From: Dick Davies <rasputnik@...>
Date: 2004-11-03T08:05:43+09:00
Subject: Re: [OT] US Presidential Election

* Zach Dennis <zdennis@mktec.com> [1126 22:26]:

> If I have a security council which is to inform me of the facts, and 
> someone screws up on their job and ignores something...is it still the 
> my fault? Perhaps they present me with information, but they give me 
> incorrect information, and I make a decision on the assumption that Jon 
> Doe is giving me factually correct information. Is it still my fault? If 
> I'm acting on information I deem is 100% correct, and someone down the 
> totem poll screwed up....is it my fault, am I lying to the people?
> 
> It is always easier to be the critic then the author. Hindsight is 
> 20/20...it's way easier to be a Monday Morning Quarterback.

You say that as though there weren't literally millions of people around
the world shouting "are you sure about this, because frankly it sounds a
bit unlikely to us".


I remember Colin Powells presentation on the WMD case for war and the 
horrible feeling that they weren't even trying to convince the rest of
the world anymore, billions of dollars of surveillance hardware and we
were being shown a couple of grainy photos of a few trucks? 


Numerous UK intelligence agents have spoken to the press since the war
and there does appear to have been pressure put on them by the politicians
to 'dress up' reports. It would be naive to assume this wasn't the case on
the other side of the pond also.

And it's not just 9/11. Abu Graib had a very similar ring to it, a feigned
ignorance at the top. "The Buck Stops Here" should still apply.

-- 
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people
very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. - The Guide
Rasputin :: Jack of All Trades - Master of Nuns