Home > An Arrogance of Power
By David Ignatius
Wednesday, February 15, 2006; Page A21
There is a temptation that seeps into the souls of even the most righteous politicians and leads them to bend the rules, and eventually the truth, to suit the political needs of the moment. That arrogance of power is on display with the Bush administration.
The most vivid example is the long delay in informing the country that Vice President Cheney had accidentally shot a man last Saturday while hunting in Texas. For a White House that informs us about the smallest bumps and scrapes suffered by the president and vice president, the lag is inexplicable. But let us assume the obvious: It was an attempt to delay and perhaps suppress embarrassing news. We will never know whether the vice president’s office would have announced the incident at all if the host of the hunting party, Katharine Armstrong, hadn’t made her own decision Sunday morning to inform her local paper.
An Arrogance of Power
» David Ignatius | The arrogance of power that leads politicians to bend the rules, and eventually the truth, has gone too far in the Bush White House.
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Nobody died at Armstrong Ranch, but this incident reminds me a bit of Sen. Edward Kennedy’s delay in informing Massachusetts authorities about his role in the fatal automobile accident at Chappaquiddick in 1969. That story, and dozens of others about the Kennedy family, illustrates how wealthy, powerful people can behave as if they are above the law. For my generation, the fall of Richard Nixon is the ultimate allegory about how power can corrupt and destroy. It begins not with venality but with a sense of God-given mission.
I would be inclined to leave Cheney to the mercy of Jon Stewart and Jay Leno if it weren’t for other signs that this administration has jumped the tracks. What worries me most is the administration’s misuse of intelligence information to advance its political agenda. For a country at war, this is truly dangerous.
The most recent example of politicized intelligence was President Bush’s statement on Feb. 9 that the United States had "derailed" a 2002 plot to fly a plane into the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles. Bush spoke about four al Qaeda plotters who had planned to use shoe bombs to blow open the cockpit door. But a foreign official with detailed knowledge of the intelligence scoffed at Bush’s account, saying that the information obtained from Khalid Sheik Mohammed and an Indonesian operative known as Hambali was not an operational plan so much as an aspiration to destroy the tallest building on the West Coast. When I asked a former high-level U.S. intelligence official about Bush’s comment, he agreed that Bush had overstated the intelligence.
Perhaps the most outrageous example of misusing intelligence has been the administration’s attempt to undercut Paul Pillar and other former CIA officials who tried to warn about the dangers ahead in Iraq. I’m not talking about the agency’s botched job on weapons of mass destruction but about its warnings that postwar Iraq would be chaotic and dangerous. Pillar said so privately before the war, and he helped draft an August 2004 national intelligence estimate warning, correctly, that the situation in Iraq was deteriorating and heading for "tenuous stability" at best.
Bush was unhappy at this naysaying, just as he has grumbled about pessimistic reports from the CIA station in Baghdad. When Pillar made similar warnings about Iraq at a private dinner in September 2004, the White House went ballistic — seeing Pillar as part of a CIA conspiracy to undermine the president’s policies. Soon after, Bush installed a former Republican congressman, Porter Goss, who began a purge at the agency that has driven out a generation of senior managers. Pillar and many, many others have retired, leaving the nation without some of its best intelligence officers when we need them most.
Bush and Cheney are in the bunker. That’s the only way I can make sense of their actions. They are steaming in a broth of daily intelligence reports that highlight the grim terrorist threats facing America. They have sworn blood oaths that they will defend the United States from its adversaries — no matter what . They have blown past the usual rules and restraints into territory where few presidents have ventured — a region where the president conducts warrantless wiretaps against Americans in violation of a federal statute, where he authorizes harsh interrogation methods that amount to torture.
When critics question the legality of the administration’s actions, Bush and Cheney assert the commander in chief’s power under Article II of the Constitution. When Congress passes a law forbidding torture, the White House appends a signing statement insisting that Article II — the power of the commander in chief — trumps everything else. When the administration’s Republican friends suggest amending the wiretapping law to make its program legal, the administration refuses. Let’s say it plainly: This is the arrogance of power, and it has gone too far in the Bush White House.
davidignatius@washpost.com
Forum posts
16 February 2006, 23:30
Behavior, rather than words, says everything about someone and also groups. It stands way above listening to their words, which should be viewed mostly as either noise or music, depending upon how you look at it. There have been studies to prove this as behavior represents over 80% of how we communicate with others. Words represent around 10%. So why LISTEN to WORDS?
