Bush falling into his “everyone is an appeaser but me” mode at the Knesset, keeping up the little fiction that serves as the emperor’s clothes. Cranking up the “some believe” attack that comes out every election in order to question everyone’s patriotism, Bush said:
Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.
Bush never says who that “some” is who says this, because the “some” is only him, after he just said it. But it sounds like his opponents want to have group therapy with terrorists. That’s how it works
It’s a standard tactic of this administration, used by Cheney, and back-when by Rumsfeld, on down the line. The playbook is Hermann Goering who said at the Nuremburg trials:
The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
Question: Who thanked God for the American invasion of Iraq in 2003? Foreign policy experts around the world who knew Bush’s bold action would nip terrorism in the bud, even though the invasion was unpopular? Nope. Bin Laden’s number two man Al Zawahari, who after Al Qaeda turned-tail in Afghanistan and were holed-up in the Pakistani mountains said:
We thank God for appeasing us with the dilemma in Iraq after Afghanistan. The Americans are facing a delicate situation in both countries. If they withdraw they will lose everything and if they stay, they will continue to bleed to death.
Let’s see if the Neo-con authoritarians can wrap their heads around this. You can have two bad guys, but it’s smarter to fight them one after the other instead of both at the same time. It’s called a strategic error, and Hitler did the same thing when he invaded Russia before he had the allies licked. That’s when it was all over for him.
Now Bush isn’t exactly Hitler, or else I wouldn’t be able to write this without a few teeth getting pulled out in a torture chamber somewhere, but the military error is the same. Even granting that Saddam had to go, sooner or later, why take the heat off bin Laden and Al Qaeda just as Special Forces was about to grant them martyrdom? And blur the clear moral issue of the attack on innocent civilians on 9/11, with questions about whether or not America wanted to steal Iraq’s oil? Now things are going badly in both places, Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the Pakistani border areas where the Taliban has had a chance to regroup. Why didn’t Bush finish one job before starting another? Can you say “bungling the war on terror?”
Even if we grant there’s lots of room for debate over Iraq, there is little room to deny that the timing of the invasion was exactly what pulled bin Laden’s chestnuts out of the fire, and sent him lots and lots of recruits.
Gary Berntsen, the top commander on the ground at Tora Bora, and author of “Jawbreaker”, was begging for a battalion of US Army Rangers to cut-off bin Laden’s escape into Pakistan, which fell on deaf ears at the White House. Now remind me again, who’s the appeaser?
Pat Tillman played defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals until the events of 9/11, when he gave up a multi-million dollar NFL contract to join the US Army Rangers. His brother Kevin served in the same unit. Article on Pat’s feelings about the Iraq War here. Pat was killed in action in April 2004. Kevin maintained his silence until last October, when he wrote this scathing indictment of the Bush administration.
EXCERPT: Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat. FULL ARTICLE
The fastest way to get this impeachment business going is popular American culture, meaning Country Western in my book. Tom Chelston’s impeachment song here, from his Brick album. Call to request it every chance you get at your favorite C-W radio station.
Next, Reagan administration official Bruce Fein on why this administration must be impeached, in an especially concise delivery.
On Feb. 28, 2008, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California made a speech on the House Floor condemning a wide range of abuses by the Bush administration, including stonewalling an investigation into links between the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11. Rohrabacher enjoys the highest of ratings among conservative watch groups, including 92% from FreedomWorks and an “A” from the National Rifle Association. Following are excerpts from the hour-long speech.
“The disdain and uncooperative nature that this administration has shown toward Congress, including Republican Members, is so egregious that I can no longer assume that it is simply bureaucratic incompetence or isolated mistakes. Rather, I have come to the sad conclusion that this administration has intentionally obstructed Congress’ rightful and constitutional duties.”
“Tonight, I will provide examples of how this administration for the past 7 years has undercut congressional investigators, has lied to Members of Congress, and has forged ahead with secret deals in spite of efforts and pleas by Congress to be informed, if not involved.”
“The tragic case of wrongly imprisoned Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean exemplifies the worst aspects of this administration’ s attitude problem, and will forever leave a black mark on this administration.”
” I worked for 7 years as a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan, as much as people can disagree or agree with the policies that he espoused, was a person who never acted arrogantly towards others. He never, when he was giving State of the Union messages, never used the word “must,” never made demands.”
“There’s a balance of power here set up by our Founding Fathers. And it’s important, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, that we maintain this balance of an authority, the legislative, executive, and judicial in this country, and we should not be setting precedents that the President of the United States has the lion’s share of the power in this great democracy of ours.”
We the undersigned write to you as registered Republicans who abhor what this administration has done to our Constitution and to our country. From running up the most massive debt in United States history, to undermining Americans’ basic constitutional rights, to the conduct of a foreign policy in which the language of force has become the sole currency, the damage to our institutions, to our prestige, and to our traditions of liberty continues. We abhor that the party of Barry Goldwater and Dwight Eisenhower, rightly the party of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and the primacy of the Constitution, has been hijacked by an Executive Branch holding a NeoCon-authoritarian ideology rather than a truly conservative one.
Bruce Fein of the American Freedom Agenda has said: “As fellow conservatives, we believe we have a greater responsibility than most to stand up to this particular Administration and demand that it respect the checks and balances established by the Founding Fathers. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, regardless of party affiliation, and we can no more remain silent to the abuses occurring under President Bush than we could if a President Clinton were in office.” [Read more →]
