Thursday, November 03, 2005

Only the tip of an iceberg

Many Americans are convinced that it is only a matter of time that the deep secrets that went into orchestrating the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq would be unveiled. Many among them also believe that the military action against Iraq was only one item on the neoconvervative agenda of serving Israel's interests through "regime changes" in the Middle East. It started with Iraq and Syria and Iran would soon follow, they say.
Against that backdrop, the indictment of the senior-most aide to US Vice-President Robert Cheney is seen by many as the expected event that would lead to opening up the Pandora's Box of the sinister secrets that went into setting the stage for the war against Iraq in March 2003.
With the Bush administration bogged down in the Iraq crisis and facing mounting criticism on domestic issues and political manoeuvrings, the indictment of Lewis Libby on charges of perjury could be the key to the cupboard of skeletons.
Many have already started describing the case involving Valerie Plame, the undercover Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative who was "outed" by Libby and others, as Bush's Plamegate. Some of them are calling it the "Neocon-gate" if only because they believe the Plame case could lead to "outing" the neoconservatives who have taken the US on a disastrous course of military action that has cost more than 2,000 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives.
More significant is the expectation that the Plame affair could even lead to exposing the
the official version of the Sept.11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. Suggestions are plenty that someone high up in power in Washington had a direct or indirect role in the assaults, which offered a convenient starting point for implementing the neocon agenda around the world starting with Iraq and the Middle East.
It remains to be seen how strong the Democrats would apply pressure and how far they would be successful in fighting the apparent Republican resistance against a thorough and transparent investigations into the misuse of intelligence information to justify the invasion of Iraq.
For now, the wagon has been kickstarted, and the US Congress has to steer it towards the right destination — the truth and nothing but the truth.