Thanksgiving dinner-table talk

Well, it's time once more to assemble with our loved ones. We'll stuff ourselves silly. We'll watch Grandma get nervous as her tribe of grandkids wrestle around uncomfortably close to her newly erected Christmas Sequoia with life-size train town underneath. We'll zap channels looking for ball games and we'll chat about Army-Navy's upcoming bout.

Yes, a military family's Thanksgiving. With turkey bird and Full Birds, retired and not. With groans, and Grunts, with smart guys and not so. With noisy guys and quiet guys, and smiley guys and faraway guys. Signal, Intel and Mechanized Infantry. We'll hoot and chat, and bullshit about "Christmas decorations, already?"

And then the silence. Followed by a question, from somone parked on one of several couches in front of the screen: "What do you think?"

More than likely, the question will be aimed at my lame ass, sitting there as one of the few civvie members of the clan, albeit a sympathetic one from a long, long line of military, Briton and American. This year, like last, they'll have already read my talking points. This year, like last, my 3rd down conversions are holding strong.

The Daily Mirror and BBC says several British MPs are under Official Secrets Act investigation for leaking a Downing Street document describing Bush's desire to bomb Al Jazeera and Tony Blair's strenuous efforts to talk him down. Tony Blair talking George down of the ledge? (See item 17 below.)

Don Rumsfeld is talking to the Washington Post about His memo suggesting he thought Iraq was a bad idea early on. Uh-huh. I don't doubt the memo, the same way I don't doubt the exsistence of firestops in buiding construction. (See item 5 below.)

Dick Cheney's (and his staff's) willful browbeating of CIA, State Dept and NSA intel sources sems to be losing it's fear factor in the face of, well, facts--and Cheney's own videotpaped feet in mouth.Their not-so enthusiastic support for Iraq/WMD/Al Qaeda connection was siloed/round-filed into footnote oblivion. The Admin played hde the ball from Congress--(R) and (D). And, their QB sneak, ace up their sleeve was the knowledge that any "No" vote could easily be portrayed as "weak will" and National Security carelessness. In this case, a hurry up offense--voting "Yes" on less than full, but available to some, information--was the pressure tactic. Yeah, haste, surface judgement, and sissy-baiting even sensible veterans was the tactic of the "True Americans" at 1600. Result: National Insecurity and a terrorist factory to replace Afghanistan. Ain't irony funny? (See item 1, 4, 6, 8, 19... you get the picture)

The Plame thing seems in lull, but only because it's hard to hear much when you dig deep or climb high, or both at the same time. (See item 8.)

Bush is isolated, supporters are disillusioned, and unflattering stories from, of all places, the Washington Times suggest he's gone to ground, surrounding himself with Condi, Karen, Harriet and Laura, estranging himself from Dad and assorted Bush 41 sensibles like Scowcroft. (See item 20.)

Well, that's the synopsis to choose from over nachos and pumpkin pie. The three left unaddressed that I'm really interested in:

1. How much Iraqi looted explosives (380 tonnes RDX & HMX from Al QaQaa -- IED fodder) made it to Chechnya and Palestine and small Mediterranean ports.

4. What was left out of the Taguba Report on Abu Ghraib, and where there 2, 3 or 4 more "Abu Ghraibs"? Much regrettable stuff by February maybe.

14-15. How do #14 and #15 below mix together in a true failure of national security competence and foresight of this country's current leadership? I have some idea, but I've bored you enough with my assessments totally irresponsible wild-assed guesses.

Mike, Happy Thanksgiving!

October 28, 2004 The things we will learn in the next 6-18 months

1. How much Iraqi looted explosives made it to Chechnya and Palestine and small Mediterranean ports.


2. How many permanent Bases we have built in the western desert of Iraq and their unfavorable lease condtions.


3. What Paul Bremer, Jay Garner and Colin Powell really thought of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


4. What was left out of the Taguba Report on Abu Ghraib, and where there 2, 3 or 4 more "Abu Ghraibs"?


5. What Donald Rumsfeld thinks of George Bush.


6. How "cordial" were Cheney's 3 or 4 visits to Langley and what resulted.


7. What did NSC staffers really think about Condoleeza Rice.


8. Who leaked Valerie Plame's CIA NOC status to Robert Novak.


9. Where all that missing walking-around/greasing-Iraqi-skids money for occupation forces went.


10. What the EPA didn't tell us in the WTC environmental impact study.


11. What the Mediare Prescription Drug Bill really costs.


12. Who was at the Bush Administration's secret energy policy meetings conducted by Cheney and what did they talk about.


13. How much the Pentagon was undercounting dead and wounded--ours and theirs.


14. What really happened and what did we give away to have our Navy Recon plane and crew released by the Chinese in early 2001.


15. How much well-vetted intel passed through NSC, State and DoD about North Korea's fast-tracking of plutonium conversion beginning mid- to late-2001.


16. How deeply was Ahmed Chalabi aligned with Iran's Intelligence Services and how obvious, in hindsight, was it?


17. How many times Tony Blair had to talk George Bush down off the ledge.


18. How much DoD money was given to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Jordan, Syria.


19. How deeply known, and how high, was the WMD McGuffin known as such and, how surprisingly early.


20. How many of Bush's notable business and political supporters were "truly and deeply" concerned about his volatile imbalances and decision-making, but were "afraid to say anything."