American Democracy ???

The Soapbox Road Show

"Let's review the rules. The president makes the decisions, he's the decider.

The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type

those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell-check and

go home."

- Stephen Colbert, 2006

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John McCain's Many Mansions

DNC Convention:

GITMO on the Platte

Thu Jun 26, 2008

Current Projection: Democratic Pickup of 6 seats

Republican Held: Democratic Pickups 6

State Type Democratic Republican Dem Cash Margin Polls

Lock Dem. Pickups: 2

Virginia Open Warner Gilmore 1952% D +29.0 2
New Mexico Open T. Udall Pearce 1159% D +26.5 2

Likely Dem. Pickups: 2

Colorado Open M. Udall Schaffer 196% D +9.4 3
New Hampshire Freshman Shaheen Sununu 43% D +14.0 2

Toss-up Pickups: 1

Alaska Incumbent Begich Stevens 20% D +3.3 3
Mississippi-B Special Musgrove Wickler 12% D +1.0 3

Lean Rep. Pickups: 1

Kentucky       Incumbent     Lunsford     McConnell     4%     R +7.5     2
Maine           Incumbent     Allen         Collins        60%     R +7.0     1
Minnesota     Freshman     Franken     Coleman     50%     R +8.7     3
Oregon         Incumbent     Merkley     Smith        4%     R +6.5     2

Likely Rep. Pickups: 0

Idaho                Open            LaRocco     Risch     27%     R +15.0     2
Kansas              Incumbent     Slattery     Roberts     10%     R +12.5     4
North Carolina     Freshman     Hagen     Dole     10%     R +10.7     3
Texas                Freshman     Noriega     Cornyn     4%     R +9.5     2

Republican Held, Uncompetitive Republican Locks (9): Alabama (Sessions), Georgia (Chambliss), Mississippi-A (Cochran), Nebraska (Open, Johanns), Oklahoma (Inhofe), South Carolina (Graham), Tennessee (Alexander), Wyoming-1 (Barrasso), Wyoming-2 (Enzi)

700 Page official U.S. Army history

details Iraq war blunders

The Army's new official history of the Iraq war says its senior leaders failed to properly plan for the aftermath of the 2003 invasion. It's a conclusion that others have reached before. But this time, the Army — in a 700-page book released today — is criticizing itself.

Shortly after the fall of Baghdad in April 2003, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, Gen. Tommy Franks, may have sealed the U.S. military's fate in Iraq for the next four years.

Franks ordered the team that led the invasion — the Coalition Forces Land Component Command, or CFLCC — to leave Baghdad and to set up shop in Kuwait.

CFLCC was an operational unit run by some of the Army's most experienced commanders, known as "the dream team" among senior officers including Gen. Jack Keane, who was the Army's vice chief of staff at the time.

"They had been together for about eight or nine months, almost a year, in preparing for the war, then executed the invasion, and now they were going to move to Kuwait and essentially just be a support headquarters. It seemed to be, in my judgment, very ill-advised to do something like that," Keane said.

With CFLCC in Kuwait, Franks assigned the Army's Fifth Corps to take its place. The only problem was that Fifth Corps was a tactical unit, trained to fight and defeat Saddam Hussein's army.

"It was a very conscious decision that was made by General Franks to do that, because in my assessment, he believed that the war was over and that most of the forces would be out by August. And therefore he just needed a caretaker headquarters, if you will, on the ground to manage the re-deployment of forces," said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the Fifth Corps commander at the time.

Sanchez's headquarters was understaffed and ill-equipped to handle what unfolded in Iraq.

"It did put us on a path during the first 18 to 24 months of having tremendous difficulties. It led to the enhanced insurgency, and to the tremendous instability that we faced in the country," Sanchez said.

The decision to place Sanchez's Fifth Corps in charge of Iraq may have been the single biggest military blunder after the fall of Baghdad, according to the Army's new official history of the war.

Franks was not available for comment.

The book, released today, is based on interviews with 200 senior Army officers involved in the invasion and its aftermath.

It's an attempt to expose the mistakes that were made — in the hope that they won't be repeated by future officers.

