Through the Looking Glass With GWB
If anyone needed convincing that President Bush is on another planet when it comes to the Iraq war – and there still are a few of you out there – Thursday was a keeper.
Astoundingly . . . No wait, at this late date nothing the president says is astounding . . . he asserted at a press conference notable for its Through the Looking Glass quality that “the fight can still be won.”
The president again batted aside some tough questions with answers so inane that the Queen of Hearts would have blushed.
The president again cheered the “progress” of an Iraqi government that has met – actually in most cases only partially meet — less than half of the already watered-down benchmarks for getting its act together so the U.S. can get out.
The president again asserted that Al Qaeda in Iraq is the same group that attacked the homeland on 9/11 although its creation was a result of the American invasion. (Meanwhile, the original Al Qaeda has returned to its formerly robust self because its only foe is a NATO-led force in Afghanistan that is substantially smaller than the U.S. troops chasing the phantoms of that other Al Qaeda in Iraq.)
The president again asserted that Al Qaeda is the greatest threat in Iraq although his own security bigs rank it well down the list.
The president again scolded Congress for doing its job, which partisan grandstanding aside, is a pretty fair approximation of what it is doing these days: Listening to the large and growing majority of Americans who want the troops out now – or at least some sign of an orderly plan to get them out.
And that is exactly what their president refuses to do.
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4 Responses to “Through the Looking Glass With GWB”
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Thanks for the point by point Shaun. We need these every time the President lies about Iraq, which is just about any time he opens his mouth these days.
Maybe if Bush had had some success with his Iraq policy, we could say that Congress should stay out of it. That hasn’t been the case, causing deep unhappiness with voters, who in turn have pressured their representatives to do something. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?
BTW, Bush hasn’t consistently listened to the commanders on the ground- he disregarded their advice when it didn’t match his policy goals. He disregarded Shinseki when he advised him that more troops would be needed initially, refused to listen to Pentagon sources who warned that the insurgency was growing, and replaced Abizaid and Casey when they expressed their belief (and the opinions of division commanders on the ground in Iraq) that the surge wouldn’t help in Iraq. He likewise disregarded the JCS who agreed with Abizaid and Casey.
He general-shopped until he found Petraeus, who was willing to give the surge a shot.
In any case, our civilian leadership should always make the final decisions in troop strength or other policy options taking into account the recommendations of military leaders.Can you seriously imagine FDR or Truman ceding this authority to Eisenhower or MacArthur?
Even Peggy Noonan, who wrote the “Read my lips–no new taxes line” is finally fed up with Bush, and it was yesterday’s press conference that pushed her over the line, as she wrote in today’s Wall Street Journal:
http://ajliebling.blogspot.com/2007/07/wiping-away-bushs-grin.html