Remember the WHIG group? Now we have ISOG - Led by Liz Cheney.

[kpete]

Remember the WHIG group? Now we have the Iran-Syria Operations Group (ISOG). Led by Liz Cheney.

REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN....Remember the White House Iraq Group? And the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans? Basically, they were organizations designed to sidestep the moldy old national security bureaucracy and market the war with Iraq directly to the American public. And while in retrospect some may have questioned their, um, dedication to precise and sober analysis, you can't deny they were effective.

Well, guess what? Lawrence Kaplan reports that we now have a similar organization for Iran:

Although a spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) declines to comment on its existence, and the press has yet to carry a single mention of it, last month the administration formed something called the Iran-Syria Operations Group (ISOG) — a group headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Liz Cheney, the purpose of which is to encourage regime change in Iran. It's no secret that Cheney has over $80 million at her disposal to promote democracy in Iran. But ISOG isn't simply about promoting democracy. It's about helping to craft official policy, doing so not with one but two countries in its sights, and creating a policymaking apparatus that parallels — and skirts — Foggy Bottom's suspect Iran desk.

Kaplan, for reasons that are obscure, apparently accepts at face value the official explanation that "ISOG has no role to play on security issues, doesn't coordinate at all with White House efforts against Iran at the United Nations, and confines itself to promoting regime change from within." Sure it does. That's why the Vice President's daughter is in charge of it.

In any case, connect the dots. "Promoting regime change from within" = the Iranian exile community. The Iranian exile community = source of dubious intelligence about Iran's nuclear program. Iran's nuclear program = excuse to go to war. Why change a winning game plan?

more at:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_04/008597.php
http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=13282

[Me.]

1. Here We Go Again

Forewarned is forearmed and a shout out needs to be done on this. Seems Cheney doesn't learn so let's hope Plame takes him out of play along with his and B***'s family. May we never hear the name of B*** or Cheney within a hundred thousand miles of our government again.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Whig or WHIG?

The Whigs were a US political party in the early to mid 1800s. WHIG sounds like an acronym; I don't think I'm familiar with that one.

[MADem]

3. White House Iraq Group

What we now have is an idiotic effort towards Iran and Syria, led by Liz the Diz Cheney.

What was it the WH was saying about Plame, Wilson and nepotism???

Shit, Liz the Diz is UNQUALIFIED to do anything more than hold teas for deddy!

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Thanks, MADem and havocmom

I hadn't heard the acronym before, thanks for the info :hi:

[rodeodance]

6. wasn't Liz the one who was some sore of Executive with Coors--trying to

bring in the gay community?

[rkc3]

8. Mary Cheney. The Daughter.

[MADem]

10. No, she is the oldest daughter, a lawyer around 40, married to

a lawyer at the wonderfully performing Department of Homeland Security.

When her deddy was SECDEF, he arranged to get her a job at USAID. She then went private sector and worked for Dick Armitage (former Deputy SECSTATE under BushCo). Her entire resume consists of work gotten strictly as a result of influence.

She'd be doing divorce cases if it wasn't for her deddy!

[havocmom]

4. White House Iraq Group

Google it sometime for fun. Lovely little committee to spin hate so folks would buy into the illegal invasion of an innocent nation.

[rodeodance]

9. Thanks, got them mixed up

[Botany]

7. Liz Cheney did such a good job on her last project.

She was in charge of helping to rebuild Iraq after we took Baghdad.
Did she have any training? Ah no not really
Did she go to Iraq? If she did she wasn't there long
What happened when General Turner (the first leader of post Saddam Iraq) complained
to Wolfowitz? He got fired and was replaced w/ Bremmer