The Betrayal of America

"In our comprehensive reviewing of published, academically accepted history we continually explore for the invisible power structure behind the visible kings, prime ministers, czars, emperors, presidents, and other official head men, as well as for the underlying, hidden causes of individual wars and the long, drawn-out campaigns not disclosed by the widely published and popularly accepted causes of these wars."
--R. Buckminster Fuller
In recent weeks, it has become obvious that as a result of the utter failure of President Bush's attempts to promote his "stay the course" policy in Iraq, that another group of powerful Americans are engaged in an effort to sell a "kinder and gentler" military strategy. During the 2004 "Plame Threads" on the Democratic Underground, I had quoted from retired US Air Force Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty's book "JFK," in which he noted a group that Churchill called the "High Cabal," and which Fuller referred to as the "invisible power structure." I had mentioned James Baker as a member of that power elite, who -- like W. Averell Harriman a generation before him -- would step out from behind that invisible curtain from time to time.
It was Baker who came forward to "undermine the Constitution and chose our president" in 2000, as documented in Vincent Bugliosi's classic "The Betrayal of America." Baker took actions that resulted in the man elected president, Al Gore, being denied the highest office in the land, because he knew that George W. Bush was fronting for that High Cabal. What Baker did was indeed part of a process that betrayed the citizens, the history, and the Constituion of this country. But he did not do it alone: Baker's anti-democratic actions were given the stamp of approval by the US Supreme Court in a ruling that, as Bugliosi showed, had no justification in law.
Today, as we come closer to the mid-term elections, we see Baker again stepping out from behind that invisible curtain, in an attempt to coordinate the effort to redefine the highly unpopular war of aggression in Iraq. When such efforts take place, the power elite uses a tactic called "perception management," which I have discussed in previous essays. It can perhaps be most easily summed up with a quote from Minister Malcolm X: "If you listen to what they tell you, you'll be carrying an umbrella on a sunny day, and getting soaked when it's raining."
A significant part of the perception management campaign is found in "State of Denial," by Bob Woodward. This book mixes large amounts of the truth, such as the fact that the US is losing the war in Iraq and that the administration is lying to the public about this, with doses of lies about how we can turn this losing effort around by simply changing military tactics. The truth is that neither the problem nor the solution lies in the military. The invasion of Iraq was based on lies, and no amount of fire power can change that. We need to get out of Iraq.
The majority of Americans want the US to end its occupation of Iraq. This is why, for example, Ned Lamont kicked Joe Lieberman's behind in the democratic primary. It wasn't because of Lieberman's policies on education or the environment. It was because he was an administration lap dog on the war in Iraq. But when the power elite sees that a poodle like Lieberman is in trouble, they try to shift the focus. They try to find another lap dog that might be more acceptable to the public.
Last night, I watched Jim Baker and his trusty lap dog Lee Hamilton on Hardball on MSNBC. These two are heading the US Institute for Peace's Iraq Study Group. I listened to Lee say that they have talked to everyone possible about resolving the conflict in Iraq. And I thought that I should remind people why it is never safe to listen to Lee Hamilton if one is hoping for the truth.
I need not concentrate on his role in the 9/11 Commission. If anyone believes that this commission revealed the truth, I believe they are brain-dead. Instead, I will review Hamilton's betrayal of this country during the Iran-Contra era. Lee was the head of the House Intelligence Committee, and as such, was supposed to look at the evidence that the Reagan-Bush administration was violating federal law in re-supplying the contras. He showed his lack of integrity on August 11, 1986, when he went to the White House Situation Room with his buddy, Rep. Dick Cheney, to talk to Ollie North. Of course, North lied and said there was nothing illegal going on. Hamilton told the media that he was "fully satisfied" with North's responses.
Keep in mind that this was at a time when a democratic senator named John Kerry was beginning to investigate the idea that the administration was using the money from drug sales and illegal weapons sales to fund their wars in Central America. Hamilton did his best to disrupt any investigations into the cocaine sales. For example, when Costa Rica indicted John Hull for drug trafficing and arms smuggling (which was coordinated with the US embassy and CIA), Hamilton signed a letter threatening to end US economic aid unless the charges were dropped. Thanks, Lee.
Hamilton was also the head of the House Task Force that investigated the "October Surprise" of 1980. He allowed republicans to have veto power over democratic staff appointments, including that of the House Intelligence Affairs Committee Chief Spencer Oliver, who had first recommended the investigation. When Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-CA) wrote a dissenting opinion that exposed Hamilton's 1-13-93 report, Hamilton told him that if he did not withdraw it, "I will have tocome down hard on you." And in fact, the next day Hamilton, as the new chair of the House International Offices Committee, fired all of Dymally's African subcommittee staff. Thanks, Lee.
Hamilton also was among the strongest advocates of the Reagan administration's attempts to expand domestic security laws. As the head of the CIA, George Bush had pushed for increasing government secrecy to combat "terrorists" who might compromise national security. No member of congress worked harder to help the Reagan-Bush attempts to deny US citizens information on the decisions being made by their elected officials than Lee Hamilton. Thus, David Broder wrote that Lee was the "conscience of Congress."
Is it any surprise that when the power elite feels the need to step out from behind that invisible curtain, they bring Lee Hamilton out to make their efforts seem more acceptable?
It's extremely important that democrats at the grass-roots level not this republican lap dog make it seem that the democratic anti-war effort embraces the James Baker/ Iraqi Study Group policy for "peace" in Iraq. I strongly urge people to write a simple, concise Letter to the Editor of your local newspapers, stating that you speak as one of the majority of Americans who wants the US to get out of Iraq.