Loyalty trumps Truth and Competence
“We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield.” - George Orwell
The Bush regime has revised America’s foreign policy from one that is based on moral authority into one that is based on a misguided and self-defeating effort to establish dominance in the world. Our foreign policy seems to be based on intimidation and control.
Furthermore, the Executive Branch demands conformity from their employees by censoring dissenting views that may be inconsistent with its stated ideological goals. CIA analysts who strongly disagreed with the Bush regimes assertion that bin Laden was linked to Saddam Hussein found themselves under pressure at work and became fearful of losing promotions and salary increases.
Senior CIA officer Paul Pillar was our national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia. Pillar claims the Pentagon repeatedly asked the same questions, and when intelligence analysts resisted giving them the answers they wanted, Pillar and others were accused of "trying to sabotage the president's policies." In exactly the same way, intimidation was used on the FBI, and soon the untrue conclusion that al Qaeda and Iraq were linked became the unanimous view.
False beliefs have bumped up against solid reality, on the battlefield of Baghdad. In the “Imperial Life in the Emerald City”, Rajiv Chandrasekaran gives details of life in the heavily fortified green zone. He reports that it’s the Michael Brown situation a 100 times over, in terms of consistently selecting a person, who wasn’t right for the job. We should have hired our best and brightest, but the Pentagon looked for loyalty to the Republican Party.
Chandrasekaran says Arabic language skills, a background in the Middle East, and expertise in post war reconstruction were needed. Unfortunately, the Bush regime only wanted true believers, people who voted for Bush and supported their vision for Iraq. In their pre-deployment interviews some people were asked their views on Roe versus Wade and were subjected to discussions about capital punishment.
The Bush regime has revised America’s foreign policy from one that is based on moral authority into one that is based on a misguided and self-defeating effort to establish dominance in the world. Our foreign policy seems to be based on intimidation and control.
Furthermore, the Executive Branch demands conformity from their employees by censoring dissenting views that may be inconsistent with its stated ideological goals. CIA analysts who strongly disagreed with the Bush regimes assertion that bin Laden was linked to Saddam Hussein found themselves under pressure at work and became fearful of losing promotions and salary increases.
Senior CIA officer Paul Pillar was our national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia. Pillar claims the Pentagon repeatedly asked the same questions, and when intelligence analysts resisted giving them the answers they wanted, Pillar and others were accused of "trying to sabotage the president's policies." In exactly the same way, intimidation was used on the FBI, and soon the untrue conclusion that al Qaeda and Iraq were linked became the unanimous view.
False beliefs have bumped up against solid reality, on the battlefield of Baghdad. In the “Imperial Life in the Emerald City”, Rajiv Chandrasekaran gives details of life in the heavily fortified green zone. He reports that it’s the Michael Brown situation a 100 times over, in terms of consistently selecting a person, who wasn’t right for the job. We should have hired our best and brightest, but the Pentagon looked for loyalty to the Republican Party.
Chandrasekaran says Arabic language skills, a background in the Middle East, and expertise in post war reconstruction were needed. Unfortunately, the Bush regime only wanted true believers, people who voted for Bush and supported their vision for Iraq. In their pre-deployment interviews some people were asked their views on Roe versus Wade and were subjected to discussions about capital punishment.
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