And The Lies Go On

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/01/882/

And The Lies Go On

May 2, 2003: George Bush notoriously declared “Mission Accomplished.” Four Years Later, Even With a Democratically Controlled Congress, The Disaster Grows Worse in Iraq

by Barry Lando

On the fourth anniversary of George W, Bush “Mission Accomplished” declaration of victory in Iraq, 02 May 2003, there’s a perfect storm barreling down on the Bush White House.

It’s driven, among other things, by the rash of bloody suicide bombings in Iraq and continued American casualties, by the revelations of former CIA director George Tenet, and especially by the determination of a Democratic controlled Congress to finally investigate the lies and cover-ups that proceeded — and followed — the 2003 invasion.

There are a couple of remarkable points to make about this. First: there is nothing really new or earthshaking in any of the facts that have been revealed. Most of them, such as Tenet’s charge that there was never any serious debate in the White House about invading Iraq, have been known for years. As was the Pentagon’s shameful cover-up of the death by friendly fire of football hero Pat Tillman.

Secondly, even as Democrats in congress vow to continue probing the past, the Bush administration’s deceptions and distortions continue. US body counts too high? Don’t give the media access to the returning coffins, and keep the President away from any mourning families. Iraqi civilian casualty figures getting out of hand? Have the Iraqi government cease providing civilian casualty figures. Insurgent bomb attacks on the rise? Stop including casualties due to suicide car bombers and other explosive devices in the totals.

Similar games are being played with US troop levels. Though President Bush originally talked of a surge of 21,500 in fact more than 30,000 will be sent. But even that number is only an approximation. For there are 120,000 private contractors — otherwise known as mercenaries — in Iraq. Together they would make up the second largest foreign military force in the country. What are they up to? To whom do they answer? What do they cost?

Don’t hold your breath for the answers. Their activities are far from the oversight of the United States Congress — though most of their salaries are ultimately being paid by the US government. The Department of Defense itself is trying to get a handle on their numbers and activities. But don’t expect any information from that source either. The fact is, many of the interrogators and intelligence analysts in Iraq are private contractors, and recently US intelligence officials spent several months attempting to learn just how many such contractors work in all of America’s top secret intelligence agencies. But after finally coming up with a figure, the officials now refuse to make it public. (Though it’s not clear what Al Qaeda could do with such information.)

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