Guess Who's On The Bush Exoneration Panel

Discussion in 'Politics' started by hoodooman, Mar 24, 2004.

  1. A low life SOB by the name of John Lehman. But what do I know? I only worked for them for 20 years.

    Vistica, Gregory L. Fall From Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy. New York: Simon & Schuster (Touchstone Edition), 1997. 478 pages.
    Author Gregory Vistica, a reporter for Newsweek, tells us how the Navy brass really operates in the Pentagon. This book centers on John Lehman, Reagan's secretary of the Navy. Lehman was an egomaniacal infighter who destroyed anything that stood in the way of bigger battleships and bloated budgets. Tough-sounding flyboys such as Lehman were darlings to the fanged neocons who littered the Reagan years. A more sober analysis of the Soviet threat (which was already starting to rust in port), and of new threats from missile technology, might have saved billions. The subtitle for this book should have been, "Boys and Their Toys."
    Then there were the scandals and morale problems. Vistica takes us behind the scenes of the Tailhook scandal, the Admiral Boorda suicide, the "Ill Wind" procurement scandal, the John Walker spy case (Walker gave the Soviets access to the Navy's secret communications for more than 17 years), the Iowa battleship explosion and cover-up, and the cruiser Vincennes, which shot down of an Iranian airliner and received combat action ribbons for killing all 290 civilians aboard. You won't find many heros in these pages.

    What the f--k is wrong with america and when is all this shit going to stop?
     
  2. hoodoo,

    you MUST read "Blind Man's Bluff" by Sherry Sontag...

    basically, it is a collection of fairly recently de-classified documents and stories about US intelligence gathering on the soviets during the cold war...from submarines!

    ...to make a long story short, it completely undermines the reagan defense budget...the CIA knew everything about the entire soviet fleet (not just the subs) and knew that there were no plans or capabilities for the soviets to do anything to us...

    seems somehow reminiscent of the dumya administration, star wars, etc...oh wait! it's the same bunch of assholes from reagan's cabinet!

    PS - thx for your book rec...i will check it out.
     
  3. bungrider
    I'll check it out.
    regards
     
  4. Get this -- Lehman has apparently been doing some work for the Project For A New American Century...they sent him a letter 9 days after 9/11 to congratulate him on doing such an excellent job, and to remind him that attacking Saddam is the way to go...



    http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter.htm


    Letter to President Bush on the War on Terrorism, September 20, 2001

    September 20, 2001

    The Honorable George W. Bush
    President of the United States
    Washington, DC

    Dear Mr. President,

    We write to endorse your admirable commitment to “lead the world to victory” in the war against terrorism. We fully support your call for “a broad and sustained campaign” against the “terrorist organizations and those who harbor and support them.” We agree with Secretary of State Powell that the United States must find and punish the perpetrators of the horrific attack of September 11, and we must, as he said, “go after terrorism wherever we find it in the world” and “get it by its branch and root.” We agree with the Secretary of State that U.S. policy must aim not only at finding the people responsible for this incident, but must also target those “other groups out there that mean us no good” and “that have conducted attacks previously against U.S. personnel, U.S. interests and our allies.”

    In order to carry out this “first war of the 21st century” successfully, and in order, as you have said, to do future “generations a favor by coming together and whipping terrorism,” we believe the following steps are necessary parts of a comprehensive strategy.

    Osama bin Laden

    We agree that a key goal, but by no means the only goal, of the current war on terrorism should be to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, and to destroy his network of associates. To this end, we support the necessary military action in Afghanistan and the provision of substantial financial and military assistance to the anti-Taliban forces in that country.

    Iraq

    We agree with Secretary of State Powell’s recent statement that Saddam Hussein “is one of the leading terrorists on the face of the Earth….” It may be that the Iraqi government provided assistance in some form to the recent attack on the United States. But even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the attack, any strategy aiming at the eradication of terrorism and its sponsors must include a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. Failure to undertake such an effort will constitute an early and perhaps decisive surrender in the war on international terrorism. The United States must therefore provide full military and financial support to the Iraqi opposition. American military force should be used to provide a “safe zone” in Iraq from which the opposition can operate. And American forces must be prepared to back up our commitment to the Iraqi opposition by all necessary means.

    Hezbollah

    Hezbollah is one of the leading terrorist organizations in the world. It is suspected of having been involved in the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Africa, and implicated in the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. Hezbollah clearly falls in the category cited by Secretary Powell of groups “that mean us no good” and “that have conducted attacks previously against U.S. personnel, U.S. interests and our allies.” Therefore, any war against terrorism must target Hezbollah. We believe the administration should demand that Iran and Syria immediately cease all military, financial, and political support for Hezbollah and its operations. Should Iran and Syria refuse to comply, the administration should consider appropriate measures of retaliation against these known state sponsors of terrorism.

    Israel and the Palestinian Authority

    Israel has been and remains America’s staunchest ally against international terrorism, especially in the Middle East. The United States should fully support our fellow democracy in its fight against terrorism. We should insist that the Palestinian Authority put a stop to terrorism emanating from territories under its control and imprison those planning terrorist attacks against Israel. Until the Palestinian Authority moves against terror, the United States should provide it no further assistance.

    U.S. Defense Budget

    A serious and victorious war on terrorism will require a large increase in defense spending.
    Fighting this war may well require the United States to engage a well-armed foe, and will also require that we remain capable of defending our interests elsewhere in the world. We urge that there be no hesitation in requesting whatever funds for defense are needed to allow us to win this war.

    There is, of course, much more that will have to be done. Diplomatic efforts will be required to enlist other nations’ aid in this war on terrorism. Economic and financial tools at our disposal will have to be used. There are other actions of a military nature that may well be needed. However, in our judgement the steps outlined above constitute the minimum necessary if this war is to be fought effectively and brought to a successful conclusion. Our purpose in writing is to assure you of our support as you do what must be done to lead the nation to victory in this fight.


    Sincerely,

    William Kristol

    Richard V. Allen Gary Bauer Jeffrey Bell William J. Bennett

    Rudy Boshwitz Jeffrey Bergner Eliot Cohen Seth Cropsey

    Midge Decter Thomas Donnelly Nicholas Eberstadt Hillel Fradkin

    Aaron Friedberg Francis Fukuyama Frank Gaffney Jeffrey Gedmin

    Reuel Marc Gerecht Charles Hill Bruce P. Jackson Eli S. Jacobs

    Michael Joyce Donald Kagan Robert Kagan Jeane Kirkpatrick

    Charles Krauthammer John Lehman Clifford May Martin Peretz

    Richard Perle Norman Podhoretz Stephen P. Rosen Randy Scheunemann

    Gary Schmitt William Schneider, Jr. Richard H. Shultz Henry Sokolski

    Stephen J. Solarz Vin Weber Leon Wieseltier Marshall Wittmann