In A Parallel Universe...The New Deepthroats

The truth is coming to the surface. Intelligence failures and miscommunication are not a partisan issue. Or about winning the upcoming election. They are about our security and integrity as a nation. If we are still having communication and competence problems with intelligence, and between agencies and branches of government, then we are still in danger. Grave danger. Because that means we could get hit again, and again. And that since we don't know where the WMD's are, if they indeed still exist, and cargo containers are going unchecked, we could get hit tomorrow.

So if you accept the Bush Administration defense, that the intelligence anomalies in our case were a result of bumbling and miscommunication, we must accept that we are in grave danger, and nothing seemingly has been done to fix anything since 9/11, since our failures in regards to 9/11 are from the same causes. This is bad. Not to mention that the "defense" itself, if portrayed as such before the war, while we were justifying it, would not have been warmly received, and in fact would have been roundly panned.

Of course, the best case scenario for the nation, and the worse case for the Right, is that our communication channels have been fixed, we are safer after 9/11, that intelligence is being properly shared and handled, and that the war hawks merely spun the intelligence they needed and ignored the rest. This goes back to a partisan issue, though a highly immoral one, and also with dastardly global effects, but one that does not seem to put us back between the cross hairs.

Either way, the Bush Administration is in trouble. Their best bet is to own up now, so we can figure this out and perhaps they can salvage their name. We know which way that will have to go. A combination of the two scenarios, in which they take a hit, but not a fatal one.

Otherwise, if this continues to drag out, and denials keep going out, the worse case scenario is that the truth finally comes out, the leaks finally spring the dam, and despite vigorous and spirited diversion, coverup and denials, we are faced with a national and constitutional crisis. If indeed this does happen, then unprecedented action will have to be taken. The level of criminality will be obscene, with all of the deaths and loss of integrity and safety that have resulted, and not only be fodder for removal from office, but possibly even handing over to international courts of law for prosecution and overall reconciliation.

This is a horrific possibility, and I hope the brighter lights in the Bush Administration see this coming. It would be a shame to see Powell's career, for instance, go down or take a colossal hit because of this. President Bush himself may not yet be fully aware of the depth of deception his advisers have led him through. Something tells me that some in the Administration must be beginning to see the handwriting on the wall, and will refuse to go down with the ship at some point. They will be the new Deepthroats.