He has been concerned with winning re-election. If nothing else, the fact that military decisions have been made based on political considerations should demonstrate that this man is unfit to be CiC.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Pay Attention to What He Does, Not What He Says
Kevin Drum has the Iraq timeline pretty much covered. Despite the rhetoric, the reality is Bush hasn't "stayed the course." Bush hasn't been too concerned with democracy. He hasn't even been too concerned with fighting terrorism.
He has been concerned with winning re-election. If nothing else, the fact that military decisions have been made based on political considerations should demonstrate that this man is unfit to be CiC.
He has been concerned with winning re-election. If nothing else, the fact that military decisions have been made based on political considerations should demonstrate that this man is unfit to be CiC.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Wingnuttery Transcribed
Sinfonian does the Lord's work and transcribes the words of the fascinating Cspan caller I mentioned earlier.
Schneider al Qaeda Controversy
Over at Media Matters.
Strangely, now Schneider's claiming that what he meant was in 1980 terrorists won by helping to get Ronald Reagan elected. It's a shame Carter wasn't sick and twisted enough to pull the "Vote for me or the terrorists have won!" stuff.
Strangely, now Schneider's claiming that what he meant was in 1980 terrorists won by helping to get Ronald Reagan elected. It's a shame Carter wasn't sick and twisted enough to pull the "Vote for me or the terrorists have won!" stuff.
More Guns, Less Voting
Ok, great, so today we also had Bush rambling on about the coming elections.
And, almost immediately after Big Don Rumsfeld starts backtracking:
So, we're going to make a big show about having elections, but, hey, we're going to let the insurgents win and prevent some people from voting. No big deal. That sure is resolute.
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The fifth and most important step in our plan is to help Iraq conduct free, national elections no later than next January. An Iraqi electoral commission is now up and running and has already hired personnel and is making key decisions about election procedures.
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And do you believe, given the situation on the ground and Fallujah and other northern cities in the Sunni triangle, that elections are possible in four months?
BUSH: I do, because the prime minister told me they are. He's interested in moving this country forward. And you heard his statement. And I believe him.
And, almost immediately after Big Don Rumsfeld starts backtracking:
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday raised the possibility that Iraq (news - web sites) could conduct only limited elections in January, excluding places where violence was considered too severe for people to go to polls.
"Let's say you tried to have an election and you could have it in three-quarters or four-fifths of the country. But in some places you couldn't because the violence was too great," Rumsfeld said at a Senate Armed Services Committee (news - web sites) hearing.
"Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet," he said.
So, we're going to make a big show about having elections, but, hey, we're going to let the insurgents win and prevent some people from voting. No big deal. That sure is resolute.
Voting for the War
Let's consider Bush's recent rhetoric. His latest ad says "Kerry voted for the Iraq war."
When he asked Congress for the resolution, when Andy Card rolled it out after Labor Day, Bush claimed it was a vote for peace:
At the time he signed the resolution, he claimed it was a vote for peace.
And, even today, as the ad is running he says:
He claimed then it was a vote for peace. He told Congress it was a vote for peace. He then says that the vote for peace that he asked John Kerry to make was actually a vote for war. The previous March he'd said, "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out." So, he told people it was a vote for peace even though he'd decided it was a vote for war. Maybe war is peace. Who the hell knows anymore.
Sure, we all knew in October what this vote was really for, and Kerry should have too. But, it wasn't what Bush said.
When he asked Congress for the resolution, when Andy Card rolled it out after Labor Day, Bush claimed it was a vote for peace:
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you want to keep the peace, you've got to have the authorization to use force. But it's -- this will be -- this is a chance for Congress to indicate support. It's a chance for Congress to say, we support the administration's ability to keep the peace.
At the time he signed the resolution, he claimed it was a vote for peace.
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Our goal is not merely to limit Iraq's violations of Security Council resolutions, or to slow down its weapons program. Our goal is to fully and finally remove a real threat to world peace and to America. Hopefully this can be done peacefully.
And, even today, as the ad is running he says:
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Of course, I was hoping it could be done diplomatically. But diplomacy failed. And so the last resort of a president is to use force. And we did.
He claimed then it was a vote for peace. He told Congress it was a vote for peace. He then says that the vote for peace that he asked John Kerry to make was actually a vote for war. The previous March he'd said, "Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out." So, he told people it was a vote for peace even though he'd decided it was a vote for war. Maybe war is peace. Who the hell knows anymore.
Sure, we all knew in October what this vote was really for, and Kerry should have too. But, it wasn't what Bush said.
Words Don't Speak Louder Than Actions
Ever since flightsuitboy landed on the carrier, we've heard three things. First, that "we're making progress." Second, "the increased attacks prove they're getting desperate." And, third, "we shouldn't be surprised if the violence increases because of [insert reason here]."
It's understandable that Bush wants to put a pretty face on the reality of Iraq. His re-election depends on it. The truth is, throughout his entire time in office (and before), the image he's tried to present has been at odds with reality. "Clear Skies." "Healthy Forests." "Compassionate Conservatism." All attempts to mask reality by this two-faced president. Says one thing, does another. Every time.
It's understandable that Bush wants to put a pretty face on the reality of Iraq. His re-election depends on it. The truth is, throughout his entire time in office (and before), the image he's tried to present has been at odds with reality. "Clear Skies." "Healthy Forests." "Compassionate Conservatism." All attempts to mask reality by this two-faced president. Says one thing, does another. Every time.
