Out Damn Blot: A Letter to Colin Powell

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By Ray McGovern (about the author) Page 5 of 6 page(s)

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Both were part of Saddam Hussein's inner circle; both reported that there were no weapons of mass destruction.

But this was not what the president wanted to hear, so Tenet put the kibosh on Habbush and put Sabri on a cutter to Qatar.

So Here's Your Opportunity

Either you knew about Sabri, Habbush and Curveball, or you did not. If you knew, I suppose you will keep hunkering down, licking your blot, and hoping that plausible denial will continue to work for you.

If you were kept in the dark, though, I would think you would want to raise holy hell - if not to hold accountable those of your former superiors and colleagues responsible for the carnage of the past five years, then at least to try to wipe the "blot" off your record.

Granted, it probably strikes you as a highly unwelcome choice - whether to appear complicit or naïve. Here's an idea. Why not just tell the truth?

If House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers is any guide, Congress seems quite taken with the explosive revelations in Ron Suskind's book "The Way of the World."

On Thursday, Conyers joined Suskind on Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now," and declared that he is "the third day into the most critical investigation of the entire Bush administration." (He clearly was referring to the Suskind revelations.)

Conyers emphasized that, even though Congress is in recess, "We're starting our work, and ... I'm calling everyone back. We've got a huge amount of work to engage in."

At the same time, though, Conyers said he is "maybe the most frustrated person attempting to exercise the oversight responsibilities that I have on Judiciary."

A good deal of his frustration comes from stonewalling by the Bush/Cheney administration, which will surely cite national security or executive privilege to justify withholding any damaging information.

Bush Visits CIA

It was, no doubt, pure coincidence that President Bush made a highly unusual visit to CIA headquarters, also on Thursday, before leaving for Crawford on vacation.

The official line is that he wanted an update on the situation in Georgia and the Russian role there, but Bush did not need to go to Langley for that

Rather, given the record of the past seven years, it is reasonable to suggest that he also wanted to assure malleable Mike Hayden, the CIA director, and his minions that they will be protected if they continue to stiff-arm appropriate congressional committees, denying them the information they need for a successful investigation.

Pardons dangled as hush money? Not so bizarre at all.

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Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was an Army infantry/intelligence officer and then a CIA analyst for 27 years, and is now on the Steering Group of (more...)

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