Playboy: "If You Think The Iraq War Hasn't Worked Out Well For Anyone, Think Again..."

[kpete]

by Richard Cummings

In November of 2002, Stephen J. Hadley, deputy national security advisor, asked Bruce Jackson to meet with him in the White House. They met in Hadley's office on the ground floor of the West Wing, not far from the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney and then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Hadley had an exterior office with windows, an overt indicator of his importance within the West Wing hierarchy.

This was months before Secretary of State Colin Powell would go to the United Nations to make the administration's case for the invasion of Iraq, touting the subsequently discredited evidence of weapons of mass destruction. But according to Jackson, Hadley told him that "they were going to war and were struggling with a rationale" to justify it. Jackson, recalling the meeting, reports that Hadley said they were "still working out" a cause, too, but asked that he, Jackson, "set up something like the Committee on NATO" to come up with a rationale.

........................

What Bruce Jackson came up with for Hadley this time, in 2002, was the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. The mission statement of the committee says it was "formed to promote regional peace, political freedom and international security by replacing the Saddam Hussein regime with a democratic government that respects the rights of the Iraqi people and ceases to threaten the community of nations." The pressure group began pushing for regime change -- that is, military action to remove Hussein -- in the usual Washington ways, lobbying members of congress, working the media and throwing money around. The committee's pitch, or rationale as Hadley would call it, was that Saddam was a monster -- routinely violating human rights -- and a general menace in the Middle East.

....................

Bush couldn't go into Iraq without a major ally and Lockheed knew it. To sweeten the pot for Blair, Lockheed dragged BAE Systems (British Aerospace) into the F-35 deal. When BAE still struggled prior to the war (Goldman Sachs reported that BAE would have to cut its dividend), Lockheed began renegotiating the contract -- with the new version unveiled in 2005, giving BAE billions more to be paid "as needed." This put BAE back on its feet, able to build the Typhoon jet fighter for sale to Saudi Arabia in a $70 billion deal, saving 10,000 BAE jobs and 4,000 Rolls-Royce jet engine building jobs.


much much more at:
http://www.playboy.com/magazine/features/lockheed/index.html

[helderheid]

1. K&R

[genie_weenie]

2. "Come you masters of war..."

FUCK.

[n2doc]

3. already on greatest page n/t

[bonito]

4. Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI)

The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) was set up in late 2002 by Bruce Jackson, a director of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and former Lockheed Martin vice president. Shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, CLI closed shop, announcing on its website: “Following the successful liberation of Iraq, the committee has ceased its operations.” more
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1458

[Nordic65]

5. An Amazing Eyeopener - PURE EVIL

Not even halfway trough the article I got some really bad vibes. This company is evil beyond imagination. Halliburton, eat your heart out. These guys make you look like a bunch of low-life hustlers...

Not that I didn't know about their corrupt history, but the reach of their greasy tentacles the last ten years are frightening in more ways than one. And after reading the whole piece, I found my self staring in disbelief at the screen - wearing a MASSIVE tinfoil-hat.

Put simply, Lockheed Martin had the means, the motives and the determination to set some very bad things in motion. They no doubt played an active part in getting the war in Iraq going. The scary question is: what else did they do, or more precisely, how far were they willing to go to reach their goals?

That is a fucking scary question...

[Morgana LaFey]

11. Is it fascism yet???

Another scary question for ya.

[Nordic65]

14. Well, it's certainly not a democratic process

I suspect this article is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg regarding Lockheed Martins "pro-active" engagements prior to the invasion of Iraq. These guys greed and arrogance are beyond pale.

Not suggesting anything, but the monster they created are guided by the same moral compass as those who tried to make money shorting airline stock prior to 9/11...

[uberllama42]

21. It's important not to cry "fascism" anytime a right-winger disagrees with you

The "12 essential characteristics of fascism" circulated on the Internet certainly pertain in far too many cases to this Administration, but it is really important to avoid mindless name-calling. The military-industrial complex continues to exercise an unaccaptable level of control over our national affairs, and this war is more transparently pro-business than past wars have been.

