Currently under the radar and certainly under the radar of far too many journalists during the period under which Bill Frist of Tennessee ruled as Senate Majority leader is a brewing scandal which shockingly illustrates some of the staggering costs of George W. Bush's ill conceived and mismanaged nation building experiment in Iraq, which was voted for authorized and championed by Senators John McCain, John Cornyn, Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Saxby Chambliss and Elizabeth Dole among others. Their quality of leadership can be replaced this year by making a contribution HERE.For those of us who have forgotten, billions of dollars were sequestered, armies were raised, alliances sought and forces deployed to kill or capture Usama bin Laden and to destroy Al Qaeda - in the wrong country. It was known in 2003 as it is known today that Usama bin Laden and Al Qaeda hide in other countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In addition to the staggering economic costs arising from the misuse of American taxpayer dollars under the stewardship of elected leaders who still claim to support fiscal conservatism and "small government", the testimony provided before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee chaired by Senator Dorgan this week also offer a mere glimpse at some of the unquantifiable costs to our national diplomatic standing. One of the witnesses in the hearings excerpted in the videos below indicates in the full testimony that her son, a United States Marine, warned her while she was in Iraq that trucks being used to transport ice intended for human consumption were used as well for transporting cadavers. It appears most of these events occurred between 2004 and 2007, encompassing the period following the now notorious Mission Accomplished 2003 declaration by Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush.
Under the authority of current United States Supreme Court rulings, many of those injured in activities covered by the contractual terms applicable to some of the witnesses to these acts may be barred from the courts due to mandatory arbitration clauses prohibiting judicial recourse in United States courts. The Federalist Society, the American Constitution Society and the Alliance for Justice might find the situation facing American citizens harmed in foreign lands interesting as it relates to the reserved 9th Amendment rights of American citizens.
One of the greatest accomplishments of the incumbent commander-in-chief, his allies in the United States Congress and the distracted members of the 4th Estate will be the despoilment of the United States Treasury at a mind bending magnitude of $3 TRILLION. Such failed stewardship of the national budget in time of war and sacrifice by our troops and fierce competition from rising nations does nothing but dishonor the example of patriotism given by the men and women who have gone to fight in Iraq in a war that should never have been authorized but which must now be resolved with prudence. All of this while Usama bin Laden still lives and still plots as a result of the massive breakdown in our national security portfolio.
In addition to Chairman Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Maria Cantwell of Washington and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have shown serious leadership on this critical issue as exemplified by Senator Klobuchar's press release available HERE.
Charlie Cray is among those who are examining these matters outside of Congress.
How long will it take for George Stephanopoulous, Charlie Gibson and Chris Wallace to send investigative journalists to Texas, Jordan and Iraq to investigate the facts and report substantively on these matters?
Senator Whitehouse’s questions reveal the 30% to 80% proportion of wasted, fraudulent or illegitimate use of taxpayer funds:
Senator Cantwell’s raises questions concerning former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s lack of interest in examining fraudulent billings and taxpayer-funded support for alleged prostitution in connection with the performance of military contracts:
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