Ray McGovern on foiling Cheney: "Timing makes all the difference."

[understandinglife]

McGovern's article provides his insights into the importance of Dafna Linzer's Iran-is-a-long-way-from-nukes article featured in the Washington Post, yesterday. Do read it if you have the time.

However, I want to make sure as many people as possible read McGovern's final paragraph:

A Leak in Time...

You readers out there in the intelligence and policy communities may wish to take those who told Linzer about the NIE as your model. Between multiple sources in London and in Washington finally willing to see it as their patriotic duty to speak out to prevent war, we have a new, very hopeful, truth-driven process going less than a year after the Truth Telling Coalition gave it fresh impetus. This disclosure will make it more difficult for the Bush administration and/or Israel to launch war on Iran. Timing makes all the difference.

From Preempting Cheney by Ray McGovern on August 3, 2005

Link:

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050803/preempting_cheney.php

The link to the Truth Telling Coaliton article is:

http://tompaine.com/Archive/LTfebuary282005/appeal_for_truth_telling.html

Appended to that September 13, 2004 article is the following letter:

TO: Current Government Officials

FROM: Concerned Alumni

SUBJECT: Truth

It is time for unauthorized truth-telling.

Citizens cannot make informed choices if they do not have the facts—for example, the facts that have been wrongly concealed about the ongoing war in Iraq: the real reasons behind it, the prospective costs in blood and treasure, and the setback it has dealt to efforts to stem terrorism. Administration deception and cover-up on these vital matters has so far been all too successful in misleading the public.

Many Americans are too young to remember Vietnam. Then, as now, senior government officials did not tell the American people the truth. Now, as then, insiders who know better have kept their silence, as the country was misled into the most serious foreign policy disaster since Vietnam.

Some of you have documentation of wrongly concealed facts and analyses that—if brought to light—would impact heavily on public debate regarding crucial matters of national security, both foreign and domestic. We urge you to provide that information now, both to Congress and, through the media, to the public.

Thanks to our First Amendment, there is in America no broad Officials Secrets Act, nor even a statutory basis for the classification system. Only very rarely would it be appropriate to reveal information of the three types whose disclosure has been expressly criminalized by Congress: communications intelligence, nuclear data, and the identity of US intelligence operatives. However, this administration has stretched existing criminal laws to cover other disclosures in ways never contemplated by Congress.

There is a growing network of support for whistleblowers. In particular, for anyone who wishes to know the legal implications of disclosures they may be contemplating, the ACLU stands ready to provide pro bono legal counsel, with lawyer-client privilege. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) will offer advice on whistleblowing, dissemination and relations with the media.

Needless to say, any unauthorized disclosure that exposes your superiors to embarrassment entails personal risk. Should you be identified as thesource, the price could be considerable, including loss of career and possibly even prosecution. Some of us know from experience how difficult it is to countenance such costs. But continued silence brings an even more terrible cost, as our leaders persist in a disastrous course and young Americans come home in coffins or with missing limbs.

This is precisely what happened at this comparable stage in the Vietnam War. Some of us live with profound regret that we did not at that point expose the administration’s dishonesty and perhaps prevent the needless slaughter of 50,000 more American troops and some 2 to 3 million Vietnamese over the next ten years. We know how misplaced loyalty to bosses, agencies, and careers can obscure the higher allegiance all government officials owe the Constitution, the sovereign public, and the young men and women put in harm’s way. We urge you to act on those higher loyalties.

A hundred forty thousand young Americans are risking their lives every day in Iraq for dubious purpose. Our country has urgent need of comparable moral courage from its public officials. Truth-telling is a patriotic and effective way to serve the nation. The time for speaking out is now.

SIGNATORIES

Call to Patriotic Truth Telling

Edward Costello, Former Special Agent (Counterintelligence), Federal Bureau of Investigation

Sibel Edmonds, Former Language Specialist, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Daniel Ellsberg, Former official, U.S. Departments of Defense and State

John D. Heinberg, Former Economist, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

Larry C. Johnson, Former Deputy Director for Anti-Terrorism Assistance, Transportation Security, and Special Operations, Department of State, Office of the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism

Lt. Col Karen Kwiatowski, USAF (ret.), who served in the Pentagon's Office of Near East Planning

John Brady Kiesling, Former Political Counselor, U.S. Embassy, Athens, Department of State

David MacMichael, Former Senior Estimates Officer, National Intelligence Council, Central Intelligence Agency

Ray McGovern, Former Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency

Philip G. Vargas, Ph.D., J.D., Dir. Privacy & Confidentiality Study, Commission on Federal Paperwork (Author/Director: "The Vargas Report on Government Secrecy" -- CENSORED)

Ann Wright, Retired U.S. Army Reserve Colonel and U.S. Foreign Service Officer

We have every reason to be greatful to those of our fellow citizens in government who leaked sufficient information to Ms Linzer and enabled her to do outstanding journalistic service to our fragile Nation by publishing Iran Is Judged 10 Years From Nuclear Bomb: U.S. Intelligence Review Contrasts With Administration Statements.

