title says it, and this Colonel was pretty darned conservative
K. Kwiatkowski, Colonel
Aparently the Pentagon became over-run by people who were so driven by a predefined goal (an ideology) that Kwiatkowski felt the need to retire in order to bring the ideologically extreme positions out to the public.
PLEASE READ IT BEFORE YOU LABEL IT BUSH BASHING
the article is admittedly from a biased source but Kwiatkowski has been a life long staunch conservative
the article is an interview: some good quotes:
on the knowledge prior to invasion of WMD by the Pentagon:
especially revealing, from this Conservative Colonel in the Pentagon, there were three reasons that the Neocons wanted to invade:
second reason: bases
The third reason is also very revealing . . . I'll leave it to you when you read the interview . . . I'll just say that it is not surprising.
other quotes: when asked how it feels to be out of the military and writing against former bosses:
K. Kwiatkowski, Colonel
Aparently the Pentagon became over-run by people who were so driven by a predefined goal (an ideology) that Kwiatkowski felt the need to retire in order to bring the ideologically extreme positions out to the public.
PLEASE READ IT BEFORE YOU LABEL IT BUSH BASHING
the article is admittedly from a biased source but Kwiatkowski has been a life long staunch conservative
the article is an interview: some good quotes:
Quote:
They [the Office of Special Plans (set up by Chenney in the Pentagon)] pushed an agenda on Iraq, and they developed pretty sophisticated propaganda lines which were fed throughout government, to the Congress, and even internally to the Pentagon to try and make this case of immediacy. This case of severe threat to the United States.
Quote:
There was a sort of groupthink, an adopted storyline: We are going to invade Iraq and we are going to eliminate Saddam Hussein and we are going to have bases in Iraq. This was all a given even by the time I joined them, in May of 2002.
Quote:
The concerns were only that some policymakers still had to get onboard with this agenda. Not that this agenda was right or wrong but that we needed to convince the remaining holdovers. Colin Powell, for example. There was a lot of frustration with Powell; [ . . . ] General Tony Zinni is another one.
Quote:
They were very anti-anybody who might provide information that affected their paradigm. They were the spin enforcers.
Quote:
That decision [To invade Iraq] was made by the time I got there. So there was no debate over WMD, the possible relations Saddam Hussein may have had with terrorist groups and so on. They [OSP] spent their energy gathering pieces of information and creating a propaganda storyline, which is the same storyline we heard the president and Vice President Cheney tell the American people in the fall of 2002.
on the knowledge prior to invasion of WMD by the Pentagon:
Quote:
Its not about interest. We knew. We knew from many years of both high-level surveillance and other types of shared intelligence, not to mention the information from the U.N., we knew, we knew what was left [from the Gulf War] and the viability of any of that. Bush said he didnt know.
The truth is, we know [Saddam] didnt have these things. Almost a billion dollars has been spent a billion dollars! by David Kays group to search for these WMD, a total whitewash effort. They didnt find anything, they didnt expect to find anything..
The truth is, we know [Saddam] didnt have these things. Almost a billion dollars has been spent a billion dollars! by David Kays group to search for these WMD, a total whitewash effort. They didnt find anything, they didnt expect to find anything..
especially revealing, from this Conservative Colonel in the Pentagon, there were three reasons that the Neocons wanted to invade:
Quote:
One of those reasons is that sanctions and containment were working and everybody pretty much knew it. Many companies around the world were preparing to do business with Iraq in anticipation of a lifting of sanctions. But the U.S. and the U.K. had been bombing northern and southern Iraq since 1991. So it was very unlikely that we would be in any kind of position to gain significant contracts in any post-sanctions Iraq. And those sanctions were going to be lifted soon, Saddam would still be in place, and we would get no financial benefit.
second reason: bases
The third reason is also very revealing . . . I'll leave it to you when you read the interview . . . I'll just say that it is not surprising.
other quotes: when asked how it feels to be out of the military and writing against former bosses:
Quote:
Know what it feels like? It feels like duty. Thats what it feels like. Ive thought about it many times. You know, I spent 20 years working for something that at least under this administration turned out to be something I wasnt working for. I mean, these people have total disrespect for the Constitution. We swear an oath, military officers and NCOs alike swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. These people have no respect for the Constitution. The Congress was misled, it was lied to. At a very minimum that is a subversion of the Constitution. A pre-emptive war based on what we knew was not a pressing need is not what this country stands for.
What I feel now is that Im not retired. I still have a responsibility to do my part as a citizen to try and correct the problem.
What I feel now is that Im not retired. I still have a responsibility to do my part as a citizen to try and correct the problem.
"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
--George W Bush
"Narrative is what starts to happen after eight minutes
--Franklin Miller.
"Nothing...
--George W Bush
"Narrative is what starts to happen after eight minutes
--Franklin Miller.
"Nothing...
"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
--George W Bush
"Narrative is what starts to happen after eight minutes
--Franklin Miller.
"Nothing...
--George W Bush
"Narrative is what starts to happen after eight minutes
--Franklin Miller.
"Nothing...












