.jpg)
|
|
|
Demanding Accountability for the Distortions By Colbert I. King Saturday, July 17, 2004; Page A19 Naomi Lewis, if convicted, faces up to five years behind bars for possession
of a weapon on school property. Not that she intentionally brought the
rifle and ammunition to Bull Run Middle School in Prince William County,
where she's a cafeteria worker. But she realized her son had brought them
to school when she heard something rattling around in the back of her
van as they arrived at the building. Instead of taking the weapons home,
she locked the van and went into the school. Her son later used a key
she didn't know he had to open the van, retrieve several weapons and then
barge into a school office with a loaded gun, ordering everyone onto the
floor. He was arrested and, thank goodness, no one was injured. But Lewis's
case is going before a grand jury next month because authorities believe
she should be held accountable for her actions or inaction. Theodore J. Gordon has worked in the D.C. health department for 31 years,
and he says there's nothing negative in his personnel file. But he was
placed on administrative leave last week and given a termination letter
effective Aug. 6. The city won't say why Gordon was fired, but officials
say the agency has serious problems and that changes needed to be made.
Gordon, who was in charge of the environmental health division, apparently
was being held accountable for something that he did or failed to do. That's the way the system works. When something that could affect the
public interest goes astray, someone, we are told, should be held accountable. Which begs the question, where is the accountability for Iraq? I raised this question on the "Inside Washington" show last
weekend, and one of my colleagues responded: "It's called the presidential
election. You can vote him out." But does that do the trick? Losing, of course, is no fun. But it's not
as if a defeated George W. Bush -- if it should come to that -- won't
be in rather exclusive company, not the least of which includes his own
father. And the younger Bush will still have his family, his health and
his millions, not to speak of throngs of friends and well-wishers. There
are worse fates in life. Such is also the case with the other architects of Iraq war policy. 'Tis
true, if Bush loses in November, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Donald
Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Vice President Cheney will be out of a job.
But who thinks they won't land comfortably on their feet, making more
money and living higher on the hog than they do now? They will be the
toast of the lecture and talk show circuit, in great demand in the academy
and in policy circles, when not attending corporate board meetings on
private jets. No red jump suits or unemployment lines for them. And yet, consider the consequences of their collective actions: nearly
900 Americans killed, thousands maimed, billions spent, and 140,000 U.S.
troops still on the ground and in harm's way. That's not even counting
the daily Iraqi casualties caused by insurgents opposed to the U.S. occupation. The toll on America is all the more galling because of how the country
went to war. We now know we were told a great many things that turned
out to be untrue. Bush administration officials, relying on unfounded,
distorted and exaggerated intelligence concerning weapons threats, took
the country down a path that has led to a catastrophic waste of human
lives as well as billions of dollars. Let's consider just a few of the things that were conveyed as the gospel
truth: A year ago we were told by a senior administration official that Iraq
could "really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon."
We now shell out more than $4 billion a month from the U.S. Treasury. We were told last summer that the number of Iraqis signing up to fight
"numbered in the thousands" -- only to see Iraqi troops refuse
to fight at Fallujah and others switch sides, and hear military leaders
admit that that the Iraqi forces weren't ready for prime time. Now, let a D.C. government bureaucrat get it wrong or some low-level
federal worker without friends in high places make a costly mistake and
the weight of the world will come down on them. They will be hounded by
congressional committees, pilloried and ridiculed in the media, and shunned
by all people good and decent. They might even end up in jail. That's what's called public accountability. Well, how do we call to account those public officials who joined in
decisions -- born out of concern for the nation's security but also out
of pride, elitism and zealotry, as some will argue -- that led to the
ruin of thousands of innocent, patriotic Americans and their families?
When do they answer for their actions? © 2004 The Washington Post Company
|
|
|
This website is volunteer managed, designed and donated. Content is the sole responsibility of Democrats of Napa Valley Club. Club Sponsored Napa Democratic Headquarters- 1408 Second Street, Napa Democrats
of Napa Valley |
||