Wilson On Today: It's All About Iraq

Perhaps the best part of "Today's" interview with Ambassador Joe Wilson? His emphasis on a conspiracy and the lies the White House peddled to sell the war in Iraq. Some people fear Rove is a "distraction" from the DSM et al. But Wilson reminds us that this is why they attacked him in the first place.

Wilson emphasized that this is about the war in Iraq and the lies the White House used to sell that war. Tony Blair offered up shoddily forged documents claiming the weak and enfeebled Hussein was trying to buy radioactive material in Africa. Bush sent Joe Wilson to check it out. Joe Wilson came back and said it wasn't true -- the evidence didn't hold up. Bush didn't like that answer so they sent someone else to investigate. They came back and said the same thing: the proof isn't there. Bush STILL didn't like that answer so they sent someone else. Three separate investigations and all three said the same thing: no go.

But Bush lied anyway. In his State of the Union address leading up to the war, Bush stated flatly in 16 fatal words that Hussein had gone to Africa to buy radioactive material. Wilson was astonished and finally decided to come forward and speak out publicly -- the very thing the far right just excoriated Deep Throat for not doing. Wilson knew it meant they would attack and smear him but he came forward anyway. Those 16 words -- that lie -- became the focus of intense debate and ultimately Joe Wilson was vindicated: the White House admitted it didn't have the proof to back up that claim. According to the Bush Administration, Joe Wilson was right and they were wrong.

(The other central piece of evidence -- the tubes Bush claimed were used to make nuclear weapons -- has also been proven to be a lie. One lone mid-level CIA analyst made the claim the White House wanted about those tubes. Every other scientific and military group that looked at the evidence, every expert from the US and from international bodies and our allies overseas said the claims about those tubes were absolutely wrong. But with 99.9% of the experts saying one thing and literally one mid-level analyst saying what they wanted to hear, Colin Powell went to the UN and statedly flatly that there was no doubt what they were used for, which was a lie. If one of those many, many people in the government had shown the courage of Joe Wilson and come forward before the invasion to dispute what they knew was absolutely untrue about the other central piece of "evidence," we might never have gone to war. But of course they knew what would happen. The treatment of Wilson -- who came forward a few months after the invasion -- proved them right. Public support and the upcoming reelection of Bush were at stake and they attacked.)

For when Joe Wilson came forward, the Bush Administration didn't just attack and smear him. They went after his wife as well. And they didn't just smear her; they risked national security to out a covert CIA agent. As everyone working in government knows, the simple fact that someone is a covert agent for the CIA is classified information. People don't reveal that lightly to anyone and when they do, you don't tell your family and you don't tell your friends. And frankly, even a child knows that you don't reveal the identity of a spy. But Karl Rove did anyway.

Why? Because it's all about Iraq. The White House had two "smoking guns" in convincing the American people to go to war. The tubes and the claim that Hussein was actively trying to buy radioactive material. Both were lies. The Bush administration didn't "get it wrong," they knew what they were saying wasn't supported by the facts and they said it anyway.

Joe Wilson bravely came forward and proved the one claim was a lie.

The Downing Street Memo proves even our closest ally knew Bush was planning to invade Iraq no matter what and was lying to convince the American people to support it.

The latest polls show most Americans believe George Bush lied about why he wanted to invade Iraq. The truth is coming out.