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Former UN Inspector David Albright: "Often what you see in the Bush administration is that they don't care. I mean, you say, 'This isn't true.' They say, 'Oh, Okay,' and then they repeat it again publicly. Or they just say, 'Don't form a conclusion. Keep working on it.' And so there are several cases where the inspectors are just expected to keep working on it, and yet they think it's garbage."
McGovern: Intelligence needs to be as pure as a virgin. When intelligence is pimped, as is now being done by the White House and the Defense Department, it loses its virginity. And, as is well known, nothing is quite the same again once you have lost your virginity."
President Bush has almost reached his goal: war against Saddam Hussein. And the American media are beating the drums. For example, Fox TV, America's most watched news channel and its very popular star-anchor Bill O'Reilly, who stirs up millions of viewers:
O'Reilly: "When the war begins, this is what we expect from every American: Either you support the military or you shut up. Americans and our foreign allies who come out against us are enemies of the state."
Baiting, intimidation, disinformation -- with results that are grotesque:
A question put to US citizens: "Do you think that Saddam Hussein may attack America in the near future with weapons of mass destruction?"
Woman: "If we don't watch out, it just might happen."
Man: "Absolutely. I think they will attack the United States with chemical weapons."
Woman: "I hear that Iraq has a lot of nuclear weapons that could hit the West Coast and it is very worrisome to me."
Worrisome indeed. Clearly, it is feelings and opinions -- not facts -- that are determining support in the US for war or peace.
Reporters: John Goetz and Volker Steinhoff; Edit: Karen Menge
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