A White House “Adept at Revenge”

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/032904A.shtml

Others who have fallen out of favor over Iraq include former economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni and former Army chief of staff Gen. Eric Shinseki. All voiced concerns about either the expense or number of troops needed to occupy Iraq. All were treated dismissively by the White House. All are gone, but their estimates proved accurate.

Former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV drew the administration’s wrath by suggesting Bush exaggerated Saddam’s nuclear capabilities. A federal grand jury is investigating whether a White House official illegally disclosed that Wilson’s wife was a CIA officer to get back at him.

On the domestic front, Paul O’Neill was fired as Treasury secretary in December 2002 after publicly questioning the need for additional Bush tax cuts—another core campaign issue for Bush.

Administration officials now are waging a behind-the-scenes campaign to discredit Richard Foster, a Medicare accountant who publicly said he was forbidden by his superiors from sharing with Congress a higher—and more accurate—cost estimate for the administration’s Medicare program.

John DiIulio quit as director of Bush’s office of faith-based initiatives in 2002, telling Esquire magazine that “Mayberry Machiavellis” led by Rove were basing policy only on re-election concerns.