FIXED DELUSIONS

Two sources should put to rest any credibility given to Joe Wilson regarding the Niger-Uranium-Iraq story that was mentioned by President Bush in the lead-up to the Iraq War. They are Christopher Hitchens column, aptly subtitled: "Sorry everyone, but Iraq did go uranium shopping in Niger."

And Michael Ledeen's column today

Please read them both. Hitchen's column in particular had a detailed summary of the events regarding Niger and Iraq--events that have been so distorted by our own media that it is no wonder that Americans are confused.

Of course, it is too much to hope for that the left will finally cease to exploit that confusion. What seems to be the pattern is that the leftist media simply resurrect the old disproved arguments after waiting a suitable period of time to give the public a chance to forget. They couch the "new" allegations in brand new phrases (e.g., in 2003, the headlines were that Bush "released" some intelligence to counteract the lies of Joe Wilson and others; today they breathlessly inform us that Bush "leaked" that intelligence).

Ledeen:

Linzer and Gellman say, referring to the phony documents, that "the evidence Cheney and Libby selected to share with reporters had been disproved months before." And they add, in a triumphant tone reserved for the announcement of a knockout punch, that "the Bush administration and British Prime Minister Tony Blair maintained they had additional, secret evidence they could not disclose. In June, a British parliamentary inquiry concluded otherwise, delivering a scathing critique of Blair's role in promoting the story."

But Linzer and Gellman are wrong, indeed so clearly wrong that it takes one’s breath away. The British government did indeed have information about Iraqi efforts to purchase uranium in Africa, and it wasn’t connected to the forgeries. And the definitive British parliamentary inquiry — the Butler Commission Report of July, 2004 — not only did not deliver "a scathing critique," but totally endorsed the position of British intelligence.

If the truth matters to anyone anymore--and that seems to be a big issue in all this--then both of these columns are a must read. If you enjoy being manipulated by those whose only agenda appears to be to destroy Bush at any price, then go ahead and keep believing anything and everything promulgated by the left, the MSM, and Joe Wilson.

There are treatments available for fixed delusions. I have some appointments open later this week.