Thank you 'truth telling patriots.'

Thank you Ms Linzer.

Thank you Washington Post.

And, thank you Mr McGovern for your courageous leadership.


What an amazing contrast to:

BUSH'S LIES:
http://www.bushflash.com/right.html

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - How ever long it takes, the day must come when tens of millions of caring individuals peacefully but persistently defy the dictator, deny the corporatists their cash flow, and halt the evil being done in Iraq and in all the other places the Bu$h neoconster regime is destroying civilization and the environment in the name of "America."

[fooj]

1. Truth is our most powerful weapon.

I'd like to thank you for embracing and honoring truth. UL, you are one of my heroes. NGU. Never!


Peace.:patriot:

[FreedomAngel82]

6. I agree

And these people are hero's for speaking the truth. I hope they all stay safe!!

[Karenina]

2. OK, Ray has spoken AGAIN

I hope those with eyes to read and ears to hear are paying attention.

Meanwhile I must contact his wife for her permission to bear his love child after I stop smoking whatever, drinking and have consulted the medical technologists about retying my tubes, reversing menopause and lowering my blood pressure...

I'll wear a Burqa and happily live in the basement as long as the kids from my previous marriage are given access to them both around the dinner table (and ME TOO, but I'll be covered up as always and am willing to submit written questions and thoughts)... :silly:

[understandinglife]

3. Here is yet another example of why we need McGovern and his ...

... colleagues to keep revealing the truth:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1672502

The IPC is yet another Bush, neoconster propaganda machine. If Judy wasn't in jail, you betcha she'd be using the NYT to spread this crap.

http://www.peacecandy.com/gwbush/remindus
REMIND US

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - How ever long it takes, the day must come when tens of millions of caring individuals peacefully but persistently defy the dictator, deny the corporatists their cash flow, and halt the evil being done in Iraq and in all the other places the Bu$h neoconster regime is destroying civilization and the environment in the name of "America."

[Nothing Without Hope]

4. Here is a WaPo article on the NIE estimate (10 years away from bomb) and

the lying response of a Bush Administration Front organization, the "Iran Policy Committee."

The first thread is on a Monday article in the Washington Post in which the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) for Iran - the best intelligence available - has reported that Iran is at least 10 years away from having the components for building a nuclear bomb. I searched for DU threads on this article before posting and did not find any. Here's what I then posted:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1980753
Thread title: WaPo: National Intelligence Estimate says IRAN AT LEAST 10 YEARS FROM BOMB

Then we come to the second article, in which a front group for the Bush Administration tries to undermine the official NIE report. The "Iran Policy Committee" is, by their own statement, "comprised of former officials from the White House, State Department, Pentagon, intelligence agencies, the Congress, as well as experts from think tanks and universities." The statement from their Co-Chair attempts to deny the credibility of the NIE and says that much more attention should be given to the statements of Iranian dissidents. Sound familiar? Maybe Chalabi does Iranian "intelligence" too - such a pity that their favored mouthpiece Judith Miller is in jail.
Here's the second thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1672502
Thread title: IPC Co-chair Comments on Leaked U.S. NIE on Iran

I feel that these two threads, taken together, are an important indication of Administration plans for Iran. The IRC Co-Chair's statement (and who is this guy, anyway? needs to be researched) must be firmly rebutted. You know that Cheney and the others will be pushing it as the real story as part of their warmongering. We must not be slow or unprepared to counter-push through the media and elected officials.

We cannot let them lie our country into another unjustified war!

And I'm recommending the current thread - thank goodness for Ray McGovern!

[understandinglife]

5. Thank you for posting these comments and links. I emailed Ray ...

... McGovern a link to this thread and thanked him and his colleagues for their courageous leadership.

We should all thank Ms Linzer, as well!



http://www.newsparkproductions.org/

Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - How ever long it takes, the day must come when tens of millions of caring individuals peacefully but persistently defy the dictator, deny the corporatists their cash flow, and halt the evil being done in Iraq and in all the other places the Bu$h neoconster regime is destroying civilization and the environment in the name of "America."

