Three weeks after the 9/11 terror attacks, former U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld established an official military objective of not only removing the Saddam Hussein regime by force but overturning the regime in Iran, as well as in Syria and four other countries in the Middle East, according to a document quoted extensively in then Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith’s recently published account of the Iraq war decisions.

Feith’s account further indicates that this aggressive aim of remaking the map of the Middle East by military force and the threat of force was supported explicitly by the country’s top military leaders.

Feith’s book, ‘War and Decision’, released last month, provides excerpts of the paper Rumsfeld sent to President George W. Bush on Sep. 30, 2001 calling for the administration to focus not on taking down Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network but on the aim of establishing ‘new regimes’ in a series of states by ‘aiding local peoples to rid themselves of terrorists and to free themselves of regimes that support terrorism.’

In quoting from that document, Feith deletes the names of all of the states to be targeted except Afghanistan, inserting the phrase ’some other states’ in brackets. In a facsimile of a page from a related Pentagon ‘campaign plan’ document, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein regimes are listed as ’state regimes’ against which ‘plans and operations’ might be mounted, but the names of four other states are blacked out ‘for security reasons’.

Gen. Wesley Clark, who commanded the NATO bombing campaign in the Kosovo War, recalls in his 2003 book ‘Winning Modern Wars’ being told by a friend in the Pentagon in November 2001 that the list of states that Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz wanted to take down included Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Somalia.

Clark writes that the list also included Lebanon. Feith reveals that Rumsfeld’s paper called for getting ‘Syria out of Lebanon’ as a major goal of U.S. policy.

When this writer asked Feith after a recent public appearance which countries’ names were deleted from the documents, he cited security reasons for the deletion. But when he was asked which of the six regimes on the Clark list were included in the Rumsfeld paper, he replied, ‘All of them.’… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <IPS>

This is confirmation of a story I posted here in March, 2007. That story was the video of a statement by Gen. Clark, which I am reposting here:

In addition to having previously referred to Catholicism as “The Great Whore,” controversial pastor John Hagee said on NPR in September 2006 that Hurricane Katrina was the result of God condemning New Orleans because “there was to be a homosexual parade there” the day the hurricane hit — a belief he recently reaffirmed.

Despite Hagee’s radical and bigoted beliefs, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sought and received Hagee’s endorsement for president — one McCain said he was “very honored” to have. Since then, Hagee’s views have garnered more attention, sparking wider questions as to why McCain would accept such an endorsement.

In a recent article on the McCain/Hagee saga, Newsweek reports that McCain aides attribute the courting of Hagee’s support to “poor vetting.” But some from McCain’s own party wonder how his views could have “slipped through the cracks”:

McCain’s aides attribute the Hagee controversy to poor vetting. But even some Republicans (not affiliated with the campaign) privately wonder how the pastor’s extreme views slipped through without notice. McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year.

Indeed, “some Republicans” weren’t the only ones greeting this explanation with confusion. The New York Times’s Frank Rich noted yesterday that “[a]ny 12-year-old with a laptop could have vetted this preacher in 30 seconds, tops”:

Are we really to believe that neither Mr. McCain nor his camp knew anything then about Mr. Hagee’s views? This particular YouTube video — far from the only one — was posted on Jan. 1, nearly two months before the Hagee-McCain press conference. Mr. Hagee appears on multiple religious networks, including twice daily on the largest, Trinity Broadcasting, which reaches 75 million homes. Any 12-year-old with a laptop could have vetted this preacher in 30 seconds, tops…

…Newsweek noted that McCain “likes to think of himself as a straight-shooter” but when asked about Hagee’s endorsement, McCain starts “bobbing and weaving” — which is exactly what happened last month during an interview on ABC’s This Week. McCain agreed that the endorsement was “a mistake,” but 30 seconds later said he is “glad to have it.”

In seeking Hagee’s support, perhaps McCain and his staff did not “properly” vet the controversial pastor because they were taking advice from McCain’s buddy Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who just last year compared Hagee to Moses… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

The notion that McBigot did not know Hagee’s views is patently absurd.  I first reported on Hagee’s extremism in November, 2006, less than three weeks after I relocated my blog to Blogger.  Since, I have done so on ten other occasions.  If I have thoroughly vetted Hagee, it’s inconceivable that, with all their resources, the McConJob campaign did not.  Not only did he McFlipFlop within the space of 30 seconds, but also this goes beyond a mere flip-flop.  McLiar is McFullOfIt!