Retired Gen. Bob Scales, a former Army historian himself, says the book is remarkably candid. He calls it a "chronicle of failure."

"The Army's got a strong internal culture of self-criticism. Hidden from the general population is the passion and often the vitriol that goes on, particularly among and between officers, particularly general officers, over the conduct of operations," Scales said.

While the book doesn't single out specific officers for criticism, it is hardly a ringing endorsement of the general officer corps — generals, the report implies, who failed to insist on better post-invasion planning.

"I think we could have asked tougher questions. ... Why didn't we ask 'What happens if the regime doesn't surrender?' " Keane said.

The next installment of the Army's official Iraq war history is due out in about a year.

McCain speech interrupted thrice (3x)

by peace protesters

Cost of War billboard in state capitol, Michigan

$720,000,000.00 a day spending on Iraq

Contribute to the billboard or

to GLAWNI.org

see links listed below

For more information on the Cost of War campaign click here to visit the American Friends Service Committee web site. For a PDF file with answers to frequently asked questions click here.

To pledge a donation for billboards for July, August & September that would only be collected if we reach the "tipping point" of $1,138 for each billboard series of five click here. An additional $1,138 would continue the current campaign, five billboards around Lansing, for another month.

To contribute directly to the billboard and media campaign in the Lansing area, click here for form and instructions. Or you can send a check to:
GLNAWI, 855 Grove Street, East Lansing, MI 48823,
in the memo line write "BILLBOARDS".

Don't forget Afghanistan

capt_214bc02c89ab4f7eb50d8b9ac44a142e_aptopix_afghanistan_donors_xms103.jpg

capt_91ed05b48b794cccb60ee7006247c20a_afghanistan_daily_life_xfp102.jpg

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; Chairman Henry A. Waxman

Committee Investigates Accidental Electrocutions of Soldiers in Iraq

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1824
Chairman Waxman requests documents from the Defense Department related to reports that at least 12 service members in Iraq have died as the result of accidental electrocutions attributable to faulty wiring.

Chairman Waxman Calls for Blackwater Investigations
Chairman Waxman sent letters to the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Labor to request investigations into whether Blackwater has violated federal tax, small business, and labor laws.

Chairman Waxman Request Copies of RAND Report Entitled "Rebuilding Iraq"
In a letter to Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, Chairman Waxman requested classified and unclassified versions of a report produced by the RAND Arroyo Center that analyzed how the Army, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the White House planned for the reconstruction of Iraq before Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Committee Subpoenas Iraq Embassy Documents
Responding to the State Department's repeated failure to provide documents, the Oversight Committee issued a subpoena seeking documents related to construction and safety problems at the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

Committee Seeks Baghdad Police Academy Records
Chairman Waxman asks the government contractor Parsons to provide documents explaining why it has not repaired the dismal conditions at the police academy, which it promised to fix in testimony before the Committee last year.

Chairman Waxman Seeks Further Information on Blackwater Contracts
Chairman Waxman wrote to Erik Prince, Secretary Rice, and Secretary Gates, requesting further information on Blackwater's no-bid contracts, additional incidents involving their personnel in Iraq, and payments made to the families of Iraqis killed by Blackwater.

House Passes Resolution on Iraq Corruption
Today the House with a vote of 395-21 passed the Iraq Corruption Resolution, introduced on Friday, October 12, 2007, by Chairmen Waxman and Tierney. In his statement on the House floor, Chairman Waxman called the State Department abuses of the classification system "outrageous" and demanded answers to questions about corruption in Iraq.
House Rebukes State Department

"If the government in Iraq is so corrupt that our State Department won't even tell us about it�if it's so corrupt that it is undermining any chance of political progress, then how can we ask our brave men and women to risk their lives there? We are putting them in an impossible situation."- Chairman Waxman

On Tuesday, the House overwhelming passed the Iraq corruption resolution, H.Res. 734, which condemns the State Department for withholding information about Iraqi corruption from the Congress and the American people. The strongly worded rebuke passed by a vote of 395-21.
H.Res. 734 expresses the sense of the House that the State Department has abused its classification authority by withholding from Congress and the American people information about the extent of corruption in the Maliki government. The resolution further condemns the State Department for retroactively classifying documents that had been widely distributed previously as unclassified, and by directing its employees not to answer questions in an open forum.
Full Text of H.Res. 734
Fact Sheet on H.Res. 734

Information Requested on Oil Exploration Contract in Iraq
Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Kucinich wrote to Hunt Oil CEO Ray Hunt and Ambassador Ryan Crocker requesting information about a recent oil exploration contract Hunt Oil signed with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government.

