Highlights of These Pages
"No Child Left Behind." Bush decides Geneva Conventions do not apply to Taliban or al-Qaeda members. Guantanamo Bay detainees arrive; secret CIA prisons built. Murder of journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. Bush asks for limits on congressional investigation of 9/11. Enron scandal reaches White House. Bush "axis of evil" speech. Decision made to invade Iraq. Defense Department says Bush has constitutional right to authorize torture. Operation Anabasis. Joseph Wilson debunks story of Nigerian uranium to Iraq. Operation Anaconda. Bush "truly not that concerned about" bin Laden. Huge US military buildup in preparation for Iraq invasion. Clampdown on government secrets. Low-level al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah captured; he is presented as a high-level al-Qaeda leader, and is tortured into providing false information about imminent al-Qaeda attacks. Venezuelan coup attempt. Robert Hanssen found guilty of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. Administration hides its knowledge of burgeoning North Korean nuclear program. "Bush Doctrine II." Chalabi's INC admits planting over 100 stories in the media. FBI's Rowley testifies about ignored 9/11 memo. Department of Homeland Security created. Arrest and incarceration of Jose Padilla. Bush and Russia both abandon START II nuclear reduction treaty after Bush withdraws from ABM treaty and refuses to push for START extension ratification. Proof of GOP's intention to use 9/11 as an election strategy found. US withdraws from Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. US and British military ordered to prepare for Iraqi invasion. "Downing Street Memo" informs Blair that intelligence on Iraq is fraudulent. International Criminal Court established; US refuses to join. "Tort reform," attacks on trial lawyers, and doctors' strikes ensure higher health care costs and protect price-gouging insurers. Operation TIPS. Stories of torture and abuse of Guantanamo detainees circulate through White House; Rumsfeld quashes inquiries. US withdraws from nuclear test ban treaty. Proof of Iran's burgeoning nuclear weapons program emerges. Information Awareness Office goes public. "Operation Southern Focus:" US and Turkish air and ground forces attack and occupy Iraqi military targets in preparation for upcoming invasion -- two months before Congress authorizes the use of military force in Iraq. Justice Department plans to intern US citizens in camps. Bush secretly approves invasion of Iraq. Massive air strike in Iraq launched in preparation for invasion. Intensive "marketing strategy" for selling the Iraq invasion launched. White House uses New York Times to spread propaganda about Iraq's WMDs and introduce threat of "mushroom cloud." Forged documents purporting to show Iraq's attempt to purchase African uranium surface, are debunked, and are used by Bush officials to "prove" Iraq's nuclear ambitions. Bush accuses Iraq of having a nuclear program. Congress authorizes military force against Iraq. Paul Wellstone dies in plane crash; GOP attacks his memorial service as "partisan politics." Republicans retake Congress. Georgia Senate race victimized by Diebold vote hacking. UN resolution approving "severe consequences" towards Iraq. Homeland Security Act. Bush admits he did not take threat of al-Qaeda seriously before 9/11. Rumsfeld approves torture techniques for detainees.