Absolute power stupefies absolutely

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

You have to wonder why they keep churning out these reports. Not like they shouldn't, or anything.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/03/31/usspies050331.html

Near the end of the piece here, it's mentioned that the commissioners

said they found no evidence that the spymasters were pressured by their political masters to find weapons of mass destruction where none existed, in order to falsely justify a war. "If somebody has a member of the intelligence community that can say to us we changed our analysis ... we haven't heard from them," said Robb.

I'm reminded of a point that was made in the BBC's *The Nazis: a Warning from History,* that a lot of the really nasty stuff that was cooked up in Germany didn't come from directives from up higher, but came largely from the middle managers who tripped over themselves imagining and implementing what they *thought* their leaders would want.

That seems much scarier than the idea of singularly rotten leaders - even if those leaders (Wolfowitz, Ashcroft, Gonzales, Rumsfeld, et al.) do set such larger-than-life examples.

[SmoothedShredder]

It's amazing how primevil fear is... but it's an illusion... If you don't fear death, and don't fear god, then none of the current American rehtoric makes much sense. Too bad all I see at 4:00 in the morning when I get home is advertisments for Christianity, and baby making factories, or some other vain pursuit. I'd rather come home and see NBC showing Dead Shows from Radio City or some sh!t like that... I mean all this potential... and they just tap into our fears... fu@k... bunch of cowards.

There's my two cents anywho... yar.

~W

[StaggerLee]

It all seems a little convenient to me. The intelligence community gets blamed for jumping to conclusions that led to the invasion of Iraq, instead of blaming Bush and his cronies for fearmongering and lying through their teeth. To fix the problem, Bush says, "America's intelligence community needs fundamental change," which means spending a whole bunch of extra money on these agencies to bring them more in line with the Bush way of doing things.

[Kaidy Mae]

Yeah, I don't get how Bush always comes out smelling like a rose. Is everyone too afraid to point a finger at this guy? In the end I think the leader of a country should take some responsibility for the errors of that country (and all of its "intelligence" or lack thereof).

[GWB]

Yeah, I don't get how Bush always comes out smelling like a rose. Is everyone too afraid to point a finger at this guy? In the end I think the leader of a country should take some responsibility for the errors of that country (and all of its "intelligence" or lack thereof).

i am untouchable. i have an unlimited supply of people to take the blame. just ask lee harvey. you think it was a coincidence that the last presidental assisnation was in texas? this is the new world order, i'm king of the world ma.

ps. i do kind of smell like roses

[StoneMtn]

"Now, now! Pipe down there, sonny! You're still not too big for me to put you over my knee..."

[GWB]

i thought that was moms job?