Chairmen Call for "Honest Answers" about Corruption in Iraq
House Chairmen Waxman, Lantos, Skelton, and Obey write the Secretary of State to express their concern about endemic corruption in Iraq and the refusal of State Department officials to answer basic questions about the impact of corruption within the Maliki government on the chances of success in Iraq.

The WMD Intelligence "Failure"

Press Release of Senate Intelligence Committee re.

(WMD WEAPONS OF MASS

DESTRUCTION)

Senate Intelligence Committee Unveils Final Phase II Reports on Prewar Iraq Intelligence

-- Two Bipartisan Reports Detail Administration Misstatements on Prewar Iraq Intelligence, and Inappropriate Intelligence Activities by Pentagon Policy Office --

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Washington, DC -- The Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, and a bipartisan majority of the Committee (10-5), today unveiled the final two sections of its Phase II report on prewar intelligence. The first report details Administration prewar statements that, on numerous occasions, misrepresented the intelligence and the threat from Iraq. The second report details inappropriate, sensitive intelligence activities conducted by the DoD’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, without the knowledge of the Intelligence Community or the State Department.

“Before taking the country to war, this Administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100 percent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our Committee has concluded that the Administration made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence,” Rockefeller said. “In making the case for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed.”

“It is my belief that the Bush Administration was fixated on Iraq, and used the 9/11 attacks by al Qa’ida as justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. To accomplish this, top Administration officials made repeated statements that falsely linked Iraq and al Qa’ida as a single threat and insinuated that Iraq played a role in 9/11.   Sadly, the Bush Administration led the nation into war under false pretenses.

“There is no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not fully accurate.

“These reports represent the final chapter in our oversight of prewar intelligence. They complete the story of mistakes and failures – both by the Intelligence Community and the Administration – in the lead up to the war. Fundamentally, these reports are about transparency and holding our government accountable, and making sure these mistakes never happen again,” Rockefeller added.

The Committee’s report cites several conclusions in which the Administration’s public statements were NOT supported by the intelligence. They include:

Ø      Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa’ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa’ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.

Ø      Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.

Ø      Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.

Ø      Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq’s chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community’s uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.

Ø      The Secretary of Defense’s statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.

Ø      The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.

Additionally, the Committee issued a report on the Intelligence Activities Relating to Iraq conducted by the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group and the Office of Special Plans within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The report found that the clandestine meetings between Pentagon officials and Iranians in Rome and Paris were inappropriate and mishandled from beginning to end.   Deputy National Security Advisor Steve Hadley and Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz failed to keep the Intelligence Community and the State Department appropriately informed about the meetings.   The involvement of Manucher Ghobanifer and Michael Ledeen in the meetings was inappropriate.   Potentially important information collected during the meetings was withheld from intelligence agencies by Pentagon officials. Finally, senior Defense Department officials cut short internal investigations of the meetings and failed to implement the recommendations of their own counterintelligence experts.

Today’s reports are the culmination of efforts that began in March 2003, when, as Vice Chairman, Senator Rockefeller initially requested an investigation into the origin of the fraudulent Niger documents. In June 2003, he was joined by all Democrats on the Committee in pushing for a full investigation into prewar intelligence, which was eventually expanded by the Committee in February 2004 to include the five phase II tasks.

The Committee released its first report on July 9, 2004, which focused primarily on the Intelligence Community’s prewar assessments of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs and links to terrorism. Those findings helped lay the foundation for some of the intelligence reforms enacted into law in late 2004.