Are Bush & Co. fascists? My answer is no, but I also keep in mind that this is not early 20th century Europe, so a fascist regime here would not be identical to Mussolini's fascism in Italy. This war certainly gives the lie to all the stuff the teach us in school about being a free and democratic country where the people's interests come first.

[file83]

26. A Playboy article addressed that topic in 1967:

"Fascism will come to America in the guise of National Security" - Jim Garrison

And what do you know, 40 years later Playboy prints an article illustrating that point.

[mark414]

27. fascism is nothing more than a merger of business and state

that's been going on here for some time now

[uberllama42]

42. By that definition America has been a fascist country since the Constituion was ratified

Alexander Hamilton, Washington's Treasury Secretary and the man on the $10 bill, convinced the first Administration that the government should have close and protective ties with powerful business interests. He knew where the power was, and who's back the nascent state had to scratch to stay alive.

IMHO, the government has always been too friendly to business at the expense of the common person. Now's as good a time as any to break the corporate ownership of our government.

[John Gauger]

44. I say they are.

Not because of this, but because of their constant erosion of our civil liberties. And I think it's fourteen essential characteristics of Fascism. I mean really, it's all there. The uber-patriotism, uber-religiosity, elimination of transparency in government, and the erosion of civil liberties and state supremacy doctine make this a good candidate for a Fascist state. And I don't think that the previous post qualifies as someone crying "Fascism" whenever a right-winger says something disagreeable. Corporate dominance and elitism are parts of Fascism. But it's important for the previous poster to remember that corporations have exercised that kind of influence in this country since the 1860's.

[uberllama42]

45. Like I said in #42 (hell yes!)

Big Business had always controlled this country. I think corporate dominance transcends fascism- Mussolini founded his party in 1922, after 133 of the same-old-same-old in the U.S. I never saw any mention of how closely his ideas were based on the U.S. model, because no American scholar would want to admit that.

What I was trying to say in my original post on this thread is that fascism is a very nasty thing to attribute to someone, and the rhetoric here on DU is easily given to Straw Men. I don't deny the odious similarities between the Neocon model of government and that practiced by Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco.

[John Gauger]

46. Yeah, I think it's important

to keep the debate here reasonable, rational, and mature, for the benefit of DUers. It is important not to throw around things like 'Fascism.' Fascism is something very serious that we need to be able to recognize, not an empty accusation to throw at our chosen boogeymen.

Congratulations on getting number 42; love is free love me say "hell yes!"

[bananarepublican]

33. Just as the bogus Vietnam War had 'Cold War' cover Afghanistan, Iraq... can thank the ...

... oh so convenient 'War On Terror'.

Why isn't this obvious to anyone who is paying attention?

[uberllama42]

43. It is obvious to those of us who are paying attention

Anyone who doesn't see that is either not paying attention or willfully lying to themselves. Those two groups are essential to the continued control of corporations in the American government.

[Vidar]

6. K&R.

[Nordic65]

7. K&R

[alfredo]

8. If we don't stop bush there won't be a judge left to hear

war profiteering cases, or if heard, to judge them fairly.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. what? no pictures? Great article, though.

[TexasLawyer]

17. LOL

This might mean that guys can go back to reading Playboy "for the articles."

[Jeffersons Ghost]

10. K&R... what did YOU want for Christmas...

boys and girls, world-peace or some such silly notion?

[tgnyc]

12. Why do we have to turn to Playboy for real journalism? The MSM sucks

[malaise]

16. Worry not

This reaches men of all ages and backgrounds. Great read. Truth will out.

[lildreamer316]

19. Which is entirely the point.

Whoever says Hugh Hefner isn't a genius.........

[neverforget]

13. War is a racket. The game is the same only the names have changed.

Smedley Butler knew what he was talking about:
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

[orleans]

37. i'm in the middle of reading that. i heard randi and a caller

talking about the book and i printed these chapter excerpts (at least i think they are excerpts) by butler

my god. i am so done with this terror/war crap.

have you seen the documentary "why we fight"?

or the power of nightmares?

