Run Away!
The #3 man at the Pentagon, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith today announced plans to retire by this summer. Mr. Feith stated his reasons for leaving as “personal and family-related” and that “he feels that he does not have much of a life outside of work”.
But Douglas Feith isn’t just another faceless Pentagon bureaucrat; he is a key architect of the War in Iraq. A staunch neo-conservative and a protégé of Richard Perle, Feith was responsible for a special intelligence group within the Defense Dept., created outside of the normal intelligence channels (esp. the CIA) and with direct connections to White House via Dick Cheney’s office. The purpose of this group was to collect and disseminate intelligence information supporting the Administration’s position on Iraq. This office was the source of the thoroughly discredited, but still widely believed, statements concerning links between Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein. Feith spent much of his time presenting this information directly to members of the Congress and Senate. He was the source of much of the mis-information that was used to deceive legislators into supporting the war. Without Feith, there would likely be no war in Iraq.
Oh, and his other responsibility was post-war planning.
Well Dougie, let me tell you something. Your soldiers in Iraq don’t have much of a life outside of work either. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that their job is a LOT more intense and consuming than yours ever was. They have families too – but they don’t get to see them every night like you do. And I’m pretty sure that all those National Guard troops stuck in combat under stop-loss orders would like to go back to their personal lives too. But the only way they will get to go home by summer is on a stretcher or in a body-bag.
Maybe you should make a quick trip to Iraq and explain all this to your troops. I’m sure they’d understand. Over there, deserters are shot.
For a short summary of Douglas Feith’s announcement, listen to the NPR piece here (you’ll need speakers):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4467941
But Douglas Feith isn’t just another faceless Pentagon bureaucrat; he is a key architect of the War in Iraq. A staunch neo-conservative and a protégé of Richard Perle, Feith was responsible for a special intelligence group within the Defense Dept., created outside of the normal intelligence channels (esp. the CIA) and with direct connections to White House via Dick Cheney’s office. The purpose of this group was to collect and disseminate intelligence information supporting the Administration’s position on Iraq. This office was the source of the thoroughly discredited, but still widely believed, statements concerning links between Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein. Feith spent much of his time presenting this information directly to members of the Congress and Senate. He was the source of much of the mis-information that was used to deceive legislators into supporting the war. Without Feith, there would likely be no war in Iraq.
Oh, and his other responsibility was post-war planning.
Well Dougie, let me tell you something. Your soldiers in Iraq don’t have much of a life outside of work either. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that their job is a LOT more intense and consuming than yours ever was. They have families too – but they don’t get to see them every night like you do. And I’m pretty sure that all those National Guard troops stuck in combat under stop-loss orders would like to go back to their personal lives too. But the only way they will get to go home by summer is on a stretcher or in a body-bag.
Maybe you should make a quick trip to Iraq and explain all this to your troops. I’m sure they’d understand. Over there, deserters are shot.
For a short summary of Douglas Feith’s announcement, listen to the NPR piece here (you’ll need speakers):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4467941
posted by pkshuff at
1/27/2005 09:52:00 AM
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