There’s a new theme slowly beginning to appear in the American War of Political Lies. An article in the December 28 Wall Street Journal highlights the efforts of a group named Move America Forward which is producing a series of television ads in selected markets.

The television commercials are attention-grabbing: Newly found Iraqi documents show that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, including anthrax and mustard gas, and had "extensive ties" to al Qaeda. The discoveries are being covered up by those "willing to undermine support for the war on terrorism to selfishly advance their shameless political ambitions."

Somehow I thought we’d driven enough stakes through the heart of these lies that they couldn’t be resuscitated by the greatest medical teams in the world. The Germans said there were no WMDs and they were ignored – old Europe and all that. The French said there were no WMDs and they were mocked. Cheese-rating surrender monkeys. And oh yeah, Monsieur Froggy: your pommes de frites are hereby rendered irrelevant by the symbolic installation of “Freedom Fries” in the Congressional dining room, where overpaid and overbribed underachievers make themselves in fact irrelevant. The Italians were somehow involved in asserting something strange about yellowcake errands, so we still liked them, but that’s been proven to be all forgeries, and the Italian Government has officially declared it was all a lie and they had nothing to do with it.

Scott Ritter couldn’t find WMDs and said so. He was labeled a child molester. Hans Blix couldn’t find WMDs. I forget what filthy lies they spread about him. The UN said there were no WMDs and for their sin of rocking the cradle of neocon wetdreams they were punished by having to deal with the vicious spoiler John Bolton.

The hard-hitting spots are part of a recent public-relations barrage aimed at reversing a decline in public support for President Bush's handling of Iraq. But these advertisements aren't paid for by the Republican National Committee or other established White House allies. Instead, they are sponsored by Move America Forward, a media-savvy outside advocacy group that has become one of the loudest -- and most controversial -- voices in the Iraq debate.

While even Mr. Bush now publicly acknowledges the mistakes his administration made in judging the threat posed by Mr. Hussein, the organization is taking to the airwaves to insist that the White House was right all along.

And say, didn’t Mr Bush hisownself say there was no connection between Saddam and al Quaeda? What’s up here? Didn’t Move America BackwardForward get the memo?

So, now we are expected to go back to page one and start this nonsense all over again? Just because Mr Bush has been proven over and over again to be a serial liar and an admitted law breaker? Suddenly we need another diversion, something bright and shiny to confuse the masses, lest they start to think?

"The White House has really done a poor job of getting the message out, which is why we've had to step into the breach," says California-based Republican political strategist Sal Russo, one of the group's three founders. "They should do a better job of coordinating with those willing to get out and tell the story. We shouldn't be the only ones out here fighting."

The White House didn't return several calls seeking comment. A Republican National Committee spokesman declined to comment.

When they won’t comment, you KNOW they’re in it, up to their hairy armpits.

Every once in a while you strike gold. AMERICAblog nudges the story forward just a bit, starting with this quote from the WSJ article:

In addition to his Iraq political work in the U.S., Mr. Russo has an open-ended political-advertising contract with the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq for whom he produces advertisements that run in the U.S. seeking investment in Kurdistan. Some critics accuse him of having a vested financial interest in prolonging the U.S. presence there.... And they say there is no conflict between the organization's advocacy work and Mr. Russo's financial ties to the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq.

Hmmm... a guy who runs ads in the US for, and favorable to, the Kurdish government is suddenly running ads favorable to continuing the US war in Iraq, a war that benefits - who? - the Kurdish government (see below). A natural question to ask is whether the Kurds themselves are somehow involved in this pro-war ad campaign.

But why would the Kurds benefit from a continuance of Bush's war in Iraq war?
Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan....

The interviews with Kurdish troops, however, suggested that as the American military transfers more bases and areas of control to Iraqi units, it may be handing the nation to militias that are bent more on advancing ethnic and religious interests than on defeating the insurgency and preserving national unity.

One reason we're getting this, of course, is because Mr Russo has to make a living. As one of the primary movers behind Swift Boat Veterans, he's got an established track record as a liar, and he does like that special cash he earns lying for the Repubs. Additionally, another set of Republican operatives advance the Partei cause by practicing their lying and stealing skill sets. Gotta keep those skills sharp, ya know.