[Eloriel]

17. I hope he sees it because I want him to know

that he and his colleagues literally take my breath away! I am astonished and awed by their fierce, courageous patriotism. Thank God for patriots like this.

This piece just blows my mind, pure and simple. "Thank you, Ray McGovern & Friends" just doesn't seem enough, does it?

[understandinglife]

28. He responded to the email and offered his thanks. He was quite ...

... humble as well, as indicated by the statement "you mean someone reads my stuff?"

I assured him that 'his stuff' is definitely read, and, more importantly his courage and leadership are deeply appreciated!!


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Nothing Without Hope]

29. WOW - that's really great, UL. Surely he must realize how much we

rely on his truth-telling in this atmosphere of deadly lies.

[Nothing Without Hope]

31. self-deleted - I put it in the wrong place

but :kick: anyway for this important thread!

[faithnotgreed]

7. a mighty kick for the truth telling coalition

[understandinglife]

8. "So Many Actions in Feb/Mar 2002 - So Little Acknowledgment that War ...

.... Decision Was Made

"Authorized by a presidential finding signed by President Bush in February or March 2002, the Scorpions were part of a policy of "regime change" in Iraq. The covert members, many of whom were exiles recruited by the Kurds, were trained in target identification, explosives and small arms at two secret bases in Jordan, according to one U.S. government official."

From Before the War, CIA Reportedly Trained a Team of Iraqis to Aid US by Dana Priest and Josh White on August 3, 2005

To which David Swanson at AfterDowningStreet.org asks several key questions:

Why does this line up with Blair's visit to the ranch and agreement to help attack Iraq?

Why does this line up with Cheney's beginning to lie about nuclear weapons programs in Iraq?

...with the military telling Sen. Graham that troops were being moved to Iraq for a war?

...with senior US officials telling both Knight Ridder and Seymour Hersh the war would happen?

...with Time Magazine reporting that Bush said "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out!"?

Why is the President still permitted to state unquestioned on US television that the decision to go to war had not been made?

Link:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/1164

Anyone questioning why we need Ray McGovern and his colleagues 'prempting' Bush, Cheney and the other criminal neoconsters should think about it, harder.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us - How ever long it takes, the day must come when tens of millions of caring individuals peacefully but persistently defy the dictator, deny the corporatists their cash flow, and halt the evil being done in Iraq and in all the other places the Bu$h neoconster regime is destroying civilization and the environment in the name of "America."

[understandinglife]

9. And, Ray McGovern warned us all in January, 2005 about Cheney ...

Reining-In Cheney

by Ray McGovern

January 26, 2005

Quick! Anyone! Who can put the brakes on Vice President Dick Cheney before we have another war on our hands? Current and former intelligence analysts are reacting with wonderment and apprehension to his remarks last week on the nuclear program of Iran and his resuscitated spinning on why attacking Iraq was the prudent thing to do.

There he goes again, they say-trifling with the truth on Iraq and now taking off after Iran. Does he really have the temerity to reach into the same bag of tricks used to convince most Americans that Iraq was an immediate nuclear threat? Will his distinctive mix of truculence and contempt for the truth succeed in rationalizing attacks on Iran on grounds that US intelligence mayhave underestimated the progress in Iraq's weapons program 15 years ago?

At this point the focus is no longer on the bogus weapons of mass destruction (WMD) rationale used to promote the attack on Iraq, intelligence analysts say. It's the claims the vice president is now making regarding Iran's nuclear capability...and, given the deliberate distortions on Iraq, whether anyone should believe him.

Appearing Thursday on MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, Cheney warned that Iran has "a fairly robust new nuclear program." And besides, it sponsors terrorism. Sound familiar?

Much more at the link:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012705F.shtml

Fortunately, at least a few patriotic government workers and a journalist interested in the truth seemed to be paying attention to the need to rein-in Cheney.

Now, we just need to get him out of the VP's office and before a tribunal.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[AuntiBush]

11. I couldn't agree more! And "Thank You" for those Speaking the Turth

finally... Please, a little louder.

Agree w/that last sentence. They need to go, ASAP before they do anymore harm to our country, and world.

