The Important Stuff

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, June 7, 2006; 12:45 PM

President Bush is running around the country this week talking about immigration, and on Monday he gave a much-hyped speech on gay marriage. In neither case has he said anything remotely new, and yet the press coverage is intense.

But what about the stuff the White House doesn't want us talking about?

You know, the important stuff.

High on that very long list: The war in Iraq -- and particularly the atrocities allegedly committed by U.S. troops; also, the continued expansion of executive power -- including the administration's warrantless domestic spying.

Issues like immigration and gay marriage offer Bush a chance to look presidential. Even though they are controversial, Bush can take a public, proactive and starring role. That makes for great visuals, and generally good press.

But when it comes to the important stuff, most everything's happening secretly, and sometimes defensively. And the key player, not surprisingly, is Vice President Cheney.

Far from the cameras, Cheney and others have been busy lately with such projects as actively excluding Geneva Convention protections from the Pentagon's new detainee policy, and stymieing congressional investigation and oversight into domestic wiretapping.

Atrocity Watch

Time and Newsweek both dedicate their covers this week to the apparent massacre in Haditha.

Michael Duffy, Tim McGirk and Aparism Gosh write in Time: "Once again, the Bush Administration finds itself on the defensive about a war that is now entering its 40th unrelenting month."

Evan Thomas and Scott Johnson write in Newsweek: "As more accounts of civilian killings come to light, the pressure is likely to grow on the Bush administration to bring home the troops, not just to save their lives, but to rescue their honor and decency."

But it's more than that. While atrocities in Iraq increase the pressure to bring the troops home, they also raise the question: How far up the chain of command does responsibility lie? And how much if any lies with the commander in chief?

How it came about that America became identified across the globe with torture and other atrocities -- and what role the White House has played in that -- are mysteries that need to be unraveled, and that are legitimately the subject of constant, unrelenting inquiry and reporting. But so far, these infamies have largely been covered as isolated acts. CONTINUED