Neocons and the Corruption of the American Republic By Terry Walz May 30, 2006 http://www.rescuemideastpolicy.com/
Book Review Deadly Dogma: How Neoconservatives Broke the Law to Deceive America by Grant F. Smith: (Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, 2006). Price: $12.95 A new book on the "neoconservatives" in power calls for criminal indictments and shows how its leading members, including Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and Douglas Feith, have engaged in corrupt and illegal actions resulting in the deaths of upward a hundred thousand people, the selective prosecution of the Arab and Muslim American communities, and the pilfering of the American treasury. In place of policy, the American government has been subjected to racketeering, fraud, con games, and deception, and American soldiers have been deliberately put in harm's way. Deadly Dogma, written by Grant S. Smith, director of research at the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep), assembles and analyzes specific violations of the US criminal law code that the Neocons have practiced since coming to power of George W. Bush in 2000. Some of the violations date earlier, to articulations made during Ronald Reagan's presidency and then publicized once again during the late years of the second Clinton administration. Neocon principles are mere dogma, states Smith following Webster, principles that are authoritative without adequate grounds. Of particular originality are Smith's plumbing of historical documents to trace the development of the doctrine of military preemption, and the matching of Neocons policies and actions with specific violations of US laws and federal statutes. He summarizes Neocon articles of faith as follows: (1) the use of military preemption as a way of perpetuating Neocon power; (2) a deep belief in unlimited military spending, even for weaponry that make no sense, since it often results in fat donations to Neocon pockets; (3) the elevation of fraud to policy formulation, as in the case of the case for weapons of mass destruction that allowed Americans to agree to go to war in Iraq; (4) the willingness to plunder and saturate the media with highly organized pundits perpetuating their fraudulent policies (and thereby violating U.S. statutes safeguarding the public against fraud by wire, radio and television); (5) placing their concepts of Israeli interests above national interests of the United States; and (6) undermining international law so that is becomes non-binding and neutered. The scope of the fraud, racketeering, and con games embraced by the Neocons is reviewed and referenced in absorbing detail. Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Frank Gaffney's promotion of Boeing's tanker leasing deal of 2003, which would have cost $27 billion and was based on inappropriate specifications and airframes, shows the brazenness of the Neocon frauds, which to date remain unprosecuted. The difficulty of prosecuting the Neocons has been shown in the collapse of the case brought by Hollinger Shareholders against Richard Perle over the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in unscrupulously "earned" fees. Neocons have not only benefited themselves from their efforts, and also through their think-tanks and publications, they have also enjoyed individually enormous behind-the-scenes financial and media support than their ideas warrant. The Neocons are as tricky to catch as the Mafia is. In the chapter "Nobility of Lies", Smith takes Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz to task for promoting fear among the American people that Iraqi-made nuclear bombs would soon be raining down on American cities. Neither bombs nor the ability to deliver such weaponry was ever discovered, but it mattered little. American troops had already been dispatched to Iraq and a hugely costly occupation commenced that shows no sign of waning. Now these statements are said to be based on false intelligence, but they were part of a carefully staged conspiracy to force the American army, constitutionally bound to defend the homeland, into the heart of the Middle East. An early chapter discusses the evolution of the principle of the "preemptive strike," which is a cardinal tenet of Neoconservatism. Smith traces it to Israel's use of the preemptive strike against Egypt, Syria and Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War that resulted in a great victory for Israeli armed forces. Using newly released State Department documents, he shows how the Israeli "preemptive strike" was a strategic choice, not a response to imminent aggression, and that the Egyptians were actively seeking American help to mediate the dispute between themselves and the Israelis when the Israeli air force demolished the Egyptian air capability. Preemptive strike, Smith argues, seems clever, but in fact it is a costly and uncontrollable strategic tool. The occupation of Palestine by Israel in 1967 and the occupation of Iraq by the US, both based on the use of the preemptive strike, have resulted in huge costs and liabilities for both countries. As for Israel, "a priori devotion to Israel is a common denominator for all neoconservatives," Smith writes. Many of the neoconservatives were strongly pro-Likud Party and worked to restrategize Middle East policy on behalf of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud leader, shortly before he became Israeli prime minister. Support for Israel is the only explanation of why so many neoconservatives have risked violating US criminal law by passing on secret information to Israel. Smith concludes, "This [deadly] dogma's influence on the United States can be rolled back so that common sense, historical evidence, reason, and uncorrupted thinking may against navigate the ship of state." Deadly Dogma is highly provocative: it provokes critical thought and moral outrage, and should be read by any person concerned by in the current wayward and malodorous drift of American policy and government. ********************************************************************* WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Check out the new improvements in Yahoo! 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