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Well, it appears we also have disagreements about what is, and is not, civil discourse. Me, I'm just not passionate about either side in this conflict. I hope I can say the same of you.
A good definition:Kenneth J. Gergen describes civil discourse as "the language of dispassionate objectivity".
The simple truth is that if Zelaya were legally removed, then some nation would have recognized that as a fact. None has. You've said you don't understand why. Let's leave it at that. Let the legal people in other countries make that determination.
Here's the definition of a coup:
The sudden, forcible, and illegal removal of a government, usually by the military or some part thereof, often precipitated by more immediate grievances bearing directly on the military. The coup may be the prelude to some form of military rule, with a greater or lesser degree of civilian collaboration, perhaps requiring the collaboration of the civil service and members of the professional and middle classes, or involving the co-optation of sympathetic politicians and parties and of occupational groups, such as peasant and union leaders. While the focus of the coup is on the remedy of specific or immediate grievances, the outcome is unlikely to involve wide-ranging changes in the social order. More often a coup is seen as an effective means of pre-empting revolutionary change from below by imposing some measure of ‘reform’ from above. However, repeated military intervention has seldom contributed to a resolution of long-term social and economic problems.
This is the language of dispassionate objectivity. As far as definitions go, the Honduran coup fits perfectly. Is this clear enough?
Still stoking the civil discourse embers? I guess I shouldn't wait for your explanation of your blatant distortion of my comments. I figured as much...Still beating that illegal removal drum, huh? You sure picked a lousy definition of a coup to support your reasoning. Oh, but I forgot. You still think that Zelaya's very removal from office (regardless of how he was removed) was illegal. Never mind that the Honduran constitution, Honduran Supreme Court, Honduran National Congress, all acted according to their own laws! Facts be damned! Good luck with that...
Citations? Anyway, though I dislike taking up everyone's time, I will respond.
There are 2 separate items that I use for this: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/view/
is a PBS documentary on what was happening in the inner workings of the intelligence community. Many, many people are interviewed.
The second one is:
http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_701675814/Documents_on_Iraq_and_WMD.html
which contains the summary of the NIE, in the expanded form.
Of particular note:
In making the case for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the administration of President George W. Bush argued that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and consequently represented a threat to the United States. The evidence came partly from the Central Intelligence Agency’s National Intelligence Estimate, drafted in October 2002 and declassified in July 2003. The documents below begin with excerpts from the CIA’s assessment, followed by the October 2003 congressional testimony of David Kay, leader of the Iraq Survey Group, a U.S. weapons inspection team that searched for Iraq’s alleged WMD after the war. In January 2004 Kay resigned, saying “we were all wrong, probably” about the existence of WMD in Iraq.
However, please note that tiny IRM got it right. They disagreed with the assumptions made by everyone else.
Britain, Germany, Israel, Russia, France, etc., all shared our view that Iraq had WMD or retained the capability to quickly reconstitute production.
Then why didn't Germany, France and Russia join us in our Iraq invasion?
You implied that U.S. intelligence was not in agreement as to WMD and Iraq. I’d say the 2002 NIE is hard to argue with. I also maintain that the world’s reputable intelligence services were of the same opinion we were.
Read INR's dissent. It is most revealing. On the PBS series, it is clear that raw intelligence was being stovepiped from the DOD's intelligence branch directly to the administration. Some was being leaked, then showing up the next day in the New York Times. Much of this was unvetted. Germany gave us Curveball, the Brits gave us Chalabi. They were both making things up, it seems.
I didn't include your citations for the NIE's. Instead of cherrypicking, let's take a look at everything in the NIE, particularly the dissenting voice that we would all like to ignore. After all, that's how we got into this, by not looking at all the intelligence, and vetting it.
Another source would be George Tenet's At the Center of the Storm. He resigned for personal reasons. Additionally, a lot of the top people resigned at the CIA right after he left. They took responsibility. A majority of the problem occured because of the infighting between the CIA and DOD. In the end, DOD set up an office to stovepipe raw intelligence to the administration. Yes, clearly the CIA got it wrong. They admitted it, at least on WMD.
The 9/11 Commission Report, which you are so fond of referencing, stated there was no “collaborative operational relationship” between Iraq and al Qaeda. An assertion that appears to imply that someone in the Bush administration had claimed such a relationship had existed, when in fact I do not believe that was the case at all. When did President Bush or his administration make the assertion that Iraq and al Qaeda had an “operational” relationship?
Again, examine the PBS video. It is most revealing. Examine the video clips of what everyone is saying, and draw your own conclusions. The 9/11 report states that there were no operational ties between Iraq and OBL. Are you saying this was politically motivated? It was a bipartisan commission.
The typical straw man tactic employed by the Left is that the Bush administration “sold” the Iraq war based on the “lie” that Iraq aided al-Qaeda in the planning and execution of the 9/11 attacks is nothing more than a myth. However much the opponents of President Bush and/or the Iraq war would love to believe that myth has merit, it just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Particularly damning here is the Plame incident, where she was outed by the administration, since her husband was looking into the yellowcake issue. There was an indictment in the case. This might have sent a chilling message to anyone trying to even remotely vet the intelligence, don't you think? It's as if the administration said that they were going to make a case, and anyone who even tried to vet their intelligence would be punished. Typical straw man? I don't think so. There are several citations for this, of course. It's also a felony case.
I had thought all of this had been resolved previously, several years ago. I guess not.
I'd like it to be the Chargers, but the Saints look damn good this year!So who do you think will win the Super Bowl this year?
My money is on the Colts.![]()
You can't rule out Obama.So who do you think will win the Super Bowl this year?
My money is on the Colts.![]()
Good one! I wonder if he'll call himself when he wins the World Series.You can't rule out Obama.![]()
Maybe they could ask him to do the `first quarterback pass' (like the first throw-out in baseball) and have his Czars as his defense -You can't rule out Obama.![]()
Very Cool CH..I salute your uncle with the utmost respect..
too bad other Marines didn't take their duty with such honor and pride, even after decommissioning.
now that's funny!the world series is on fox, so he probably won't show up for that one.![]()
I must admit, that's a funny one. Maybe soon they'll show a cartoon of the NBC peacock on an auction block and the money going to Rush to pay for the slander lawsuit. One can only hope...back on topic..... good cartoons.
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