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“Is Wanton Bungling An Impeachable Offense?”
That’s the question amba poses after reading about the myriad of mistakes the administration and Pentagon officials made when trying to rebuild the Irai police force.
Even before the 2003 invasion, General Jay Garner and Justice and State Department specialists had explicitly warned the administration that the rotten Saddam-era police force was likely to collapse and that 5,000 to 6,000 American and foreign advisers would be needed to train and monitor a new force. Bush and Rumsfeld blew them off, saying that we didn’t want to be viewed as heavy-handed occupiers and that taking over too much of what the Iraqis should be doing for themselves could create “a culture of dependence.� Yet the operations in Kosovo and Bosnia had taught two key lessons: “Law and order first,� and “blanketing local police stations with foreign trainers [ . . . ] helped deter brutality, corruption, and infiltration by militias.� Because this advice was ignored, by the time General Garner got to Baghdad, 16 out of 23 major government ministries — and the National Museum — were “stripped shells.�
And althought this won’t come as much of a shock, that’s not even the worst part.
Needless to say, as a supporter of the war, amba is super pissed at how badly the arrogance and ignorance screwed this one up.
6 Responses to ““Is Wanton Bungling An Impeachable Offense?””
Lets think about this for a minute. Wanton bungling an impeachable offense hmm. Lets say I bungle my job out in the private sector as often as Bush does as president.
Yep, I’d get fired so I’d have to say yes it is an impeachable offense.
Let’s talk about breaking the Law as an impeachable offense.
Let’s talk signing statements that mock the legislature and people.
Let’s talk about “quaint” treaties about torture.
If we are honest then this list could continue.
Back when right wingers wanted to impeach Chief Justice Earl Warren, Gerald Ford said as House Minority Leader, “An impeachable offense is anything the House of Representatives thinks it is.”
So Duvidil, it follows that lying about a BJ is impeachable but lying about war isn’t. At least with a Republican Congress. No wonder they’re worried!
The classic definition of treason is betraying one’s country to another nation whatever the motivation; be it idealism, money or any other reason. But are Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove betraying our nation not to another country but to their own massive egos? Let’s be honest and admit that whatever claims Bush makes to being a good Christian his actions show no sign of being humble.
Yet, anyone who questioned the decisions of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove was attacked as treasonous (Democrats in Congress, the press) or marginalized (retired generals), or forced to retire (General Shinseki). This is Bungling at its worst, use of unprecedented levels of secrecy to cover up the bungling, arrogance in defending its abuses of power.