Has Administration Created Expectation of Disinformation?

The Bush Administration has inflicted upon itself the most damaging of all political liabilities—lost public trust. Scandals, cronyism, duplicity are all surfacing to erode the confidence that is so essential in a representative form of government. But in the sweep of history, all of these will pale in the face of “the big lie”, the one that will reverberate for generations and for many will be unforgivable and unrecoverable—the Iraq War.

Many knew from the beginning that the timing was politically motivated, the rationale was one of convenience, the evidence was suspect and that the strategy itself had been developed years earlier by a small neo-con cabal that was now in power in and about the White House. But in the post 9/11 environment, the administration was able to push, cajole and extend its good offices to execute this unwarranted, illegal foreign policy escapade that has been so devastating.

But the phrase “the truth will out” has proved trustworthy itself and the people of this country have finally, in a majority, been willing to admit the practically unthinkable—the Administration purposely lied to its own people to justify the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. Consider these two polls in just the past several weeks:

Newsweek Poll, October 5-6, 2006
"Before the Iraq War, the Bush Administration said it had intelligence reports indicating that Iraq was hiding banned chemical or biological weapons from UN weapons inspectors. But so far, no such banned weapons have been found in Iraq. Do you think the Bush Administration purposely misled the public about evidence that Iraq had banned weapons in order to build support for war?” Yes: 58%
CNN Poll, September 29-October 2, 2006
"Do you think the Bush Administration has deliberately misled the American public about how the war in Iraq is going or don't you think so?" Deliberately Misled: 58%
A clear majority now believe that the Bush administration both lied to bring the war and continue to lie about the progress of it. These are lies that matter. The most scientifically reliable estimates are that over 650,000 Iraqis have died directly as a result of the invasion and occupation. Almost 10% of their adult male population has been killed. Staggering numbers. On the U.S. side, almost 3000 soldiers have died and approximately 17,000 have permanent and disabling injuries.
These are deaths and injuries that were avoidable. They were incurred through deception…and there will be many, many more, now that this has been set in motion. This is behavior among those entrusted with leadership that is simply unthinkable and intolerable.
It is not a surprise that the people of this country have come out of denial and are accepting what has happened. It is a surprise that there is not already a groundswell, not for impeachment…but for a war crimes referral.