Expanding the War to Iran: Another “Urban Legend?”
By Leon Hadar | January 26, 2007
Strong signals indicate that the Bush administration could be creating the conditions for another war in the Middle East. A sense of déjà vu is descending on Washington as many begin to wonder whether the White House is planning to expand the current war into Iran. Read full story.
All the Vice President's Men (and a Daughter)
President George W. Bush's decision to push the “surge” plan in Iraq has pundits remarking about the resurgence of Vice President Dick Cheney. Often viewed as the real power behind the White House, Cheney's influence over foreign policy seemed to go into a tailspin after the resignation of his former chief of staff “Scooter” Libby, whose trial on charges connected to the “PlameGate” affair began this week. Remarking on Libby's influence within the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Bob Woodward wrote in his latest inside scoop, State of Denial: “Cheney was lost without Libby, many of the vice president's close associates felt. Libby had done so much of the preparation for the vice president's meetings and events, and so much of the hard work. He had been almost part of Cheney's brain.”
For some observers, the president's decision to make his latest desperate call to give war a chance is proof that Cheney has finally gotten over his post-Libby doldrums, a point made recently by the Washington Post's David Ignatius, who wrote in a column this week: “There's a sense that Cheney's influence is on the rise again, at least with Iraq policy, but that's after many months in which his allies say his role was diminished.” According to Ignatius, a key to Cheney's success has been the ability of the OVP to serve as a “kind of parallel national security staff.” In this special section of Right Web News, we feature the profiles of a number of key figures who have worked in the OVP since the Bush-Cheney team took over in Washington six years ago. We've also included one other member of Cheney's entourage—his daughter Liz, who, since resigning from her State Department post last year has been a vocal proponent of the VP-line.
David Addington
Called “Cheney's hit man,” the VP's reclusive chief of staff has worked to allow warrantless surveillance, sidestep the Geneva Conventions, hamper investigations of pre-Iraq War intel, and resist implementation of rules governing detainee treatment.
Elizabeth Cheney
The VP's daughter, a former State Department official who some call the “freedom agenda coordinator,” has continued to push for Mideast regime change.
Eric Edelman
Douglas Feith's replacement at the Pentagon, Edelman was deputy assistant for national security affairs in the OVP during the lead up to the war in Iraq, aiding “Scooter” Libby's efforts to produce “intelligence” that could justify the invasion.
I. Lewis Libby
The trial of the VP's erstwhile chief of staff began this week with a bang: Libby's attorney, Theodore Wells, argued that his client was “scapegoated” by the White House to conceal Karl Rove 's role in leaking the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame. As proof, Wells produced a note from Cheney that read: “Not going to protect one staffer + sacrifice the guy that was asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder because of the incompetence of others.” Said Wells: “That one person was Karl Rove. He was viewed as a political genius … He had to be protected. The person who was to be sacrificed was Scooter Libby.”
John Hannah
The OVP's adviser on national security affairs, a hardline Mideast ideologue closely tied to the pro-Israel lobby, was part of a White House group charged with piecing together evidence of Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction programs.
David Wurmser
Cheney's adviser on Mideast affairs is a core member of the neoconservative political faction whose track record includes drawing up post-9/11 memos that called for “hitting targets outside the Middle East in the initial offensive,” or possibly a “non-al-Qaida target like Iraq.”
ALSO THIS WEEK IN RIGHT WEB
A Mideast Feast
By Jim Lobe | January 24, 2007
The neocons are still trying to serve up stale ideas about the Middle East—ideas that have been on the table for years. Read full story.
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The initiative to promote a global good neighbor ethic as the guiding vision of U.S. foreign policy was launched by the International Relations Center (IRC) in May 2005 with events in New York City and Washington, DC. Consider adding your voice to the cause. And check out this new GGN video.