In September 2006, the Committee completed and publicly released two sections of Phase II: The Use by the Intelligence Community of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress; and Postwar Findings About Iraq’s WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How They Compare with Prewar Assessments.

In May 2007, the Committee released the third section of Phase II: Prewar Intelligence Assessments About Postwar Iraq.

Separately, in early 2007, the Pentagon Inspector General released its own report on the intelligence activities conducted by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and also concluded that those activities were inappropriate.

Kucinich introduces impeachment resolution

Above, controversial and inside account of the Bush presidency by former press secretary Scott McClellan

Scott McClellan may have to testify before Congress about his role in the Plame leak. According to his book, McClellan said he talked to Rove, Libby and the President about the Plame leak. Rove and Libby denied any involvement in the leak. Sometime later , during the Libby trial, the President told McClellan that he, the President, authorized the leak.

See McClellan's interview on CNN:

McClellan: 'I was misled'
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=8069234

Here is a longer interview with Anderson Cooper:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=8073460

New book by counter-terrorism adviser under Clinton and Bush43, Richard Clarke

New book by one of the fired U.S. attorneys, David Iglesias. The attorney firing scandal brought about the resignations of Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Miers, Josh Bolten(?), Monica Goodling, Kyle Sampson, Sara Taylor, Schlotzman(sp?) and a whole echelon of top Justice Department administrators.

Suicide among soldiers highest in years

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007 at the highest
rate on record, and the toll is climbing ever higher this year as
long war deployments stretch on. At least 115 soldiers killed
themselves last year, up from 102 the previous year, the Army said
Thursday.

Nearly a third of them died at the battlefront — 32 in Iraq and four
in Afghanistan. But 26 percent had never deployed to either conflict.

"We see a lot of things that are going on in the war which do
contribute — mainly the longtime and multiple deployments away from
home, exposure to really terrifying and horrifying things, the easy
availability of loaded weapons and a force that's very, very busy
right now," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie psychiatric consultant to the
Army surgeon general.

"And so all of those together we think are part of what may
contribute, especially if somebody's having difficulties already,"
she told a Pentagon news conference.

Some common factors among those who took their own lives were trouble
with relationships, work problems and legal and financial
difficulties, officials said.

click here to learn more

RESPONSIBLE PLAN TO END THE WAR

Steve Novick running against incumbent Republican Senator in Oregon

Two Talking Tele-evangelists for Sen. McCain

McCain's Reverend Parsley

You may have heard of Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its homosexual "sins." Well now meet Rev. Rod Parsley, the televangelist megachurch pastor from Ohio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a "false religion." In the past, Parsley has also railed against the separation of church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights, comparing Planned Parenthood to Nazis.

John McCain actively sought and received Parsley's endorsement in the presidential race. McCain has called Parsley "a spiritual guide," and he hasn't said whether he shares Parsley's vicious anti-Islam views. That's because the mainstream media refuses to ask. And so, we've taken matters into our own hands, joining Mother Jones to present the truth about McCain's pastor.

Since the media won't question McCain about his deeply bigoted pastor, it's up to you to call attention to this issue. Make McCain's pastor problem a major story by forwarding this video to your family, friends, and colleagues.

We can't let McCain get away with aligning himself with a religious leader who's called for an all-out war on Islam, someone who draws no distinctions between Muslims and violent Islamic extremists. Now is the crucial time to act.

Yours,
Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Team

McCain's Pastor Hagee

Your Daily Politics Video Blog: There's been a lot of chatter over the last few days about John McCain's embrace of Pastor John Hagee, who's well-known for a history of anti-Catholicism and claims that God will send terrorists to create a "bloodbath" in America for its support of a two state solution in Israel/Palestine. So what is it exactly that Hagee's said and just how much has McCain cozied up to him? We thought we'd put all the choicest moments into one quick video so you could take a look and make up your own mind.

From Wikipedia on Hagee:

Financial controversy

In 2003, the San Antonio Express-News reported that, in 2001 alone, John Hagee had received over 1.25 million dollars in total compensation for his position as CEO at the non-profit corporation, Global Evangelism Television (GETV). This made him one of the highest-paid televangelists in 2001 ^[45].