[volstork]

15. K&R

:kick:

[scarletwoman]

18. This would be the "military-industrial complex" that Ike warned us about.

k & r -- thanks so much for posting this!

sw

[Buzz Clik]

20. Come on Wall Street, don't be slow!

Come on Wall Street, don't be slow!
This old war will really go.
There's plenty of good money to be made
Supplying the army with the tools of the trade
Just hope and pray that when the drop the bomb
They drop on Ahmadinejad!

And it's 1, 2, 3
What are fighting for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
My next stop is Tehran, Iran
And it's 5, 6, 7
Open them Pearly Gates!
Well, there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

(My apologies to Country Joe McDonald)

[me b zola]

30. I think that Country Joe may approve

...I know I do :thumbsup:

[Hoooweee]

22. Bartcop's Rule #2. n/t

[Imagevision]

23. When Cheney installed Halliburton in Iraq with NO-BID contracts

it pretty much sized up this administration - especially being that Cheney was the former Halliburton CEO. Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9-11 pretty much nailed what Bush was invading Iraq for, hell! even Rummy comes out and says; "there's better targets in Iraq" Bush cabal, a bunch of thieves and they couldn't care less who or how many people die as long as the money machine keeps working...

[Raster]

24. K&R! The bush* mis-administration is the alliance of the military/industrial complex

and the Texas Petroleum Mafia. The plans for the invasion of Iraq and the Iraq war were set into play long before (S)election 2000.

[crickets]

25. I feel sick

I got halfway through and had to bookmark for later reading. This one was too nasty to tolerate all in one sitting.

[BREMPRO]

28. this is unbelievably sick...and the sickest part....

...is the bribing of British officials with defense contracts to help secure a credible ally in the attack of Iraq. Sickening. Why should I be surprised. The revolving door of PNAC, department of defense, national security, defense lobbyist and Lockheed makes this all a back door game of making nukes of money at the expense of intelligent foreign policy and the welfare of people of the world. Hadley,Cheney,Rumsfeld,Pearl are all despicable defense contractor WHORES. Bush is in the pocket of big oil and the Carlyle group who are stealing our tax dollars for their personal profits. And Playboy instead of NBC/ABC/CBS gives us the truth.. how ironic. What a f/ed up system we are suffering with. The founding fathers are turning in their graves...

IMPEACH CHENEY/BUSH for war crimes and profiteering!!!!


I want to believe in the promise of America again.

[ariellyn]

29. This is grounds for impeachment by itself--and there's so much more. nt

[EVDebs]

31. DUers, please view the DVD of the movie 'The Corporation'

The synopsis at

http://www.thecorporation.com/

shows the psychotic nature of corporate 'persons' and how they might be fit for insane asylums !

[Initech]

34. Neil Cavuto was the first person that came to mind...

Yeah, the corporate ass kissers should definitely be locked in insane asylums.

[orleans]

38. also the documentary "why we fight" n/t

[NoSheep]

41. Thanks. I've bookmarked this. Looks brilliant!

[Hissyspit]

32. Hadley is one of the war criminal co-conspirators. It is important that everyone remember

and communicate to others that the disasters of the past six years are not all about George W. Bush. The GOP and other right-wingers are trying to save face and the party by making Shrub the problem.

[anitar1]

36. And Condi was his boss at one time. n/t

[Occulus]

35. And in Playboy, no less.

I thought i'd never see the day when Playboy ran timely political articles.

We have well and truly jumped the shark.

[libodem]

39. Follow the money

pure and simple

[quiet.american]

40. Stephen Hadley is always right there in the middle of every act of treason against the country.

Yet, what happens? He gets promoted, lauded and trotted out to be treated with deference on Meet the Press.

[BREMPRO]

47. I charge Hadley, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush with treason etc....

citizens arrest for arrested development of our democracy. Democratic rhetoric/fascist core.

High crimes: Treason, war crimes, bribery, grand larceny, malfeasance, insider trading, economic tyranny, illegal wiretapping, election fraud, torture and genocide.

Did i leave anything out???