Kent State University will commemorate the 38th anniversary of the May 4 shootings this weekend with movies, poetry readings, a march and a ceremony, all concentrating on the question, “Where does it end?”

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on Kent students protesting the Vietnam War. Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder were killed; nine others were injured.

This year, a poem Miller wrote in high school, in 1966, provides the commemoration’s theme, “Where does it end?”…

Inserted from <Cleveland.com>

This tragedy occurred just a few months after I dropped out of SDS, because would not support the violent tactics the organization had adopted. I was, and remain, a believer in the nonviolence of Thoreau, Gandhi and King. While I disagree with the tactics employed by the demonstrators at Kent State and consider their destruction of property misguided, I understand the frustration they felt and admire their commitment. This was not the first time police or guardsmen had killed demonstrators. I saw it myself in Chicago (1968) and Washington, DC (1969). But it was the first time it was so obvious that the government could not cover it up. Regardless of misguided tactics, remember these four as the heroes they were, because they stood up to power and paid the ultimate price. I leave you with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

All articles cross-posted from Politics Plus

Yesterday McBoomBoom had another accident and, in a move very rare for him, he told the truth. He admitted that the Iraq war was not about WMD, was not about links to Al Qaeda, and was not about freedom for the Iraqi people. Instead, it was about oil! Then, returning to his normal mode, McFlipFlop flip-flopped and claimed that he had intended to mean the first Iraq war. McConJob has a unique way of positioning himself on both sides of every issue. His explanation was quite easy to debunk, and that’s exactly what Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow did:

All articles cross-posted from Politics Plus

Yesterday morning Potomac Pinocchio gave a news conference in which he blamed all the nation’s ills on the Democrats in Congress.  Last night on Countdown, Keith Olbermann served fried ChickenHawk.

Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow take McConJob apart on several key issues:

…McCain claimed to have voted against a federal holiday before changing his mind a “very short time after that.” But McCain voted against the federal holiday in 1983, opposed a state holiday in 1987 (four years later), opposed a new federal holiday in 1989 (six years later) and voted against funding for the commission established to encourage all states to recognize the King holiday in 1994—11 years after his vote. Although, when you’ve been around the block for as long as McCain has, maybe 11 years feels like a short time. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

McBigot is just another GOP liar who has not yet learned that we, unlike the MSM, won’t let his lies go unchallenged.

Bill Maher is always incorrect, sometimes poignant, and usually hilarious.  Enjoy this while you can.  It’s his last show of the season.

On PBS’s Bill Moyers Journal last night, Moyers interviewed Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, whose controversial remarks created a political storm last month.

Reacting to advance excerpts of the interview, Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly attacked Moyers on his show last night, calling him a “far left PBS guy” who is “extreme” and “pathetic.” At the end of his Talking Points Memo segment, O’Reilly suggested that Moyers and Wright should “take a long vacation, perhaps in Iran.”

Watch it:

…

Inserted from <Think Progress>

At the time of O’Lielly’s attack, the interview had not yet aired.  We need to start boycotting his advertisers.

I know how tiresome it can get to play one of my favorite parlor games: “Imagine if a Democrat had said this.” But I’m trying to imagine what the response would be if, say, a host on Air America Radio told listeners how helpful it would be to Democrats if people started a riot at the Republican National Convention.

Because that’s what Rush Limbaugh seemed to tell his listeners this week about the Democratic convention in Denver.

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is sparking controversy again after he made comments calling for riots in Denver during the Democratic National Convention this summer.

He said the riots would ensure a Democrat is not elected as president, and his listeners have a responsibility to make sure it happens.

“Riots in Denver, the Democrat Convention would see to it that we don’t elect Democrats,” Limbaugh said during Wednesday’s radio broadcast. He then went on to say that’s the best thing that could happen to the country.

When callers suggested it’s probably inappropriate for a radio host to call for violence at a political convention, Limbaugh clarified: “I am not inspiring or inciting riots, I am dreaming of riots in Denver.”…

…Limbaugh’s website told visitors: “Screw the world! Riot in Denver!”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <The Carpetbagger Report>

I’m appalled that Limbaugh could stoop to such a statement, but in truth, he does mirror the hopes and strategy of the GOP. There is much more I could say about this, but since Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow said it far better, I’ll turn it over to them.

All articles cross-posted from Politics Plus