[Coexist]

10. kick

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. To try for more attention for this topic, I've posted a cross-post in GD:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4252778
Thread title Three extremely important threads on Iran nukes & the Bush agenda

[Nothing Without Hope]

13. Here is the key Wash Post article re true NIE estimate: 10 years to bomb:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1980753
Thread title: WaPo: National Intelligence Estimate says IRAN AT LEAST 10 YEARS FROM BOMB

[Nothing Without Hope]

14. Not long ago Jerome Corsi was telling everyone he could find on TV and

radio that Iran would be bombing the US very soon. He positively drooled over the terrible details he could give on what a dirty bomb in New York City would do. Here's a thread on his crusade:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1768708
Thread title: Is anyone watching Jerome Corsi saying Iran planning to nuclear-bomb

[PurgedVoter]

15. At this time of shame

In this hour, of which I pray, does not become darker,
It is courage and concern like this that renews my pride in this great nation.

[Nothing Without Hope]

21. Welcome to DU, PurgedVoter! When we strive together, our community

is strong. We WILL make a difference. In fact, we already have.

[understandinglife]

38. Welcome to DU, PurgedVoter!

We'll prevail if we work together and if we stop permitting our votes to be counted in secret!


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Nothing Without Hope]

16. Important thread from May: “Robert McNamara - Apocalypse Soon”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x123802

McNamara warns of the danger of the Bush administration turning to NUCLEAR BOMBS far too easily. It’s an important article that all of us should read.

And this editorial cartoon complements the article:
http://www.allhatnocattle.net.nyud.net:8090/englehart5505.gif

[PATRICK]

19. It was always in the cards

Of course MADD was supposed to be a peaceful bully card. In actual fact the Bushes have always enable proliferation, bowed to the "inevitable" small nuke exchange by making it more likely "out there" among our rivals and the foreign manipulation game. In actual fact it always has been a planned card and one does not have to find tapes and documents of premeditiation although they abound in RW circles.

The presumption of the McNamara statement is that we are being forced to this rather than this being always part of the game. What really should scare people is more directly telling people about the predictable results and the horrible track record on managing these clever strategies Bushco has shown to date. Results which show this mayhem is as unworkable as it is horrific.

This is too damn polite by far with the extremist "dare all, pay nothing" assertiveness over reality. McNamara again sounds like the now personally pathetic ghost of Marley but not quite "there" with his warnings. As if that would stop this madness at all anyway coming from an old sinner.

[Just Me]

26. People REALLY need to accept that the PNACers are on,...

,...their own ideological crusade and they have proven themselves quite capable of doing whatever it takes to get what they want.

[burythehatchet]

18. Dick Cheney is a liar

a filthy bastard fucker of a liar

[H2O Man]

20. Definitely nominated.

It is important that DUers understand how significant this issue is. It is part and parcel of the Plame/neocon spy/document forgery scandal that many of us have been detailing on DU for some time.

I fully endorse the message of the "Call to Patriotic Truth Telling" group on the OP. I advise DUers to read these messages, and pay attention to what the neocon core group is doing. They are feeling pressure on several fronts now, and I would not put it past them to attempt to create an international crisis now .... especially with that weasal Bolton at the UN.

[Nothing Without Hope]

22. Well said - and all too true

They are feeling pressure on several fronts now, and I would not put it past them to attempt to create an international crisis now .... especially with that weasal Bolton at the UN."

[Just Me]

27. Me, too.

Yup!!!! Gotta' pull out ALL "real" patriots at this time.

:kick:

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. kick for this important thread n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

24. kick for Ray McGovern and the power of truth n/t

[Just Me]

25. I join McGovern in his call to true patriots,....

,...who genuinely place country above all else. I encourage people to unite with a growing force for America and her people.

[understandinglife]

30. Former Ambassador Urges U.S. Officials To Leak More Memos

Former Ambassador Urges U.S. Officials To Leak More Memos

by Nathan Diebenow

August 3, 2005

The former ambassador to Afghanistan, Ann Wright, called on U.S. federal employees to leak more secret memos on the lead-up to the war in Iraq like Downing Street memos uncovered by the British press this last May.

“It seems like the British government is leaking like a sieve. We need to get our own U.S. government colleagues to be leaking like a sieve,” said Wright, who gave up her career in the foreign service because she disagreed with the U.S. invasion of Iraq. “We need more documents — certainly not documents that are really going to jeopardize the security of the United States — but documents that show the sequence of events within our own government.”

Wright said that many federal employees disagree with the policies of the current administration but stay involved for a host of reasons, one of which more often than not is that they have mouths to feed. A closer look of the major U.S. newspapers, however, shows that those discouraged officials inside the government are sending signals of hope to the American people, she said.

