Revived with the release of George W. Bush’s Decision Points memoir and his several appearances on television: the painful and indelible betrayal of the office of president and of the United States of America: although the reliable verdict of recent history is  that there were no WMD and hence no justification whatsoever for our occupation of Iraq and that we never should have undertaken the unaccomplished mission,  Bush still can’t admit it.

To understand Bush’s cowardice in this matter– and to aid in comprehending why after so much bloodshed, sacrifice of our children and heartache he is still unable and unwilling to face himself,– consider reading up on The Valerie Plame Affair in which he and his henchmen threw two good people to the wolves. The real political clown and con artist Bush stands revealed in this mess.

Someone made a monumental effort to fully explicate all of this dastardly business on wikipedia— it is a truly compelling read.

Joseph Wilson, husband of Valerie Plame,  worked for the State Department and was by his own account the last ambassador to talk w/ Saddam and to leave Iraq.  The Administration sent him to Niger in 2002 to explore whether rumors that Niger was exporting yellow uranium to Iraq to make nuclear weapons were true.  He filed reports stating that he had found nothing to substantiate the rationale for the war in Iraq, and as a matter of concscience, as the Administration continued to assert that Iraq had WMD, published an op ed in the NYT to that effect–  What I Didn’t Find in Africa— disclosing the Administration’s very dirty underwear.

The short-version of this amazing boondoggle: that Wilson had been entrusted with such a high-level mission raised questions for Robert Novak and Bob Woodward, among other journalists, and the subsequent reportage, fall-out and inquiries reveal that the Administration, via Libby and Rove,  saw an opportunity to put a dent in Wilson’s credibility by telling Novak and other journalists that Valerie Plame had gotten her husband the gig as a CIA operative involved in tracking WMD development in Iran.  Wilson and Plames’ personal and professional lives were shattered, Plame’s work went into the ditch,  and Bush pardoned Libby before he left office.  A film based on Plame’s memoir  is coming out this week starring Sean Penn. Wilson has blogged anew about the affair on the Huffington Post.

Listening to Bush repeat his delusions on television puts the ramped up GOP ire at Obama for acting on his principles in perspective.  How very nice that just as Hannity and company have been bashing Obama for his Asia trip and everything else, along comes Dubya on his eyeless, blood-spewing horse– again.