[Marxism] Perle quits Defense panel, Chalabi and INC under investigation

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The following are two articles distributed and an introduction by
Professor Mark Jensen, a perceptive and alert peace and liberal activist
in the Seattle area who is, I believe, the moderator of the SNOW-News
peace list in that area. 

The two articles are further indications that not only the
Neoconservatives but George W. Bush III himself may be losing the
Mandate of Heaven -- that is, the support of the US ruling class.

We still have to see how the massive edge the Bush team has won in
campaign finances, the great bulk of it before the war began to seem
like (at best) a much more limited victory than had been projected and
advertised. It may be that the extortionate methods the Republicans have
been using in raising money will become an issue at some points.  The
rulers take bribery for granted but may have a dimmer view of extortion.
Some may decide they want a refund.

Noone in the ruling class is prepared to give up the occupation of
Iraq-- which would register a catastrophe for imperialism which has not
taken place yet.  And the important victory the US and French
imperialists (see, they do have some common interests!) are winning so
far in Haiti may give them a limited new head of steam.  But unless they
can parlay it into a victory in Venezuela -- no sign of that yet -- I
don't believe Haiti will reverse the Bush decline. 

Bush would probably be well advised to not capture or kill Bin Laden too
soon.  Capturing or killing him in the Spring would be a victory, but
present indications are that its impact, like the impact of capturing
Saddam and -- for that matter -- capturing Baghdad, will wear off very
rapidly and end up having little impact on the election.  

Something like October 26 would be better timing for a victory over Bin
Laden, so that the vote will take place during the first flush of
victory.  Otherwise, it could turn out to be wasted effort electorally. 

We may find out whether a liberal Democrat who almost gave his all as an
officer in Vietnam will be a more effective war leader than Bush has
been. 
Fred Feldman  





[Two articles on the difficulties of the neoconservatives:  

[(1) The Iraqi National Congress, the creature of neoconservative
protégé Ahmad Chalabi, is now under investigation by Democrats in the
House and by the Senate Intelligence Committee.  Richard Perle is still
making efforts to defend Chalabi, but Perle himself has had to resign
from the Defense Policy Board. 

[Knight Ridder reporters Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay say that
Chalabi's boast to the Daily Telegraph two weeks ago that INC members
were "heroes in error" was a turning point.   Since Chalabi was a
darling of the influential neoconservative clique of Cheney, Rumsfeld,
Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, etc., etc., ad nauseam, his fall is being
viewed as many as an indication that the INC's star is fading in the
Bush administration. 


[As for the "Prince of Darkness" himself, Stefan Halper and Jonathan
Clark write in the March 2004 number of Washington Monthly that there
are signs in the new book by Richard Perle and David Frum that Perle is
beginning to panic. --  Not that there isn't still a sting in the
scorpion's tail.  If it is true, as former Pentagon insider Karen
Kwiatkowski believes (L.A. Weekly, Feb. 
20-26), that these officials have embraced an ideology which precludes
any true allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, it is much too soon to
relax our vigilance.  Which way will things go?  As William Pfaff said
several months ago in the International Herald Tribune, 2004 will be
"the year of all the answers."  --Mark] 

1. 

IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS FACES GROWING NUMBER OF INVESTIGATIONS (excerpt)
By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay 

Knight Ridder February 27, 2004 Full article:
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/8060399.htm 

WASHINGTON -- The Iraqi National Congress, long championed by officials
at the White House, Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, is facing a growing
number of investigations into its provision of bogus intelligence on
Iraq and whether some of its members may have tried to cash in on the
fall of Saddam Hussein. 

Democrats in the House of Representatives have asked the Defense
Intelligence Agency to turn over raw intelligence supplied by the Iraqi
exile group.  They plan to review it for its accuracy and reliability,
according to officials in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill. 

The move follows a recent decision by the Senate Intelligence Committee
to expand its probe of prewar intelligence on Saddam to include the INC
and other groups that played important roles in President Bush's
decision to invade Iraq. 


2. 

TWILIGHT OF THE NEOCONS By Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clark 

** Richard Perle has begun to panic. ** 

Washington Monthly (excerpt) March 2004 

Full article:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0403.clarke.html 

Since 9/11 a cascade of books purveying instant analysis on the
ramifications has hit the bookstores.  A deep fault line runs between
them.  Those with "evil" or "jihad" in the title lie on one side of the
divide; those with "empire" or "lies" are found on the other.  Their
mutually antagonistic readerships snarl at each other across the chasm.
So it is with David Frum and Richard Perle's new book An End to Evil:
What's Next in the War on Terrorism, in which they reinforce the thesis
-- now usually described as neoconservative -- that American interests
and values are best pursued with a maximum of military stick and minimum
of negotiating carrot.  It makes little difference whether the issue is
Libya, Iran, or North Korea.  The authors believe market-democracy is
best delivered on the back of a Tomahawk missile. 

The book's argument is easy to follow, consisting of three main
propositions: America is an immense force for good in the world (who
would disagree?); American military might is preeminent (again,
universal agreement); therefore, the way to project American values is
through American force of arms.  Ah, there's the rub.  And underlying
these propositions is the authors' absolute certitude about the
correctness of their solutions and the unreliability of what are darkly
called the "accommodationists in the foreign-policy establishment." 

Ideology informs the book like an iron spine.  The authors seem less
interested in imparting new information than in reminding the faithful
about what they should be thinking.  This may be the book's most
interesting aspect, inasmuch as the authors betray a mild note of panic.
They write that "the will to win is ebbing in Washington" and warn
against "a reversion to the bad old habits of complacency and denial."
It is as though they fear that, given the so-far fragile progress in
both Afghanistan and Iraq and in their misconceived recommendations for
North Korea, their 15 minutes of fame may be coming to an end.  They are
right to worry.  The twilight of neoconservatism has arrived.

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