Considering the above, picking up on various traits and characteristics of behavior certainly is practical and makes good sense. But why aren’t more people following along with reading behavior? If you talk to someone who’s been betrayed by their spouse, one important result is they have learned to read behavior and the next spouse better realize it too. The comparison with spousal inter-relationships and the US Administration may be something to think about.
With marriage, we take an oath and when one spouse chooses to follow a life of betrayal, the problem is between the two spouses. If children are involved and other liabilities exist, the betrayal expands to include others, so it’s not just between the two spouses any longer. There are OTHERS to consider. Usually when betrayal exists in a marriage, there’s a great deal of “deceit”, “power plays”, “conspiracies” and “lying” that exist, all known as “out of control” behavior. At one end of extreme behavior is a specific behavior called “Sex Addiction”. Anyone who’s studied SA, will tell you that it’s one of the most extreme examples of “out of control” behavior that is very self-destructive with devastating results.
Looking more deeply at SA, their world involves the addict living two(2) completely separate lives. Their energy level is extremely high, living costs skyrocket and friends are completely separate as many other daily life routines. One strong hint of course is the betrayer is seldom around the family, they’re always working or have some excuse for not being home. The pure fact is, to support their adduction, they have to! If they combined their friends and lifestyle into one, their cover would be blown, their spouse would then know of what’s really been going on and life as the SA knew it, would be over. HENCE, HAVING AND PROTECTING THEIR SECRETS BECOMES AN EXTREME OBSESSION TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ACTUALLY BECOME COMPLETELY PARANOID! IF THE SECRETS END, LIFE ENDS!
Anyone who’s experienced being betrayed, especially by an out of control SA, will tell you that while living with them, there are constant and ongoing “hints” of their spouse’s behavior. But why does the betrayed spouse choose to ignore them? Some of the answers exist within how the US population LIVES with the present Administration. Why the People of the US “choose to ignore” the “on-going” behavior hints of the comparison of living with BETRAYAL in Marital relationships. There are many things to consider including levels of “denial” and “co-dependency”.
Another interesting comparison is that usually during the marriage with a SA, others who see more clearly try to “help” the betrayed spouse see life differently. Of course; a) some so called friends, are in on the betrayal but, some aren’t and choose to either b) ignore it or c) try to help by exposing the betrayal. It’s usually a touchy subject. What’s interesting about the US Administration is that what strongly appears to be CRIMINAL behavior includes some who are; a) ignoring what they see, b) are involved in the behavior or c) want to help by exposing the betrayal. I’m sure it’s easy to spot “who is who”!
How it will end is even more interesting as that process includes a different group of common and predictable behaviors. They too are seen with traits and characteristics related to surviving “out of control” behavior. This part, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy watching, as it’s most amusing, more like “Poetic Justice”! Saying this suggests there are phases people go through as they progress into the “out of control” behavior phase, then to complete the cycle by then “exposing who they are” to then “settle down” into a normal life again. Of course this cycle isn’t without TURMOIL or COMLETE CHAOS! Any SA betrayer who’s gone through this will tell you that the process completely destroys their entire life! Let us not forget that this includes others as well! This also is included in the definition of “Addiction Behavior”. Insane behavior usually means that you DO the SAME thing “over and over” and are always looking for CHANGE! Does it ever come? Hell NO! In order to have it CHANGE, something different and sometimes DRASTIC has to happen FIRST!
A word of caution…..Some, meaning very few SA’s, manage to survive with keeping their family intact. The plain fact is most don’t and experience complete and total loss. Research has proven that the problem is deeply rooted within the family and is widely known as a “Family Problem”. It’s passed on through generations through either one or both spouses. One healing assignment for the SA (after they have learned the difference between what is good behavior and their bad behavior) is to “Research” within their family tree to learn the differences of attitudes and beliefs of how other members behave. It’s common to learn that either one parent or both parents are involved in the SA behavior AND the other siblings also eventually practice the same SA behavior as well.
Human behavior hasn’t changed since the Bible was written. Jesus Christ is also known as being one of the greatest Behaviorists. Considering this, are we looking at something different or just another repeat of the past when viewing how the US Political Environment behaves? Also, since behavior hasn’t changed in thousands of years, is this another reason why many of us can see some traits and characteristics to hint that something is wrong? Maybe, just maybe you need to research this more?
So using this comparison and looking into a Crystal Ball, what will become of the US Political System and it’s OUT OF CONTROL CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR? Maybe, just maybe, it isn’t ONLY the US? Maybe, just maybe, it involves other areas as well? Maybe, just maybe, this part will prove to be most interesting?
Marty Didier
Northbrook, IL