Last night I finished Ron Suskind’s book “The Way of the World” and, before I start on my day, I feel I have to write about it. First, for anyone looking for a good read that will stimulate thought, I highly recommend this book. Second, this morning while reading the New York Times online I came across an article about bush pushing for more power for the FBI to “fight terrorism” in the US including in the “decree” additional powers of “racial profiling” which, of course, was worded in another manner. In the justification for this “executive order” bush stated something like “we’re still engaged in an armed war with al qaeda.” The racial profiling and the lying about war are two of the main thesis of Suskind’s book. To me, they are profound reasons why I’m so concerned for the future of my daughters, my granddaughter, my son, my wife, my friends, etc.

The most startling part of Suskind’s book comes at the end. I don’t believe reading this will ruin the book for you if you’re planning to read it. I bought the book after listening to Suskind being interviewed about the book on Keith Olberman’s “Countdown” program on MSNBC. Suskind is not just making statements that he has concluded from circumstantial evidence. He is pointing out actions taken by the bush administration, presumably ordered through cheney’s office, but clearly with the duplicity of bush. The actions were orders given to the CIA and Suskind’s reporting is from direct interviews with the CIA agents who carried out the white house orders. As I read the book I was thankful that finally a couple of the people involved in all this insane American policy have finally “fessed up” and I’m hoping something in the line of accountability comes from this.

Prior to the US invading Iraq bush/cheney et al clearly had evidence from multiple sources from inside Iraq that Saddam Hussein had destroyed all of his WMD. He was postering that he still had them because he didn’t want the Iranians to know that he was disarmed, so to speak. Of course this knowledge “trumped” the reasons for bush/cheney’s plan to invade, but they chose to ignore it. In fact one of the sources, the head of Iraqi Intelligence – a man named Habbush, was being paid $5 million by the CIA for the information, and after bush/cheney chose to igore him they sent him into exile (I believe in Jordan) to live in secret away from retribution from the Iraqi’s.

Once the war was engaged and the US began to have problems politically because everything Habbush told them was true and they found no WMD the White House came up with another plan. They ordered the CIA to have Habbush, in his own handwriting, create a phony document linking Mohammed Atta with Saddam Hussein with the intention of linking Hussein with 9/11, therefore justifying their action of “invading a soveriegn country.” (If you’ve been paying attention to world events during this time you’ve heard bush/cheney/mccain say on several occasions “this is the 21st century and civilized nations don’t invade soveriegn countries”) Once this document was created the CIA planted it in Bagdad with, or so it would end up with, the original “stooge” they put in power (not bremer, but I believe his name was Allawi – the Iraqi refugee who was on the CIA’s payroll prior to the invasion). This document was then given to a British reporter who took it to London, verified that the hadwriting was that of Habbush (who, by the way, the bush/cheney team cleaverly put in the card deck of “wanted” Iraqi’s while hiding him in Jordan) and then the document was published in a widely read conservative newspaper in London.

Of course people (I use the term loosely) like o’reilly, hannity, limbaugh, etc. then picked up on it and the plan had supposedly succeeded because the spinmeisters were spouting how they were right in connecting Hussein and bin laden. Well, eventually the document was debunked because the whereabouts of Atta was such that the “meeting” in the document could not have taken place – so they screwed up on the dates – but until Suskind’s book there was nothing to suggest that the forged document originated from the CIA through orders from the president himself (I’m still not sure if that means bush or cheney). Suskind is very clear in pointing out the severity of this action. The CIA guys knew that it was illegal and there is no question that ordering it done was impeachable. OK, I know what you’re thinking (I’ve already thought it) – Pelosi took impeachment “off the table.” And there’s only a few months left till this nightmare is over (unless they can somehow get mccain in office – uggh! the thought makes me want to throw up). But I have to say that every day the democrats don’t bring this stuff to public light and allow bush/cheney et al to continue unabated really worries me. It appears the republicans are correct – the democrats really are spineless!

Epilogue:I wanted to include one final thought regarding Suskind’s book. One of the characters in the book was a Pakistani citizen who came to America to go to college and ended up working in Washington DC. Part of his experience in America included being arrested and questioned about whether or not he was a terrorist, and it led to a lot of fear on his part that he would be whisked off into some internment camp somewhere never to be heard from again. This is the message we are sending to the rest of the world. They are probably more anxious than those of us who have had our fill of the “bush doctrine” (you know, the doctrine that sarah palin hasn’t a clue about!) for the US to re-exert its “moral authority” in the world. We need to live up to our Ideals. That is why Obama was received with such large and enthusiastic crowds when he made his trip over seas. This idea that we should be suspicious of people who are of middle east descent, just like profiling African Americans or Jews, is unconstitutional and should not be OK with anyone – republican or democrat. bush/cheney have pushed this almost down our throats and the world is waiting for the American public to “get it.” I am hopeful that the bizaar selection of sarah palin to be mccain’s vice president will be the final straw, that people will ultimately understand the futility and absurdity of that decision by mccain, and it will usher in the Obama presidency. Then it will be up to progressives (personally I’m going to start calling myself a liberal) to hold Obama to the promises he has made and the ideals this country was founded on, so that the healing can begin.