According to the Form 990 that GETV filed for tax year 2003, Hagee received almost a million dollars in compensation for his work for GETV that year, which amounted to approximately 16 hours per week ^[46]. (The GETV Board of Directors, which determines his pay, consisted of John Hagee himself, his wife, his son, and a Cornerstone Church member.) However, because he claimed that he worked "80 hours a week" writing books, singing songs, meeting international dignitaries and answering the call to preach the word of God, John Hagee argued: "I deserve every dime I'm getting". Other observers, including many evangelical Christians, criticize Hagee's handling of finances ^[47]. Considering his combined pay from both donor-supported ministries (his separate church and TV ministries), his pay has been over $1 million per year.

Hagee said he was certain his finances complied with requirements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) because he hired tax lawyers and accountants to make sure that his books complied with tax laws. Hagee said, 'We want a set of books so that when the IRS comes in here and looks they'll say, those people are clean'", Hagee said. "And I am waiting for the day that the IRS is going to come look at our books. I have spent a chunk of money waiting for them" ^[45].

In September 2004, Hagee re-registered GETV as a church under the name Grace Church of San Antonio, and became exempt from filing detailed returns with the IRS. A further reorganization in July 2006 moved all assets into Cornerstone Church.

Above, Rev. Wright meets with President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Disappearing Republican Senators

Recently defeated Republican Senators with their last approval rating:

Conrad Burns (MT): 39%

Rick Santorum (PA): 39%

Mike DeWine (OH): 48%

Jim Talent (MO): 48%

George Allen (VA): 49%

Lincoln Chafee (RI): 52%

Instead of these six (sorry Linc) Bush rubber stamps, we now have Senators Tester, Casey, Brown, McCaskill, Webb, and Whitehouse. The polling date from Rasmussen indicates that in January we will be rid of one Senator Smith (Oregon) and will instead be thanking our lucky stars to have either a Senator Merkley or a Senator Novick.

NPR Responds to "Pentagon Pundits" controversy
and their pundit, General Scales

NPR, New York Times and Sourcing Military Experts

By Alicia C. Shepard

NPR Ombudsman

www.npr.org/ombudsman

The New York Times revealed last week that the Pentagon has long covertly pressured and petted more than a dozen retired military media analysts to ensure they painted a positive picture of the Iraq war.

Among those cited was a military consultant for NPR. After a two-year investigation, Times' reporter David Barstow described how the Pentagon cultivated military analysts for TV and radio by providing special access hoping in exchange for positive spin on the war, particularly after it started going badly. In some cases, analysts used that access to promote their post-military careers with defense contractors. Deep into the 7,600-word piece on April 20 Barstow mentioned an NPR military analyst, Army Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales Jr. (Ret.) and an email he sent to the Pentagon that could be construed as Scales trying to gain favor in order to be sent to Iraq for high-level briefings. Scales denies this. "Any thought that I'm a mouthpiece for this administration is ridiculous," said Scales in an interview. "I only ask that you review my positions on the toll that the war is taking on our soldiers and my frustrations with the inability of the administration to translate military advantage into political success and you will get my point. My main purpose for involving myself with the media is to explain warfare and the military to a society that is detached from us to a great degree." In February 2003, NPR hired Scales, and Army Lt. Gen. Thomas G. Rhame (Ret.), to be on call as independent analysts partly because both were commanding generals in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and they could speak articulately about the Army. Scales also was attractive to NPR because he was a Vietnam vet, former head of the Army War College and wrote the Army's official account of the Gulf War. NPR installed a high-quality audio phone line in Scales' home, and paid him $100 an hour, according to his contract. When war broke out in March 2003, Scales appeared on different NPR news shows -- a total of 36 times in 2003, including 11 times during NPR special news reports in first days of the war. Scales also appeared on Fox News as a paid consultant. Between 2003 and 2004, he appeared on Fox 32 times with the title "military analyst," which negated any exclusivity for NPR. Even after his NPR contract ended in March 2004, Scales continued to appear on air in an unpaid capacity. Since February 2003, he has been on NPR 67 times, most often (28 appearances) on All Things Considered. The latest was March 28, when he gave ATC listeners an assessment of the fifth anniversary of the war. While Scales has a stellar military background, he is also president of Colgen, Inc., a defense consulting company. But rarely was he identified on air as a defense consultant. Only once in December 2006 was Scales' relationship to Colgen mentioned. At the same time NPR hired Scales, the network also hired Rhame for $100 an hour, but did not install a home phone line, according to his contract. Rhame is now a vice president of the United States Army (AUSA), a private, non-profit educational organization that supports Army personnel and their families. During Operation Desert Storm, Rhame commanded the 1st Infantry Division. Rhame has appeared on NPR news shows 48 times -- 43 of them in 2003. Unlike Scales, his affiliation with AUSA was often mentioned. NPR put the two generals on contract because competition for military expertise among the electronic media was fierce as the war ramped up and NPR wanted its own experts on call.

