SWANSON: Who's running this show, Bush or Cheney or a group?
KWIATKOWSKI: I suspect it is Cheney, and Cheney's network of like-minded, old Cold Warriors struggling for money, power and relevance in a post-Cold War age. Hence the war on terror, hence the demonization of Russia, Iran and China by members of the Cheney clique. Cheney and those who share his worldview in Washington are dinosaurs, but they have big teeth, big appetites, and they aren't dead yet. Apparently, Cheney is also personally feared by many Republicans and Democrats alike. I don't know why. Are they afraid he'll curse at them and call them names? Bush doesn't seem to be much of an organization man. He seems more like the Paris Hilton of politics. He goes to the parties, he shows up, he has a good time, but doesn't take anything too seriously. Cheney seems to take world domination seriously, and he has a lot of friendly, and fearful, folks on board.
SWANSON: Did you expect that the new Democratic majority would investigate the Iraq fraud?
KWIATKOWSKI: Not really. They should have done it in the first hundred hours, and started impeachment hearings, too. They did neither because those who devise our foreign policy in the Middle East politically own many Democrats and Republicans. Party affiliation is meaningless, as we have seen already.
SWANSON: Did you expect to be called to testify?
KWIATKOWSKI: I was not called for the Part II Senate Intelligence Subcommittee investigation, on the politicization of the Iraq intelligence. I had been called for a few hours with the staff of the committee for the Part I investigation in 2004, and yet what I have observed and written about mostly was indeed the politicization. So I don't expect to be called ever again. The only Congressmen I hear from are those who already understand it isn't about Republicans and Democrats, but rather the Constitution and what is right and wrong.
SWANSON: What do you make of the first two months of Democratic rule without any investigation, other than a report from the Pentagon Inspector General that had been requested by the Republicans?
KWIATKOWSKI: It simply adds another nail in the coffin of our democratic experiment. We need at least two distinct parties, and possibly three , each with an ability to articulate and pursue real philosophical alternatives. The Democrats offer no alternatives on foreign policy – and sadly, the Republicans are as "Democratic" on domestic policy as the Democratic Party once was. Clearly, on foreign policy, it's Dumb and Dumber. No wonder Americans don't vote.
SWANSON: What would it take to force Congress to do an investigation of one war and possibly prevent a second?
KWIATKOWSKI: If Cheney were replaced next week by a moderate Republican, possibly one of the Presidential hopefuls, we might see it. But that might just as easily result in the issues of Iraq buried even deeper from public scrutiny. Unfortunately, Congress doesn't want to examine the mistakes of Iraq, nor do they want to prevent a confrontation with Iran. Most members of Congress are still rubberstamping the Bush-Cheney foreign policy. They have already publicly stated that they agree we should hit Iran, or do something to Iran in order to satisfy one or more opportunistic desire of Iran's various neighbors -- whether they be the Kurds, the Turks, the Paks, our puppets in Baghdad, Kuwait or Qatar, the House of Saud, or the Likud leadership in Israel. Take your pick.
