The Justice Department’s torture authorization memo represents the institutional culmination of WHIG’s constitutional crisis precedent establishment, demonstrating how systematic executive deception creates legal frameworks enabling executive immunity from constitutional constraints and …
John YooJay BybeeAlberto GonzalesWhite House Iraq GroupDepartment of Justice+5 morewhigconstitutional-crisis-precedentsexecutive-immunity-precedenttorture-authorizationrule-of-law-suspension+4 more
The Office of Special Plans (OSP), under Douglas Feith’s leadership, systematically fabricated intelligence reports claiming non-existent operational connections between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. These fabricated assessments, contradicting CIA and FBI intelligence, were intentionally distributed to …
Douglas FeithPaul WolfowitzDonald RumsfeldDick CheneyKarl Rove+3 moreospwhigintelligence-fabricationiraq-alqaeda-connectionpropaganda-distribution+2 more
The White House Iraq Group (WHIG) coordinated an unprecedented media manipulation campaign in September 2002 to build public support for the Iraq War. On September 7-8, 2002, top administration officials including Cheney, Rice, and Rumsfeld appeared on all five major Sunday news programs, delivering …
Dick CheneyCondoleezza RiceDonald RumsfeldRichard MyersRichard Armitage+5 morepropagandawhigcorporate-contractor-relationshipspermanent-capture-infrastructurerevolving-door-institutionalization+11 more
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told The New York Times that “From a marketing point of view, you don’t introduce new products in August,” openly framing the potential Iraq War as a calculated marketing campaign. This statement exposed the White House Iraq Group’s …
Andrew CardElisabeth BumillerDick CheneyCondoleezza RiceDonald Rumsfeld+3 morewhigmarketing-democracypowell-memo-accelerationcrisis-timingmedia-manipulation+1 more
By 1984, ALEC’s corporate membership had grown so rapidly that Executive Director Kathleen Teague reported corporations were overwhelming the organization’s capacity. Major corporations supporting ALEC that year included Edison Electric Institute, Procter & Gamble Co., Mary Kay …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Kathleen TeagueEdison Electric InstituteProcter & GambleEli Lilly+5 morecorporate-capturelegislative-capturealeccorporate-membershiplobbying+1 more
President Reagan sends Donald Rumsfeld as a special envoy to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, establishing formal diplomatic relations and initiating a strategic partnership during the Iran-Iraq War. The now-infamous handshake between Rumsfeld and Hussein symbolizes the Reagan …
Donald RumsfeldSaddam HusseinRonald Reaganforeign-policyIraqReagan-administrationwar-crimeschemical-weapons