What If…

What if George-the-Unwise had not made the disastrous claim in his January 28, 2003 SOTUS speech that the Brits claimed Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium in Africa? George-the-Dupe knew on January 28, 2003 that Saddam had not tried to buy uranium. He knew because Joseph Wilson had gone to Africa at the behest of the CIA in February 2002 and reported back in March 2002 that he doubted Iraq tried to purchase uranium in Africa. If George-the-Beloved-Disciple had not swallowed the lies being fed to him by Karl Rove, and had not made the uranium claim in his SOTUS speech, would Ari Fleischer (press secretary before suck-up Scott McClellan took the job) still be press secretary? Fleischer resigned May 19th, 2003. If the Bush team hadn't lied about Iraq buying uranium in Africa and if Colin Powell hadn't refused to repeat the lie to the United Nations would Powell still be secretary of state? Would the White House have been able to set the Iraq war plans in motion March 20th, 2003 without the Africa uranium lie? That's the real point about the Plame case. The importance of the Karl Rove connection isn't on whether Rove outed Plame as a CIA operative (which he obviously did, whether he used her name or called her Wilson's wife). But that's of lesser importance than the fact that Rove gave Time mag reporter Matthew Cooper “a big warning” in July 2003 that Joe Wilson's report on Iraq “might not be entirely accurate”. Rove knew Wilson's report that Iraq was not trying to buy uranium in Africa was true. But he tried to influence reporter Cooper to keep telling the Bush administration lie. On July 6th, 2003, in a New York Times op-ed piece, Wilson wrote that he could not verify that Niger sold uranium yellowcake to Iraq. Karl Rove knew Wilson had to be neutralized one way or another or the lies that rationalized the illegal war in Iraq could not be kept afloat. That is the crux of this matter. Karl Rove is the mastermind behind the Bush administration's unprecedented record of deceit, lying and down and dirty strategies. Will the Bush administration keep Rove as Captain and go down with the ship? Or have new orders been issued?: MAN THE LIFEBOATS…YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!