi. Back in Paris, Tony Blair was guest of honor at the UMP’s (Right-Sarkozy’s party) party congress.

http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/

This really gives Ray McGovern’s letter some great contrast. (not that it needed it.)

At the same time, longtime government career officials across Washington are taking on important posts once held by Bush loyalists

.

There was a post by Retired at NQ regarding the permenant brain drain…Who’s on promotion elevator in DC?

Less prominent in the report is a second key finding — that Iran is rapidly moving ahead to develop a nuclear-fuel cycle.

Is that the same as the French talking with the Saudi’s about providing a fuel cycle?

The Iran intelligence report “really confused many people in the Gulf,” says Bruce Riedel, a former Middle East expert at the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council. “No one could understand what the hell we were doing.”

Wasn’t this true before the NIE?

Tensions between career intelligence and diplomatic officers on one side, and the White House and Pentagon on the other, trace back decades.

Is this like the “wall” between the CIA and FBI?

Former Secretary of State George Shultz opposed what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal.

Bechtel was nice to him anyway!

A China expert and onetime gymnast, Mr. Fingar…He particularly liked running “red teaming” exercises
1) sounds like he still is a gymnast.
2) Red teaming is such a “novel concept” for the Bush Admin.