“It’s important that we encourage our colleagues in the U.S. federal government to think really seriously about the future of our country and to inform their conscience and look to see if they can find the equivalent memos that we have in our United States government,” said Wright. “So if you have any colleagues, cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons or daughters that are working in whatever level of government, talk to them. Just casually mention it. You never can tell.”

Much more at the link, including Ambassador Wright labeling Powell a 'Bush toady':

http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/News/2005/31-40/31news02.htm

First principle - It is OUR government.

Second principle - That government has NO right to LIE to the people.

Third principle - When YOUR government LIES to you; REMOVE IT and DO NOT ALLOW IT TO KEEP SECRETS FROM YOU.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Nothing Without Hope]

32. I've added more links to related articles in this combined thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4252778
Thead title: Three extremely important threads on Iran nukes & the Bush agenda

I posted that thread to get more attention on this current thread (the third and capping of the three cited) and the other two that give the complementing information. These are the Wash Post article on the leaked NIE Iran estimate (which says that Iran is a least 10 years from a nuclear bomb) and the one on the IPC's response to the NIE leak. (The IPC is the Iran Policy Committee and sure looks to be a front for the Bush Administration.)

I'm glad that some people have finally noticed these threads!

[ignatius 2]

33. Wow., this brings tears to my eyes. So many people who truly care about

this country and the ideas that once made it so special. I often find myself wondering if this is how some German citizens felt as they watched their country implode under the leadership of a megalomaniac.

I hope that they and all of us can make a difference before it is too late.

[understandinglife]

34. Norman Solomon: Media Flagstones along a Path to War on Iran

Media Flagstones along a Path to War on Iran

by Norman Solomon

August 3, 2005

On Tuesday, big alarm bells went off in the national media echo chamber, and major US news outlets showed that they knew the drill. Iran's nuclear activities were pernicious, most of all, because people in high places in Washington said so. ... On television in the United States, a narrow range of talking heads detoured around the USA's profuse nuclear hypocrisies.

<clip>

Yes, officials in Washington and their allies conceded, an Iranian restart of uranium enrichment activities would not violate the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

<clip>

In sharp contrast, no "suspicions" are needed about the nuclear activities of two of Iran's bitterest enemies, Israel and Pakistan. Both have produced atomic weapons. Unlike Iran, those two US allies have refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and do not submit to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. For good measure, last month the US government announced plans to engage in cooperation on atomic energy projects with the Indian government, which has nuclear bombs and has not signed the NPT.

<clip>

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous," President Bush told a news conference in late February. He added in the same breath: "and having said that, all options are on the table." Assembled journalists laughed.

More at the link:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/080305E.shtml

Fortunately, Ray McGovern and others don't dig the joke or the joker.


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[annabanana]

35. We can never stop...

Thank God for the brave souls who truly know their duty and have the courage to do it. Those who can make such a difference and have so much to lose.. undetered...I salute you.

[bleever]

36. Kick for Hope. Thanks!

:hi:

[paineinthearse]

37. .

morning kick for an very important post

[Al-CIAda]

39. .

[Sparkman]

40. This is where the rubber hits the road. Patriotism cost many their jobs.

[understandinglife]

41. "Drama-driven, oh-my-God journalism, had, however, taken root, and fear

... was selling newspapers and cranking up television newscast ratings. By the end of the week, the President was before the United Nations’ General Assembly, adding White House authority to the fable that the confiscated tubes were for making nuclear fuel.

“Iraq,” he told the world, “has made several attempts to buy high-strength aluminum tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon. Should Iraq acquire fissile material, it would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year.”

<clip>

But Washington was supposedly filled with people who knew those aluminum tubes had nothing to do with nuclear proliferation. One of them was Greg Thielmann. He was retiring as the head of the State Department’s Office of Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs. According to Thielmann, “The most knowledgeable people in the U.S. government believed that this was not the kind of aluminum that the Iraqis would have been seeking to use in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.”

From Judy and the Little Tubes of Terror by James Moore on August 3, 2005

Much more at the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/jim-moore/judy-and-the-litt_5117.html

James Moore has written an invaluable essay, one that is directly pertinent to the theme of this thread -- Government administration lying to the Nation, and the need for truly patriotic government workers to not allow it to happen.

I started a separate thread focused on Judith Miller because it is essential to place the facts that all Members of Congress, long before March 19, 2003, had ample opportunity to uncover the lies of the Bush administration and the intentional use of the New York Times as a propaganda device:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4258841&mesg_id=4258841


Peace.

www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[Al-CIAda]

42. .