Author name: davidswanson

Greed and Gall: Asking Iraq to Pay for Its Occupation

By David Swanson

The minority of Americans who support the war largely do so out of a sense of responsibility to Iraqis. They favor reconstruction and restoration as well as ongoing occupation. And most of the majority who favor ending the war support the financing of reconstruction, which – after all – costs less than war. Reconstruction seems to be something we generally agree on.

Of course, very little reconstruction has been done or appears likely to be done, and recent reports are that read more

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What the Republicans Really Do Not Want

By David Swanson

The New York Sun today printed this quote:

“A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, Tracey Schmitt, dismissed the effort as ‘fringe, to say the least.’

“‘If Democrats choose to align themselves with such a laughable campaign, it will be at their own peril,’ Ms. Schmitt said.”

What campaign was the RNC spokeswoman referring to? Whatever it was, we can be sure it is something the RNC really really does not want to see succeed. read more

What the Republicans Really Do Not Want Read More »

What Fate Awaits NSA Spying Whistleblower

By David Swanson

Can there be any doubt that if the White House finds out who leaked the story of its illegal spying, fierce retribution will follow?

Another way of asking that question is: Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?

Remember what happened to Ambassador Joseph Wilson? The White House leaked to the media his wife’s identity as an undercover agent for the CIA, putting her life and those of her colleagues in danger and ending her career.

And let us recall what read more

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Rumsfeld Admits to "Ghosting" Detainee

By David Swanson

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has admitted that he “ghosted” a detainee, meaning that he made the decision to hold a prisoner without keeping any records of the fact.

While prisoners of war can be theoretically stripped of their rights by calling them other names (like “unlawful combatants”), they are probably most effectively stripped of all rights by keeping their imprisonment secret. That is what Rumsfeld says he did.

An account of what read more

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My Guest Blog on BradBlog.com

‘Downing Street Documents’ – Confirmed and Corroborated!
Leaked Top-Secret British Documents Revealing Bush Intended to Launch a War on Iraq — No Matter What — Have Been Proven Legitimate and Correct
John Conyers’ Latest Report Provides a Point-by-Point Verification

Guest Blogged by David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and CensureBush.org In the eight months since the so-called “Downing Street Documents” have been made public, certain read more

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Can Cheney Save Bush's Presidency?

By David Swanson

Talk of censure and impeachment has begun swirling around President Bush. Can Vice President Cheney come to the rescue? He will do so if enough of Bush’s opponents adopt the position of this Philadelphia Daily News op-ed writer — the position that impeaching Bush would be a mistake, since Cheney is worse than Bush.

That position is already fairly widespread on the left in the United States, and is typical of the left in the United States. Why must we get five steps read more

Can Cheney Save Bush's Presidency? Read More »

Pressuring the CIA to Lie, Calling Result an Accident

By David Swanson

Try as I might to believe that the President accidentally got it all wrong about those weapons of mass destruction and ties to 9-11, I just can’t seem to square it with the fact that the White House pressured the CIA to get it wrong or else.

And pressure the CIA they did.

This story is nicely documented on pages 54-55 of Congressman John Conyers’ report, “The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, read more

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Conyers Talks Impeachment

By David Swanson

Listen to audio of Congressman John Conyers talking about the Bush Administration’s crimes, and his efforts to censure Bush and Cheney and to create an investigation that would develop articles of impeachment. I recorded this conversation with the Congressman on December 29th. The bills and the report referred to in the conversation can be found here. The upcoming events discussed can be found here.

This mp3 is 24 minutes and 21 MB: LISTEN.

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Bush Administration Refuses to Comply With FOIA Request on Pre-War Intelligence

By David Swanson

House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff members report that the White House and the Departments of State and Defense have for six months refused to comply with a request filed under the Freedom of Information Act by 52 Congress Members – a request seeking information on the Bush Administration’s reasons for going to war.

On June 30th of this year, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers Jr. (Dem., Mich.) and 51 other Congress Members submitted a read more

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White Phosphorous: The U.S. Used It; The U.S. Says It's Illegal

By David Swanson

The U.S. military used white phosphorous as a weapon in Fallujah, and the U.S. military says such use is illegal. That’s one heck of a fog fact (Larry Beinhart’s term for a fact that is neither secret nor known). This fact has appeared in an article in the Guardian (UK) and been circulated on the internet, but has just not interested the corporate media in the United States.

It interests Congressman John Conyers, however. Last week, Conyers released a 273-page read more

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