DSM and the UK Dossier

Carne Ross’ secret testimony to the Butler Commission reveals the limits of the UK policy analysis, the group the President relied on when misleading Congress. UK analysis and policy making was thinly debated; the US government relied on the thin UK analysis-staffing to muffle American critics.

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Bush pointed to the dossier as evidence of something. Congress tripped over itself giving the President the authority to use force, which Bush promptly used to forcefully abrogate the US Constitution and Geneva Conventions.

Carne Ross' now released transcript show the limits of the UK assessments, which Congress relied heavily. Not only were the facts fixed in the dossier, but the subsequent FSO analysis of those fixed facts was thin.

Ross shared the observation that the US Congressional staffs were more robust than the UK Staffs in the Foreign Service office. The problem for the Americans is the reliance of the US government and the Congressional staff on information the Bush Administration planted in the UK; and knew, or should have known, the UK staffers were in no position to question.

America was, in part, duped to go to war because Congress might have been a challenge to an illegal war, but relied on the Congressional deference to the "special relationship between the US and UK" to avoid scrutiny.

___ If the US Congress, instead of being fed misleading information through the UK Committees and dossier, was forced to face the issue directly, would the result -- a blind deference to the White House on WMD, and the perceived need to keep use of force on the table despite no imminent -- have been different?

Answer: No, the White House would have relied on another ruse to induce Congress which was, and remains, a willing dupe. Even when the DNC controls both branches, Congress isn't screaming, but hoping to play nice.

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Congressional Oversight of Combat Operations

These are issue of war crimes, but Members of Congress are not speaking out as they should and have a duty. We cannot possibly hope to effectively engage with Iran, while our combat forces are stretched thin. Iran is on the land; shooting missiles from the ocean at Iranian targets will embolden the Iranian civilian population to oppose America.

As with Iraq, the US leadership cannot agree on reality; there's no prospect the Joint Staff can agree on what is certain -- Iranian civilians will unite to defend Iran, taking the fight to where America's power is stuck in a quagmire.