Frequently cited as evoking the Nixon administration's strategy of admitting only what it was compelled to admit, the phrase has also become a political catchphrase used to describe any grudging partial release of information.
It's a slick modified limited hangout, as modified limited hangouts go. But by far the most interesting parts of "State of Denial" are the parts Bob Woodward didn't (dare to) write. For example...The people running this war never intended to "win" it and they still don't. Their object has always been to become entangled in a bloody mess and stay there as long as possible. Why do you think we started -- and stayed -- with too few troops? Remember "Mission Accomplished"? That was a celebration of finally being entangled, nothing more or less.
The so-called sectarian violence that's going on now is actually state-sponsored terror, and the state in question is called "USA". The situation in Iraq is steadily deteriorating thanks to a semi-secret Pentagon program which established, trained, equipped, and motivated the death squads that now wreak havoc on a daily basis.
On the home front, the propaganda war continues unabated. This administration has lied so often and the media have relayed the falisty as truth so faithfully and relentlessly that ideas full of common sense are no longer even permitted a place in the national discourse.
The political climate is such that even those Senators who most vehemently oppose the war dare not vote against it. As a result, the path of action now favored by the majority of the people in this so-called democracy is deemed unworthy of discussion.The depleted uranium ammunitions being used in Iraq (and Afghanistan) are ruining everything they touch, including our own soldiers and their families. The radioactive debris attaches itself to grains of sand which then travel thousands of miles on the wind. Iraq and Afghanistan will be uninhabitable forever. Most of the Middle East will be full of cancer and birth defects before long. And there is nowhere in the world where people are safe from the slowly-spreading clouds of death and destruction.
Bob Woodward must be the smartest journalist who ever had access to the George W. Bush White House. After all, it's only taken him five years (and three novels) to entertain suspicions that people in the White House and elsewhere might be lying to him.
If Bob Woodward were a real journalist, instead of a "former" intelligence agent, he would have blown all these truths -- and many others -- sky high. But then again if Bob Woodward were a real journalist they would never have let him in the White House at all.At least sixty percent of the American people oppose the war. At least sixty percent of the Iraqi people want us out now. At least sixty percent of the violent attacks which rock Iraq every day are directed against Americans. So this is how we build democracy?
This column's last word goes to the Iraqi blogger Riverbend, whose Baghdad Burning stands as a mind-boggling testament to the power of American stupidity:
I sometimes get emails asking me to propose solutions or make suggestions. Fine. Today's lesson: don't rape, don't torture, don't kill and get out while you can -- while it still looks like you have a choice... Chaos? Civil war? Bloodshed? We’ll take our chances -- just take your Puppets, your tanks, your smart weapons, your dumb politicians, your lies, your empty promises, your rapists, your sadistic torturers and go.