Here's the neocon/GOP media campaign in six easy steps:
- If you are blamed for a mistake: Deny the event ever happened.
- If you can't deny the event occurred: Claim no one could have predicted the outcome.
- If people did predict the outcome that actually occurred: Refuse to talk about the past because "we need to look forward."
- If people try to talk about how the effect on the present: Refuse to talk about the present because there is an ongoing investigation.
- If people try to talk about lessons learned for the future: Refuse to talk about the future because "it is speculative."
- If all else fails and they persist: Say your accusers are really accomplices because they knew (or suspected) this was going on and didn't stop it.
This playbook is familiar to people who have had to contend with psychopathic abusers. Of course, you won't find "psychopath" in the DSM-IV. That is not a clinical diagnosis anymore than "whiplash" is. However, you will find Antisocial Personality Disorder. That's the correct term for what people casually call psychopaths. The symptoms of that pathology are disturbingly familiar ...
Antisocial personality disorder is defined thus:
There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
- failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
- deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
- impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
- irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
- reckless disregard for safety of self or others
- consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
- lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
Obviously, this list of symptoms is intended for diagnosing individuals, but when applied to the modern-day Republican Party it is a bit shocking to see that all seven characteristics apply... until you realize that we are not dealing with an ordinary political party so much as a criminal enterprise. Then all of this makes sense because those characteristics are exactly the sort of personality features you would expect in hard-core criminals. Let's not forget, these are the people who call themselves the Corrupt Bastards Club.
The seeds of this demise were planted decades ago. Christopher Hitchens distinguished himself early in his career as a journalist documenting the atrocities committed by Henry Kissinger. Unable to deny the truth of his allegations, critics chose to attack his choice of words. They said it was unfair of Hitchens to brand Kissinger a war criminal. They claimed it was nothing more than a theatrical stunt that robbed the word of its true meaning while unfairly insulting his subject.
Hitchens, a raconteur known for his acerbic wit, had a very matter-of-fact and devastating retort for such critics. He explained that calling Kissinger a war criminal was not an insult; it was his job description.
Kissinger has never been formally charged as a war criminal. However, it is well known he limits his travel abroad to avoid the fate of his associate, former Chilean President, Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet avoided trial as well, but his case set an international precedent that former heads of state are not immune from prosecution for war crimes. That precedent enabled the Peruvian people to recently convict their former president, Alberto Fujimori, of the same atrocities associated with Kissinger, Pinochet and now Richard B. Cheney.
We are at a cross-roads:
We know torture was used against people in US custody.
We know that torture was the result of direct orders.
We know those orders originated in the Office of Richard Bruce Cheney.
Recently, it has been alleged by Seymour Hersh that same office directed the activity of death squads.
The last charge is odious, but not surprising. I can't think of a single example from history where a government engaged in torture but drew the line at extra-judicial executions.
The only question now is who else knew? And when did they become accomplices? In previous Republican administrations wracked by charges of criminal activity, they tried to use terms like "plausible deniability" to protect the president. Nixon avoided a trial by resigning and receiving a pardon. At the time, people complained that Ford's pardon meant we would have to deal with this problem again.
Unfortunately, the very next Republican administration jumped right back into the business of running criminal activities from the White House. Reagan was forced to testify on the matter, but his senility put him beyond the reach of the law. A lot of people were convicted of serious felonies. The next Republican administration absolved them all. That's how a convicted felon like John Poindexter could get a job working for the Federal government in later years.
Again, people complained about the pardons and the failure to hold the president accountable. They made the same arguments that had been made after Watergate. Unfortunately, history repeated itself. The next Republican administration jumped right back into the business of running criminal activities from the White House.
Here's the problem: Every time we go through this cycle, the crimes get worse. This parallels the advancing pathology from Conduct Disorder to Antisocial Personality Disorder one commonly sees in criminals who keep getting away with their behavior.
Nixon's administration conducted illegal surveillance in order to continue fighting a war they inherited. One thing Nixon could honestly say was no one in his administration broke any laws for money. They might be criminals, but they weren't crooks.
Reagan's people conducted illegal surveillance in order to continue fighting an illegal war they started. In the process of funding this illegal war, they got into bed with a host of shady characters. The result was a flood of cocaine into the country. The only question is whether the CIA was actively involved in the trafficking or did they just look the other way and allow it to go on under their noses?
Unfortunately, the "golden triangle" of money for guns for drugs for money for guns for drugs, etc. was not the worst part of the criminal activities associated with Casey's "off the shelf" operation. Torture and death squads were a lot worse. After John Negroponte left his post in Honduras, local human rights workers were able to excavate mass graves with almost 200 bodies at the torture and detention center at the US base in El Aquacate. The only remains identified belonged to an American priest. Unlike the local peasants, he had dental records.
Now we learn the Bush administration has done them all one better. They didn't stop at illegal surveillance, they went to illegal detntion. They didn't stop at illegal arms trafficking, they went to illegal armies. They didn't just stir up local conflicts, they invaded a country on false pretenses. They didn't condone torture, they directed it. And now we hear they may also have directed death squads.
Here's the most chilling feature: In his recent appearance on TV, Cheney explicitly stated Bush signed off on all this.
SCHIEFFER: How much did President Bush know specifically about the methods that were being used? We know that you-- and you have said-- that you approved this...
CHENEY: Right.
SCHIEFFER: ... somewhere down the line. Did President Bush know everything you knew?
CHENEY: I certainly, yes, have every reason to believe he knew -- he knew a great deal about the program. He basically authorized it. I mean, this was a presidential-level decision. And the decision went to the president. He signed off on it.
Charles Manson is not that cold-blooded. But that is not news when it comes to Richard Cheney. What is news is he fingers Bush. They have finally reached the point where they don't even care to pretend plausible deniability is a concern for them. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have found rock bottom.
This increasing toxicity is why we have to prosecute these criminals. They are incorrigible. They are utterly without remorse. Expecting them to fix themselves is as foolish as expecting a serial killer to stop on their own accord. If we don't prosecute, count on this happening again. If history is a guide to the future, the next time they break the law under cover of authority it will be even worse.