"We were facing the unique situation that everyone was looking for the same resource," said Bruce Drake, former NPR vice president for news who left in 2005 and is with Congressional Quarterly. "Doing contracts for regulars was not something we often did. It was a pretty hectic time and there was a lot going on. I don't think there's any more mystery."

It was Tom Gjelten, NPR's Pentagon correspondent in 2003, who recommended Scales and Rhame based on their military expertise. Gjelten said they were not vetted for business ties that might pose conflicts.

"We didn't honestly even consider that as I recall," said Gjelten, who now covers intelligence agencies. "In the New York Times' analysis, it's a fairly complicated triangular scenario that produces a conflict: A General wants to be a military analyst on NPR or some other news organization in order to curry favor with the Department of Defense which in turn will benefit him in his defense contracting. That's a hypothetical scenario we have to be concerned about."

While Scales and Rhame may not have been vetted by NPR, it doesn't appear that either had any glaring business conflicts.

Rhame works for a non-profit. Scales sees himself as a historian and futurist who, as an independent consultant, writes papers and manuals. In fact, in the summer of 2004 Scales was one of the first retired generals to contend that the military -- not just the Bush administration -- should bear some blame for what was going wrong in Iraq.Testifying to the House Armed Services Committee in 2004, he criticized the military for spending too much money on technology and not enough on educating its officers and soldiers about Iraq and Afghanistan.

"War is a thinking man's game," he testified. "A military too used to solving war-fighting problems just with technology alone should begin to realize that war must also be fought with intellect. We need to think about outthinking rather than out-equipping the enemy."

Scales co-founded Colgen, Inc. in 2003 with retired Col. Jack H. Pryor. Colgen is "a defense consulting and services company that advocates land power as the preeminent force in the defense of the nation," according to its web site.

"I write papers, manuals, articles, give speeches and briefings mainly on military history, concepts, future warfare and insights from Iraq and Afghanistan among other topics," said Scales, who has a PhD in history from Duke University. "In general, my clients hire me based on my reputation as a defense intellectual."

Both Gjelten and NPR's Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman say Scales does not spout the Pentagon's line.

"I have known Scales for years and like Tom (Gjelten) never heard him spin," said Bowman . "I have always found him to be well informed, decent and a straight shooter, and he was certainly no great fan of the (former Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld Pentagon, like many former and current Army generals who were also not fans."

Here is what The Times wrote about Scales:

Robert H. Scales, Jr., a retired Army General and analyst for Fox News and National Public Radio whose consulting company advises several military firms on weapons and tactics used in Iraq, wanted the Pentagon to approve high-level briefings for him inside Iraq in 2006.

"Recall the stuff I did after my last visit," he wrote. "I will do the same this time."

This was a reference to a trip Scales made to Iraq in October 2005, sponsored by the office of the secretary of defense.

"What I meant to say was that I went in 2005 and I came back and reported on what I saw and I will be perfectly open to do the same thing again," Scales told me.

But the Pentagon did not approve his request for a second visit in 2006. Scales says he returned to Iraq for eight days last November at the invitation of General David H. Petraeus, the current U.S. commander.

