Defending Decisions

Bush recently defended his decision to go forward with spying on American people - all the while pushing to re-up the Patriot Act with some modifications....

There's a lot of things that are missing out of this puzzle.. Namely - if Bush wants to set forth and say that he was doing this out of protection for the American people, then I'd like to know exactly how many, out of the 30 times he has personally authorized this action - how many time this elicit spying actually worked to apprehend known terrorists who were plotting to attack our country..

I'm thinking if there was any success in these 30 opportunities to invade our privacy, that he would've made mention of it.. Because it would certainly bolster his argument that it was necessary for the security of this country.. Except I'm not really buying into this completely.. Not when the FBI was exposed by the ACLU that they were actively spying on peaceful members of the anti-war movement.. Even though the anti-war activists were peaceful and not a threat to national security, they were still monitored and spied on..

But how much of this is really necessary?? How much of this could've been averted had we merely listened correctly to the intelligence that was happening in normal surveillance and other information collection schemes?? Think back when the investigators into 9/11 uncovered a series, a flurry of intelligence that "something big is going to happen..." Moreover, when it's stacked against the pieces of the puzzle - then things add up.. Granted, they add up now and not at the time because I cannot believe that anyone in America would wantonly allow something like 9/11 to happen without some sort of horn or siren.. For Christ sake, even Paul Revere rode a pony......

What disappoints me more than this is the fact that this President has the audacity to blame those for leaking the story to begin with: "As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk," Bush said. "Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country." And this is not the first time either:

1.) the Downing Street Memos: journalists were jailed and accused of treason (although I don't think formally charged) for leaking information that the US Administration had trumped up the facts to fit the justification for the war in Iraq.. (RESULT: No official investigation, yet a promise that the 2nd prong of the 9/11 Commission would begin looking into the Administration's role into 9/11 and beyond. Widely held in the media that this "is no surprise" which is why it's not being reported..)

2.) the Abu Ghraib jail scandal and subsequent abuses: deniability in disproportionate amounts.. Didn't happen, it must be a fabrication, we don't authorize that type of behavior.. (RESULT: Numerous soldiers were indicted, found or pled guilty to their role in the Abu Ghraib scandal)

3.) Torture Prison scandal: the US and British governments critically scorned and sought to punish those who leaked the story that the US was operating Torture Prisons in other countries.. Bush himself looked straight into the camera and said "WE DO NOT TORTURE..." But wait - an independent investigation by someone OUTSIDE of the country found that there is STRONG evidence that support the presence of Torture Prisons throughout Europe and now in northern Africa.. (RESULT: We're now running the prisons out of Morroco..)

4.) The infamous CIA-Plame leak story: "I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action." Only to hear Bob Novak say: "I'm confident the president knows who the source is ... I'd be amazed if he doesn't." (RESULT: Libby - indicted, Rove - remains under investigation, others are still being investigated. Bush remains unknowingly oblivious during the whole affair.)

And yet, we're supposed to believe him that he's looking out for our security when he's spying on anti-war activists?? Not only does he NOT acknowledge that he made a mistake, he's DEFENDING the decision - saying that it's been CONSULTED to lawyers and Congressional leadership...

Oh boy - that makes me feel better...

But it's not good when members of your own party do not agree with the provisions for renewing the Patriot Act citing privacy concerns.. Not withstanding the latest rumor that Karl Rove is going to be indicted for hiding or destroying evidence linking him to the Plame-CIA leak.. This is a flagrant misuse of information - to attempt to extort to gain political capital on those that disagree with your policy.. Handing our privacy to this administration on a silver platter is flat out wrong..

Not when we continue to have hundreds of thousands men and women in harms way..

Not when we REMAIN under threat of attack when we have not done all that we can to secure the peace and security..

Not when we ISOLATE ourselves from the rest of the international community because we want the treasure trove of a country we've just conquered..

Not when this administration TALKS about morality without PRACTICING it..

Not when this administration FLOUNDERS when it comes to the leak investigation and the administration within the White House..

Not when this President is reactive instead of proactive..

Not when we rely on the think tank that perfectly executed a war into Iraq, but had no CLUE what to do afterwards..

Not when this President galavants across this country to sign a bill for a single brain-dead woman, but he remains on vacation when tens of thousands were affected by the Hurricanes of 2005..

Not when this President recommends his friends for positions in the government when they are neither qualified or responsible enough to execute their various offices..

Not when this President flagrantly disregards his responsibility to the American people by unilaterally initiating a spying policy on Americans or by imprisoning journalists because they were doing their job of exposing the corruption and decadence that this Administration employs..

Yet we live in a culture of blindness..

We live in a culture of deafness..

Those that continue to support this administration when we remain in CLEAR and PRESENT DANGER - do not understand the scope of what's happening.. This is not a President getting it on with an intern.. Lives are being lost.. Families are being ruined.. And soon, we will become a police state.. Hitler and Stalin immediately come to mind because as they sought for the good of their nations - they employed the same spying policy on their citizenry..

If this is okay with those that support this administration - then I'm not sure what to say about that..