Comments on: The Gravel Pit Theory http://colorcomments.com/2008/05/30/the-gravel-pit-theory/ Southern Utah is Color Country! Thu, 13 May 2010 05:16:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dan Mabbutt http://colorcomments.com/2008/05/30/the-gravel-pit-theory/comment-page-1/#comment-318 Dan Mabbutt Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:14:24 +0000 http://colorcomments.com/2008/05/30/the-gravel-pit-theory/#comment-318 <p>I agree with your assessment of the whistle-blower protection for Federal employees. And it's too bad. It shouldn't be like that.</p> <p>And it's too bad that McClellan waited until now to have his epiphany. He might have had the courage of these previous Bush insiders who also have made it quite clear that we have been badly used in this horrible mistake of a war ...</p> <p>Paul O ' Neill<br /> Secretary of the Treasury, 2001 to 2002<br /> During interviews with author Suskind, O'Neill accuses Bush of searching for a reason to invade Iraq mere days into his presidency. "It was all about finding a way to do it," O'Neill says. "That was the tone of it. The president saying, 'Fine. Go find me a way to do this'."</p> <p>Richard Clarke<br /> Chief counterterrorism adviser, 1992 to 2003<br /> Clarke faults Bush for ignoring pre-9/11 intelligence on Al Qaeda and writes that by invading Iraq, "Bush handed that enemy precisely what it wanted ... It was as if Usama bin Laden, hidden in some high mountain redoubt, were engaging in long-range mind control of George Bush."</p> <p>George Tenet<br /> Director of CIA, 1997 to 2004<br /> A chapter of "At the Center of the Storm" titled "No Authority, Direction, or Control" describes a disjointed plan for war, with "no strategy for when U.S. forces hit the ground."</p> <p>Thanks for your comment!</p> I agree with your assessment of the whistle-blower protection for Federal employees. And it’s too bad. It shouldn’t be like that.

And it’s too bad that McClellan waited until now to have his epiphany. He might have had the courage of these previous Bush insiders who also have made it quite clear that we have been badly used in this horrible mistake of a war …

Paul O ‘ Neill
Secretary of the Treasury, 2001 to 2002
During interviews with author Suskind, O’Neill accuses Bush of searching for a reason to invade Iraq mere days into his presidency. “It was all about finding a way to do it,” O’Neill says. “That was the tone of it. The president saying, ‘Fine. Go find me a way to do this’.”

Richard Clarke
Chief counterterrorism adviser, 1992 to 2003
Clarke faults Bush for ignoring pre-9/11 intelligence on Al Qaeda and writes that by invading Iraq, “Bush handed that enemy precisely what it wanted … It was as if Usama bin Laden, hidden in some high mountain redoubt, were engaging in long-range mind control of George Bush.”

George Tenet
Director of CIA, 1997 to 2004
A chapter of “At the Center of the Storm” titled “No Authority, Direction, or Control” describes a disjointed plan for war, with “no strategy for when U.S. forces hit the ground.”

Thanks for your comment!

]]> By: RPMcMurphy http://colorcomments.com/2008/05/30/the-gravel-pit-theory/comment-page-1/#comment-317 RPMcMurphy Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:25:51 +0000 http://colorcomments.com/2008/05/30/the-gravel-pit-theory/#comment-317 To answer your question directly – yes, I have ratted out a boss and also a boss’s boss. They were not exactly profiles in courage – I was working for a large Federal agency and ratted to the Inspector General with a promise of anonymity. By the way, the whistle-blower protection for Federal employees is not worth much. Part of the problem with deciding whether to rat or not is what has the boss done or not done? If he or she has broken a law, then yes, rat. What if it is a difference of opinion on a matter of judgment? The boss makes a decision that while not illegal is not as good a course of action as the one I recommended. Rattable? This seems to be part of the problem with the McClellan book – his opinion is different than those of others in the White House and Pentagon, but apparently in most cases it is just his opinion. I like your gravel pit theory, but my experience with bosses in the Federal sector is they fall under the bell curve – a few very good, a few very bad, and a whole bunch in between. To answer your question directly – yes, I have ratted out a boss and also a boss’s boss.
They were not exactly profiles in courage – I was working for a large Federal agency and ratted to the Inspector General with a promise of anonymity.
By the way, the whistle-blower protection for Federal employees is not worth much.
Part of the problem with deciding whether to rat or not is what has the boss done or not done? If he or she has broken a law, then yes, rat.
What if it is a difference of opinion on a matter of judgment? The boss makes a decision that while not illegal is not as good a course of action as the one I recommended. Rattable?
This seems to be part of the problem with the McClellan book – his opinion is different than those of others in the White House and Pentagon, but apparently in most cases it is just his opinion.
I like your gravel pit theory, but my experience with bosses in the Federal sector is they fall under the bell curve – a few very good, a few very bad, and a whole bunch in between.

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