George W. Bush can take a licking and keep on ticking.
Last night, he repeated the same old justifications for attacking Iraq and the heck with the facts – no WMDs? No ties to 9/11? No problem. New story: we did it to free the Iraqis.
On 9/11, if only he had known it was coming! No admission that he and his top advisers were focused on Iraq and missile defenses against North Korea. Despite a stream of alarming reports on al Qaeda’s intentions – the 9/11 Commission has just released the info – going back to the beginning of 2001 and culminating in the August 6 PDB.
He said things are improving in Iraq. This despite the bloodiest month since the fall of Baghdad - 83 dead American soldiers (the total is nearing 700), more than 560 wounded, plus the murders of several American civilians, ongoing hostage-taking and an uncertain number of Iraqi casualties.
He said whatever Gen. Abizaid wants, he gets. Like 10,000 more troops. As if that we always give the Generals what they need. In fact, the last military leader to say we needed more soldiers in Iraq was slapped down by Paul Wolfowitz, then by his boss, Donald Rumsfeld. That was General Shinseki. (Republican as well as Democratic Senators have been urging reinforcements for many months.)
I do not know if he was questioned on the post-war chaos, but everything that went wrong was predicted.
The Administration was told not to dismantle the Iraqi army. To impose order quickly so as to avoid looting and instability. That Chalabi, the exile crooked banker, had no popular base of support. Etc., etc.
It was all in State Department reports. It was all ignored by the ignorant and arrogant – Chaney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice and their leader, Bush.
And, like Timex, he just ignores it all.