"When I think things are going well, I'll say that," said Scales. "When they are going badly, I'll say that. If NPR's audience is concerned about me being under the influence of contractors or the administration, they are wrong. Frankly, I was lumped together with a whole bunch of people who were cited in this article and the inference was somehow I was a shill for the administration. I'm not."

The Times story about the military analysts did not give Scales' an opportunity to explain his role, except for a quote that "none of us drink the Kool-aid." In other words, Scales said he and other generals did not automatically accept the Pentagon's arguments.

"The idea that I can't think for myself is what I find so disturbing about The Times' piece," said Scales.

After reading The Times story, however, about 40 NPR listeners either called or emailed to say they found it difficult to see Scales as anything but a lapdog for the Pentagon. Some said Scales should never appear on air again. Another suggested that all Scales interviews should be deleted from NPR's archives.

"As Ombudsman, you should demand that Scales be fired," wrote Vincent Valdmanis.

Since Scales is no longer on contract with NPR, he can't be fired. Rather than toss Scales off the air and lose his practical and scholarly knowledge of the Army, in the future NPR should always be transparent and identify him as a defense consultant with Colgen. NPR's audience can evaluate what Scales says through that lens. NPR should also append a note to each archived Scales' appearances that indicates he is also a defense consultant with Colgen. What also is needed, and I believe NPR will now begin doing, is a more careful vetting of all experts before they go on air. As soon as NPR editors read The Times' piece, emails began flying trying to assess the damage and determine how to proceed. NPR waited until Wednesday on Talk of the Nation to first discuss this issue publicly. The Bryant Park Project followed up the next day with two pieces on how the media was ignoring The Times' story. Within two days after The Times story appeared, NPR had developed detailed guidelines for vetting on-air guests and looking for potential conflicts of interests that even guests may not consider.

"Generally, I think The New York Times piece was a good wake-up call for all of us," said Christopher Turpin, executive producer of All Things Considered. "After consultations, Ellen Weiss, vice president for News has already implemented good common sense changes in our procedures that balance aggressive vetting with the practicalities of booking guests on exceedingly tight deadlines. I'll certainly make clear that my staff get the message loud and clear."

The Pentagon too has re-thought its practice. On Friday, Pentagon officials suspended the special briefings for retired military media analysts.

Pentagon recruited "stealth" spokesmen for media campaign

"Responsible Plan for Iraq" Challengers running for Congress

CANDIDATE
for Congress

RATING

STATE

MONEY RAISED
at Act Blue

TYPE OF RACE

Darcy Burner candidate for U.S. House

4

WA

$396,007

HOT!!
Incumbent Republican in trouble...

Donna Edwards candidate for U.S. House

4

MD

$456,724

Anti-war Dem. challenging incumbent Democrat...

George Fearing candidate for U.S. House

4

WA

$11,632

Only Dem in race
challenging Rep incum.

Eric Massa candidate for U.S. House

4

NY

$377,562

HOT!!:

2 Dem candidates have raised over $1.1 MIL

Tom PERRIELLO candidate for U.S. House

4

VA

$287,471

HOT!!

Dem challenger is outraising incumbent Rep

Chellie Pingree candidate for U.S. House

4

ME

$

Thu Jun 26, 2008

For more information on the Cost of War campaign click here to visit the American Friends Service Committee web site. For a PDF file with answers to frequently asked questions click here.

To pledge a donation for billboards for July, August & September that would only be collected if we reach the "tipping point" of $1,138 for each billboard series of five click here. An additional $1,138 would continue the current campaign, five billboards around Lansing, for another month.

To contribute directly to the billboard and media campaign in the Lansing area, click here for form and instructions. Or you can send a check to:GLNAWI, 855 Grove Street, East Lansing, MI 48823,in the memo line write "BILLBOARDS".

Financial controversy

To contribute directly to the billboard and media campaign in the Lansing area, click here for form and instructions. Or you can send a check to:
GLNAWI, 855 Grove Street, East Lansing, MI 48823,
in the memo line write "BILLBOARDS".