In a recent article by Robert Dreyfus for the American Prospect, President Bush has moved beyond just manipulating information given to the public, but he and his cronies apparently have such an appetite for “cooked” information that they regularly order some up for themselves.

The hardcore hawks surrounding Bush are unhappy with the wussy information the CIA is providing about Iraq—it is too ambiguous, apparently, and doesn’t make a sufficient case to attack preemptively. Not be confused with the facts, Rumsfeld, according to Dreyfus, has created a little shop in the Defense Department to provide himself, Paul Wolfowitz and others with little factoids that they use to “harass the CIA staffer who briefs him every morning.” Rather than know the truth, Rummy wants to simply confuse the questions, sending the staffer back to the office with the charge to review the intelligence and try again. Of course, no amount of honest review will change things, so the Company is checkmated. This is a seriously scary state of affairs when the CIA is considered too mushy or weak on the topic of intervention when that has been their stock in trade for decades.

Rumsefeld’s preference for intelligence is the group of Iraqi ex-patriots headed by Ahmed Chalabi who is simply positioning himself to sit in Saddam’s chair once we march into Baghdad. Such a “disinterested” source makes a poor informant when deciding to launch a war (which Chalabi will not have to pay for in any way but will benefit from its outcome in terms of tens of millions of dollars of kickback as he unleashes American corporations poised to exploit Iraqi resources). The quality of information is apparently not important to Bush and Co. as long it gets the propaganda job done. I guess we have to give credit to Bush for drinking from the same tainted fountain that most of us get to drink. Why should I be surprised since he also courageously led the way in getting a smallpox vaccination to prove he is just one of us? Believe in Bush's personal courage and I have some great ocean front property here in Sacramento you’ll be interested in buying!