Breaking News Most of Us Knew Already

A report released today by the Senate Select Intelligence Committee tells us a few things that we (most of us anyway) have known for some time:

* Claims by President Bush that Iraq and al Qaida had a partnership "were not substantiated by the intelligence."

* The president and vice president misrepresented what was known about Iraq’s chemical weapons capabiliies.

* Rumsfeld misrepresented what the intelligence community knew when he said Iraq's weapons productions facilities were buried deeply underground.

* Cheney's claim that the intelligence community had confirmed that lead Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 was not true.

So why were G.W. Bush and Dick Cheney dishonest with the American people? Would the American people not support a war with Iraq if the intelligence was doubtful? Conservatives are always telling us that government has too much power, that decisions should be made by the people, that we must take individual responsibility for our actions. Will Bush and Cheney take individual responsibility for their dishonesty? I highly doubt it.