Juan Cole: The Last Neocon Attacks Hillary

[laststeamtrain]

The Last Neocon Attacks Hillary


You might gather from a cursory examination of the wire services that "the Pentagon" has attacked Senator Hillary Clinton for requesting a briefing for her committee from the Department of Defense on contingency plans for withdrawal from Iraq.

<snip>

He served as Dick Cheney's national security adviser in the early zeroes and, along with convicted felon Irv Lewis Libby, was heavily involved in getting up the fraudulent and illegal Iraq War.

He was then sent as ambassador to Turkey to shore up that front in the war effort, after the Turkish parliament denied the US military permission to march through Anatolia into neighboring Iraq. He was denounced by Turkish commentators for behaving in Ankara like a colonial viceroy rather than like an ambassador. And then when arch-Neocon and then deputy secretary of defense Doug Feith was forced out under a cloud after one of his subordinates was caught spying for Israel, Edelman was installed as his successor. In other words, Cheney arranged for one Neoconservative to replace another.

Lest anyone doubt Edelman's conversion to the Neoconservative cause, it should be remembered that when the Government Accounting Office lambasted Feith's open interference in intelligence analysis and his practice of actually briefing his superiors on intelligence (which is forbidden to and probably illegal for defense department bureaucrats), Edelman wrote a long defense of Feith's corrupt practices and forced the GAO to drop actual policy recommendations for ensuring they did not recur.

In my view, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates should have fired Edelman on the spot, since his subordinate was basically announcing his commitment to the kind of shady and illegitimate practices that Feith (whom then Secretary of State Colin Powell called 'a card-carrying member of the Likud ') and his allies such as Cheney used to drag the United States into an Iraq War.

So, Hillary was not criticized by a military officer. No evidence Edelman knows one end of an M-16 from another. She was not criticized by a Defense Department veteran. Edelman is just a recently installed understudy to Feith.

<more>

http://www.juancole.com/2007/07/last-neocon-attacks-hillary-you-might.html

[HereSince1628]

1. It's no accident this happened in the week Bush declared he'd sieze the property

of persons undermining US Iraq policy.

There is no appreciation for how far down the slope this nation has slid from it's once high status as a democratic Republic.

[PATRICK]

3. Noticed that too

Juan Cole does not even sense coincidence. Is it slightly possible that he- and Gates- continue to act as outlier surrogates for special Rove tactics? Treating these things with innocent wonder and outrage then considering each incident inexplicable, exceptional and isolated is rather uncritical to say the least. A lot of Bush opponents really miss the point as do, by dint of enforced ignorance and twisting spin, the bulk of the American public who allow themselves to be simply tagged "dissatisfied with the war in Iraq".

This is sneaky intimidation because a direct threat is a mind-boggling attack on political opponents and dissidents. Making Edelman an isolated crank protects Bush while delivering the message. it also helps Hillary with Dems and launches a GOP attack against her. It makes so much sense that one wonders if Edelman is some sort of genius rather a blundering bureaucrat or someone has written his role for him with the permission of The Dickster and the Trickster(Rove).

[Faygo Kid]

2. The "Last" Neocon? We wish. They are still thick as fleas.

I see no evidence that this insane neocon chickenhawk crowd has changed one iota, or learned any humility whatsoever from their folly and our tragedy. They must be removed - excised like the boil on the body politic that they are.

[mzteris]

4. well at least some DU'ers'll be happy

about Hillary having problems.

:crazy:

[Stuckinthebush]

5. If so, it will be a handful

Most who aren't interested in Hillary as our nominee don't have anything against her personally. I think the biggest concern with those who are not gung-ho Hillary is that there seems to be a significant media and money driven reason for her success at this time.

[mzteris]

6. so her skill, talent, intelligence, experience, ability -

have nothing to do with it, eh?

[Stuckinthebush]

7. Nope

The other candiates have those things too.

The sad reality is that presidential politics is a popularity contest. Who is most well known? Who does the media want to see in there? Who has the connections?

Hillary is ok, but she isn't necessarily the best one in the bunch. She's just the one with more "star" power.

[mzteris]

8. Really?

Disclaimer: I'm for no ONE candidate. I love them all. I'd support them all. (The biggies anyway - some of the fringe ones, eh. Maybe if I knew more?)

They're ALL intelligent.
They're all skilled in different ways. Which is the best set of skills for this point in time? That's a question needs answering. Handling the neocons. Handling the vitriolic attackers. etc.


Edwards has as much or more experience than Hillary?
Obama has as much or more experience than Hillary?
Clark, Gore - not running - though I'd love either/both of them, too. ok - you got me on Gore with the experience thing.

Sorry, but I don't take Gravel nor Kucinich seriously. Which might be too bad - but there it is.
Richardson - don't know much about him. Doesn't seem too articulate though. (and yeah, I use the word articulate in conversation on a regular basis - regardless of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation or religion. . . :P )

[Stuckinthebush]

10. I take them all seriously

Kucinich hasn't been wrong yet. Can he win? Not in the media driven political world we live in. But I take him seriously.

[MasonJar]

9. Does this mean Bush will try to infringe on Clinton property? And

that of Gates too? That should make the world of Goofball a lot more interesting.