Big John Swings
This is exactly right:
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Kerry's remarks come one day after he told The Associated Press that President Bush's statement that a "handful" of people were willing to kill to stop progress in Iraq was a blunder that showed he was avoiding reality.
"George Bush let Osama bin Laden escape at Tora Bora," Kerry said in the brief interview Wednesday. "George Bush retreated from Fallujah and other communities in Iraq which are now overrun with terrorists and threaten our troops. And George Bush said on the record we can't win the war on terror.
"And even today, he blundered again saying there are only a handful of terrorists in Iraq," Kerry said. "I think he's living in a make believe world."
Best of Bush
link
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The first part of the question was how come we haven't found Zarqawi? We're looking for him. He hides.
I saw a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America. It was pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future.
Talk to the leader. I agree, I'm not the expert on how the Iraqi people think, because I live in America where it's nice and safe and secure.
The Afghan national army is a part of the army.
By the way, it's the Afghan national army that went into Najaf and did the work there.
I've seen firsthand the tactics of these killers.
Gibberish
Wow. Historians will truly look back with wonder and horror at today's press conference.
I'm not sure what to think about the fact that "right track/wrong track" polls are better in Iraq than in this country.
I'm not sure what to think about the fact that "right track/wrong track" polls are better in Iraq than in this country.
Going Upriver
Last night I watched Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry, by filmmaker George Butler. It really is quite an astounding movie for a lot of reasons, and if it hits a city near you (beginning October 1), I'd say drag your friends to it.
The sheer amount of film footage they have of Kerry, from his childhood, in Vietnam, and in his days in the anti-war movement, is one thing which makes the film well worth seeing. Nothing in the film is a recreation (though, of course, not all of the footage of Vietnam was taken during the actual events being described). It also includes interviews with his fellow soldiers, and people like Max Cleland and E.J. Dionne.
It's a fascinating portrait of a young man, and provides important historical context of the times which is missing from all of the discussion.
Anyway, make sure to go see it when it comes to town.
You can read more here. And here. And here.
....oh, and here's the official site. And here's the theater list. Make sure to go when it opens to encourage further distribution.
The sheer amount of film footage they have of Kerry, from his childhood, in Vietnam, and in his days in the anti-war movement, is one thing which makes the film well worth seeing. Nothing in the film is a recreation (though, of course, not all of the footage of Vietnam was taken during the actual events being described). It also includes interviews with his fellow soldiers, and people like Max Cleland and E.J. Dionne.
It's a fascinating portrait of a young man, and provides important historical context of the times which is missing from all of the discussion.
Anyway, make sure to go see it when it comes to town.
You can read more here. And here. And here.
....oh, and here's the official site. And here's the theater list. Make sure to go when it opens to encourage further distribution.
caption:
US President George W. Bush, right, plants a kiss on the cheek of Finnish President Tarja Halonen at a luncheon of world leaders on the sidelines of the 59th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Hell
As I said on the radio tonight, what really is there to say about the situation in Iraq other than "it's horrible." It is horrible. It's hell.
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The war, illegal and founded on a vast lie, has produced two tragedies of equal magnitude: an embryonic civil war in the world's oldest country, and a triumph for those in the Bush administration who, without a trace of shame, act as if the truth does not matter. Lying until the lie became true, the administration pursued a course of action that guaranteed large sections of Iraq would become havens for jihadis and radical Islamists. That is the logic promoted by people who take for themselves divine infallibility -- a righteousness that blinds and destroys. Like credulous Weimar Germans who were so delighted by rigged wrestling matches, millions of Americans have accepted Bush's assertions that the war in Iraq has made the United States and the rest of the world a safer place to live. Of course, this is false.
But it is a useful fiction because it is a happy one. All we need to know, according to the administration, is that America is a good country, full of good people and therefore cannot make bloody mistakes when it comes to its own security. The bitter consequence of succumbing to such happy talk is that the government of the most powerful nation in the world now operates unchecked and unmoored from reality; leaving us teetering on the brink of another presidential term where abuse of authority has been recast as virtue.
The logic the administration uses to promote its actions -- preemptive war, indefinite detention, torture of prisoners, the abandonment of the Geneva Convention abroad and the Bill of Rights at home -- is simple, faith-based and therefore empty of reason. The worsening war is the creation of the Bush administration, which is simultaneously holding Americans and Iraqis hostage to a bloody conflict that cannot be won, only stalemated.
Over the last three years, practicing a philosophy of deliberate deception, fear-mongering and abuse of authority, the Bush administration has done more to undermine the republic of Lincoln and Jefferson than the cells of al-Qaida. It has willfully ignored our fundamental laws and squandered the nation's wealth in bloody, open-ended pursuits. Corporations like Halliburton, with close ties to government officials, are profiting greatly from the war while thousands of American soldiers undertake the dangerous work of patrolling the streets of Iraqi cities. We have arrived at a moment of national crisis.
At home, the United States, under the Bush administration, is rapidly drifting toward a security state whose principal currency is fear. Abroad, it has used fear to justify the invasion of Iraq -- fear of weapons of mass destruction, of terrorist attacks, of Iraq itself. The administration, under false premises, invaded a country that it barely understood. We entered a country in shambles, a population divided against itself. The U.S. invasion was a catalyst of violence and religious hatred, and the continuing presence of American troops has only made matters worse. Iraq today bears no resemblance to the president's vision of a fledgling democracy. On its way to national elections in January, Iraq has already slipped into chaos.
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