Re: Juan Cole on Rumsfeld’s memo
On Dec 4, 2006, at 10:55 AM, Dwayne Monroe wrote:
The simplest explanation (and the one Seymour Hersh has offered up when discussing his sources for CIA, NSA and DoD insider information) is that professionals within these organizations — true believers in the stated missions of their agencies — are, like the JAGs who’ve spoken against the procedures used at Gitmo, disturbed by what they’ve seen and heard and are trying to let the rest of us know the scope of the problem.
I’ve been reading Patrick Cockburn’s new Verso book on the occupation
of Iraq, called, simply enough, THe Occupation. He says a lot of
important people in Washington privately objected to the invasion of
Iraq, but were too cowed by the Bush admin’s fervor, popularity, and
skill at impugning the patriotism of its critics to say anything
publicly. This is further proof that the invasion was the work of a
cabal, and not the product of the heart of the imperial mechanism.
It’s also an illustration of how much the executive branch can get
away with, even in the face of elite opposition; apparently the
effective dissent comes afterwards, in the form of leaks.
Doug