In the bookmarks for awhile: James McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom and current head of the AHA, criticizes Dubya’s use of revisionist history and “revisionist history.”
Category: Weaponsgate
Hat in Hand.
While he’s still abusing the terrorism angle to hoodwink us on Iraq (As Howard Dean noted yesterday, the only indisputable thing Iraq has to do with terrorism is that we’ve now chosen it as the place where terrorists can attack us), Dubya at least admitted on nationwide television that unilaterally, we’re in over our head, which I suppose amounts to what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity. Yet, with the necessary Iraq funds — even lowballed as they are — threatening to blow the deficit to $525 billion, I do hope that the Bushies realize that the responsibility and sacrifice they’re expecting from the American people, our somewhat skeptical allies, and everyone but themselves in prosecuting this war should preclude any more discussion of a tax cut in the coming year. After all, why shouldn’t America’s wealthiest citizens also have to pay the heavy price for Dubya’s blundering, incompetent, and hubris-ridden diplomacy on the road to war?
Incoherent Preemption.
“As Paul Wolfowitz has all but admitted, the ‘bureaucratic’ reason for war — weapons of mass destruction — was not the main one. The real reason was to rebuild the pillars of American influence in the Middle East. Americans may have figured this out for themselves, but it was certainly not what they were told. Nor were they told that building this new pillar might take years and years. What they were told — misleadingly and simplistically — was that force was justified to fight ‘terrorism’ and to destroy arsenals of mass destruction targeted at America and at Israel.” In a wide-ranging article for the NYT Magazine, Michael Ignatieff offers an historical critique of our currently muddled intervention policy, and outlines his own best-case-scenario proposal for US-led UN reform. “Putting the United States at the head of a revitalized United Nations is a huge task. For the United States is as disillusioned with the United Nations as the world is disillusioned with the United States. Yet…Pax Americana must be multilateral, as Franklin Roosevelt realized, or it will not survive.“
Repeating Lies.
True to form, the Bushies tried to make everyone accept the false Iraq-Niger claim by dint of sheer repetition. Strange how Tenet is supposed to take the fall for this even after explicitly removing the claim from one of Dubya’s speeches.
The Buck Finally Stops.
In a tortured press conference in which he also came out firmly against gay marriage, Dubya finally admits he’s to blame for the Iraq-Niger claim in the State of the Union (while letting Condoleeza Rice cry “mea culpa” on Newshour.) Why on Earth did it take him so long to state the obvious? As President, he is in fact responsible for his own utterances.
Lies and Gaffes.
Two interesting editorials in today’s Globe: Derrick Jackson wonders aloud about the GOP’s double standard on Presidential lies, while H.D.S. Greenway laments the diplomatic damage wrought by Dubya’s ill-advised “axis of evil” rhetoric. Dishonest and incompetent…the total package.
Free-Fall.
Speaking of ugly, Drudge points the way to new poll numbers that show Dubya’s numbers dwindling to pre-9/11 levels. It’s about time.
Pile On.
Weaponsgate fallout continues, with Ted Kennedy decrying Dubya’s foreign policy, John Kerry lambasting Homeland (in)Security under Bush, and Dean and Lieberman calling for Tenet’s head. Whether or not Tenet continues to fall on his sword for the Bushies, the buck stops with the White House, and the GOP Senate can only play defense for so long. What did Dubya know, and when did he know it?
Untruth and Consequences.
Try as they might to contain it, Dubya’s role in the Iraq-Niger component of Weaponsgate continues to leak under scrutiny. Worse still for the White House, many irate columnists are examining the larger pattern of deceit that has characterized this administration. Whatsmore, the I-word is now getting thrown around. How, I wonder, will the Bushies manage to lie their way out of this one?
Bring the Pain.
Perhaps taking a page from the Governor of Vermont (whom he declined to attack), Kerry turns up the heat on Dubya and Weaponsgate, as do the Congressional Dems. Good…the pressure from now herein should be furious and unrelenting. And under no circumstances should the Bushies be allowed to get away with lying to America by pinning it on John Bull.