Red State Renegade

From Reuters News, a selection of remarks by U.S. President George W. Bush about the Iraq war since it began in March 2003:

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”
- May 1, 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln under a banner declaring “Mission Accomplished.”

“I hope there’s not an expectation from people that all of a sudden there’s going to be zero violence … It’s just not going to be the case.”
- June 14, 2006, White House Rose Garden.

“We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed, and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century.”
- Aug. 30, 2006, Salt Lake City.

“Stay the course means keep doing what you’re doing. My attitude is, don’t do what you’re doing if it’s not working — change. Stay the course also means don’t leave before the job is done. We’re going to get the job done in Iraq.”
- Oct. 11, 2006, White House Rose Garden.

“It’s my responsibility to provide the American people with a candid assessment on the way forward … Absolutely, we’re winning.”
- Oct. 25, 2006, White House East Room.

“We’re not winning, we’re not losing.”
- Dec. 19, 2006, interview with The Washington Post (published on Dec. 20).

“The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people — and it is unacceptable to me … Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.”
- Jan. 10, 2007, White House library.

“Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq — and I ask you to give it a chance to work.”
- Jan. 23, 2007, State of the Union address to Congress.

“The struggle in Iraq may be hard, but this should not be a time for despair.”
- March 6, 2007, speech to American Legion in Washington.

OK, this is rather strange and I am hoping we learn more about it someday.

As outed CIA agent Valerie Plame gave her opening statement to the Leak Investigation committee, a very prominent crossdresser, with “impeach Bush now” scribbled accross the front of his pink dress, stood in the background the entire time, occassionally nodding in agreement with Ms. Plame:

Kudos to the pink crossdresser. If I thought it would sway opinions, I’d be ordering up a nice pink dress!

Much has been made of Bush’s six country tour of Latin America last week, in which the only major accomplishment was The Boy King grabbing a Brazilian rattle and dancing with Children (he seemed very much at home). Condi appeared slighty human, while Laura searched for her rythym for several seconds and then thought better of it (watch the video, its worth it!).

George stumbled around as usual, at one point greeting the Brazilian president with “I’m so glad you’re here,” then, to much laughter, correcting himself with “I mean, so glad I am here.”

Frankly I think they needed to make some kind of news to screen over the Walter Reed vet hospital scandal, the Scooter Libby verdict and the “Attorney purge.”

Around corners, just out of view, thousands demonstrated everywhere they went, and President Chavez of Venezeula followed them around needling and heckling and inciting protests, speaking to full soccer stadiums about George being a ‘’political cadaver,” and the ‘’little gentleman from the North.'’

The most amusing report from the week, however, was from Guatemala, in which Mayan priests followed the Bush tour through sacred archaeological sites, performing rites of purification to eliminate “bad spirits” after the visit from the Boy King, so that their ancestors could rest in peace.

According to a Mayan leader:

“That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture.”

Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security advisor to Jimmy Carter, speaking about Bush:

The notion that somehow or other [Bush] is leading the forces of Good against the empire of evil, the notion that in that setting…the fact that we are morally superior justifies us committing immoral acts…I think is a very dangerous posture for the country that is the number one global power…

We have to survive the [next] twenty months without the war in iraq expanding, drawing us into conflict elsewhere nearby - specifically in Iran. Because if we do that - and quite seriously now – if we do that I think we’ll be bogged down, for the next twenty years, in a war that spans Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and probably Pakistan, and that will be the end of american global supremacy…

Thanks to The Daily show for this one.

Though I understand the seriousness of the “attorney purge” scandal (see my post of March 1), I feel that once again Jon Stewart captures this one exactly right. Here is the ‘purge’ in a nutshell, a visual aid for your well meaning but kool-aid drinking friends…

The administration tried to take these people:

And replace them with these people:

In the news this week: Halliburton - the ultimate evil empire of oil services, formerly headed by the dark lord himself Dick Cheney - will be moving their corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai. The reason given is that they would be closer to much of their work, since the oil business centers on the middle east.

This news reeks of something larger…something too large to keep hidden. This is the company that profited more than any other company from the wars of the last five years, and just last month was accused by federal investigators of responsibility for $2,700,000,000 of $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq.

Incidentally, Halliburton is tied to the unfolding scandal about treatment of war veterans and conditions at Walter Reed vet hospital as well.

It could be simply to avoid paying U.S. taxes…to avoid looming investigations…or something more insidious, (like proximity to the upcoming occupation of Iran?)…but something here stinks. And for some reason, I think this time we are going to find out.

Whether anything can be done about it is another story…

…ON ONE OF FIVE COUNTS.

Seriously - 19 minutes after Scooter was indicted, Fox news ran a positive story highlighting the ONE count he did not get convicted on.

And later…questioning whether there even was a crime:

General David Petraeus, the new top military commander in Iraq, told a Republican Senator that the troop surge has only a one in four chance of succeeding…

Purge of US Attorneys reaches highest levels of Department of Justice as well as Republican Congressmen…

Attorney purge even reaches the White House…

U.S. Pressed Germany not to issue warrants for CIA-backed abduction of a German Citizen and subsequent torture - later “accepted as a mistake by the US government.”

Fox news devoted 12 times the coverage to Anna Nicole Smith (deceased for three weeks) than to the unfolding Walter Reed Hospital scandal…

Apparently even less important, a congressional committee determined that the National Guard’s ability to respond to crises is hindered by the fact that ninety percent of National Guard Units are considered ‘not ready’

Laura Bush on Iraq:

“This is their opportunity to seize the moment—ahhh—to build a really good and stable country. And many parts of Iraq are stable ahh..now. But, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everybody“

As Jon Stewart asked: “Laura, you do just realise that it’s not just happening in the TV, right?”

But life in Iraq becomes even more real when you read this Iraq story from an American journalist’s blog::

“For the last three years we had to read, listen and report daily news. The problem lies in this news because it is sad and full with grief. One of the days that I can not forget was when a car bomb exploded near New Baghdad and I had to go. More than 30 children were killed. I had to talk to the families and look to the limbs of angels all over the place hanged on the power lines, blood covering the place, their shoes and that smell.

I am sorry but I had to write this down…”

If there was one man most responsible for the chest thumping about invading Iraq and the faulty intelligence used to push for the invasion, it would be Doug Feith. He is the Neo-con’s ‘Neo-con.’

A report released last month by the Pentagon Inspector General, examining intelligence failures in the leadup to the Iraq war, concentrated on The Office of Special Plans, run by Mr. Feith from the White House and Pentagon and advocating false dangers and the need to contain Iraq immediately with force.

According to the report, the activities of Feith’s group weren’t illegal, but they were:

“in our opinion, inappropriate, given that the intelligence assessments were [presented as] intelligence products and did not clearly show the variance with the consensus of the intelligence community.”

Mr. Feith’s website is a hoot because of it’s openly defensive nature…I guess it’s pretty hard NOT to be defensive when most of the journalism industry thinks you’re responsible for “the biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of the United States.”

One of the funny aspects is that on the front page is a quote from General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff:

“Doug Feith is a patriot. I have watched this man for four years. He cares only about what is best for the United States.”

I wonder if he ever discussed this with General Tommy Franks, who said in 2002 (referring to Feith) :

“The fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth.”