Chain of Scary Command

Seymour M. Hersh, Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib, 2004 (with 2005 afterword)
You don't have to be a genius, or even up on current news, to know that America fucked up in Iraq. To learn the intricacies of America's mistakes, however -- the sheer lack of competence and vision -- is enough to fry anyone's braincells and leave them cowering in the corner like a psychiatric ward patient. Hersh, a Pulitzer-prize winnining journalist, exposes the turmoil many countries have been thrust into since 9/11 and how directly it is related to the Neo-cons close to Bush. The picture that emerges is a horrifying one: instability has grown in the Middle East since 9/11; nobody with power seems to have a vision; thousands of innocents are being killed and tortured, with no end in sight; and the American public continues to be lied and patronised by a small enclave of powerful men and women who absolutely don't hold their best interests to heart.

My question after reading this book was: why has nobody stormed the White House yet and overthrown Bush? Similarly, why are the British so apathetic to Blair? Is it because we are democracies and we will punish them next time an election comes around (like the recent Senate/Congress elections in America?)

And this book's scariest news: Pakistan has been selling nuclear weapon know-how across the Islamic world and we are ever closer to the point when extremists will have a warhead in their hands. It may be time for Kevin and I to get extra serious about moving away from London...

"There are many who believe George Bush is a liar, a President who knowingly and deliberately twists facts for political gain. But lying would indicate an understanding of what is desired, what is possible, and how best to get there. A more plausible explanation is that words have no meaning for this President beyond the immediate moment, and so he believes that his mere utterances of the phrases makes them real. It is a terrifying possibility." (p.367)