Krugman: Bush's Culture of Coverup

Here's an op-ed by Paul Krugman that examines the recent revelation about the looting of Al Qaqaa and the refusal--that's right, refusal--to do anything about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi prior to rushing into Iraq:

Informed sources quoted by the influential Nelson Report say explosives from Al Qaqaa are the "primary source" of the roadside and car bombs that have killed and wounded so many U.S. soldiers. And thanks to the huge amount looted - "in a highly organized operation using heavy equipment" - the insurgents and whoever else have access to the Qaqaa material have enough explosives for tens of thousands of future bombs.

If the administration had had its way, the public would never have heard anything about this. Administration officials have known about the looting of Al Qaqaa for at least six months, and probably much longer. But they didn't let the I.A.E.A. inspect the site after the war, and pressured the Iraqis not to inform the agency about the loss. They now say that they didn't want our enemies - that is, the people who stole the stuff - to know it was missing. The real reason, obviously, was that they wanted the news kept under wraps until after Nov. 2.

The story of the looted explosives has overshadowed another report that Bush officials tried to suppress - this one about how the Bush administration let Abu Musab al-Zarqawi get away. An article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal confirmed and expanded on an "NBC Nightly News" report from March that asserted that before the Iraq war, administration officials called off a planned attack that might have killed Mr. Zarqawi, the terrorist now blamed for much of the mayhem in that country, in his camp.

Citing "military officials," the original NBC report explained that the failure to go after Mr. Zarqawi was based on domestic politics: "the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq" - a part of Iraq not controlled by Saddam Hussein - "could undermine its case for war against Saddam." The Journal doesn't comment on this explanation, but it does say that when NBC reported, correctly, that Mr. Zarqawi had been targeted before the war, administration officials denied it.

Krugman goes on to suggest that if Peter Goss is retained as CIA Director, there's no telling what else presently hidden from public knowledge will stay hidden. He cites the Robert Scheer op-ed in the Los Angeles Times that charges the Bush administration with stonewalling Congress--and the American public--by suppressing a report on 9/11 prepared by the CIA inspector general which identifies individuals who didn't do their jobs. Goss refuses to release this report, even though it's been ready since last June.

Goddamn. How much more is it going to take before the public finally realizes that Bush is no more serious about his "war on terror" than he is about ANYTHING? His entire program is a subterfuge for a plain and simple power grab. In their mind, the violence in Iraq is a small price to pay for the real prize--complete control of the Federal Government. They'll do absolutely anything to get what they want--and the public be damned.