March 27/06 

Now, back out of the shadows and very busy, V.P. Cheney, during a speech in Illinois on March 21, had the chutzpa to say:

"The only way to lose this fight is to quit, and that is not an option."  Then on March 23 in Arizona Cheney said, "We will not sit back and be hit again." And on Mar 24 in Florida he said, "If they (the Dems) are competent to fight this war, then I ought to be singing on American Idol."

OPINION

      First of all, Mr. Cheney and his president orchestrated a major calamity in the name of our government for which the only option, in their view, is an extended period of occupation lasting years, in which our troops continue to suffer unending casualties; add to this, the ethnic, tribal and cultural hatreds which they have heedlessly released, that have deepened into a living hell.

       Second, in regard to being "hit again:" we were not hit by Iraq, and no matter how often Bush/Cheney say it, or imply it, it won't make it so.  And beyond the misdirection of their war for oil in Iraq, what has their administration actually done to protect us from attack?  Our borders are wide open, the containers entering our port facilities are for the most part not inspected, the security and disaster agencies conflict and compete bureaucratically, and the Taliban is flowering like the poppies in Afghanistan because the administration largely abandoned this justified war for the insanity of Iraq, which will continue to cost billions.

       Third, as far as "competency" goes, I suggest Mr. Cheney and the president would indeed do better singing a duet on American Idol, considering how these ego-driven, incompetent men have led us into a cauldron from which there is no reasonable escape.

       President Bush, having fudged the intelligence, having adamantly refused to listen to his own military chiefs and Mid East scholars, about what would happen post invasion, sees the results:   the Sunni insurgency, the Al Queda terrorists, the bombing of mosques, the tribal retaliations, the executions, the Shiite majority ready to welcome Iranian influence, while a superb and dedicated but seriously undermanned U.S. military, is unable to maintain areas they secure at great cost.

       So he jumped in, Bush did, removed Saddam, bought the delusion of 3 weeks of shock and awe and free-flowing fountains of oil that would pay for everything, handed to him by Cheney, Wolfowitz, Pearle and Rumsfeld.  And at this moment with past dreams of glory, and dreams of oil for his cronies, he stands amidst the ashes of his war while insisting almost daily that the future promises "victory."

 

       Nonetheless this administration, which doesn't have a clue as to how to disengage from its war, is blaming the media for all of the bad news coming from Iraq.  Of course the media, which I criticized earlier for it's wimpish coverage of the administration, has since found its voice in ferreting the truth, and has suffered grievous losses of about 80 gutsy reporters who died on the ground alongside the grunts while covering the "bad news."  And I haven't heard of any member of the administration getting whacked while riding in Humvees.  Have you?   

       One thing I'll give the Republicans over the Democrats:  they always stay on message--the ongoing declarations being: "The Dems are disorganized and lacking in ideas, are negative, and have no alternative to the Bush/Cheney strategies in Iraq."  True, but they always leave out the fact that Republicans rule the House and Senate and the White House, and they, the Republicans, are disorganized and lacking in ideas, are negative, and have no alternative to their Bush/Cheney strategies in Iraq.

       Powell said it early on: "If you break it, you own it," and he was shoved aside. And now the Bushies own it in a big way, because it is very, very broken, and they malign their critics for pointing this out.   Although the President no doubt had to restrain himself from maligning the elderly but formidable Columnist, Helen Thomas, who recently asked the Pres. some difficult questions, and we watched him hem and haw and chuckle and squirm, and maybe wish he could have her drugged and shipped to Abu Grhaib, while many others, I'm sure, would like to issue her a medal for having the gumption to press him for the truth.

 

      

 

       The truth, for instance, as revealed in a stunning British memo, discussed in today's NY Times, will no doubt be ignored by Bush/Cheney as they stay on message, as usual.    If you can't take the time to click on the Times article, read what is part of the contents I've inserted here:     

       An "extremely sensitive," confidential memo, reviewed by the Times, which was written by David Manning, a top British foreign policy advisor, revealed that before the invasion of Iraq, President Bush had a closed door discussion in the oval office with the P.M. of Britain, Tony Blair.  It was during this Jan. 31 2003 meeting that Bush said he was determined to invade Iraq without a 2nd resolution at the U.N., even if the inspectors did not find WMDs.

       The memo states the invasion bombing was to begin on Mar. 10/03.

       The meeting occurred 5 days before Sec. State Colin Powell was to make his pitch at the U.N., that Iraq posed a major threat to the world. 

       Bush/Blair envisioned a quick victory with no internecine warfare between the various ethnic groups.

                               Really?

       Bush, the memo stated, explored ways to provoke a confrontation with Iraq, including painting a U.S. aircraft, using U.N. colors, to invite hostile fire.  (I'm not kidding) And hey, how about assassinating Saddam? (still not kidding).

You may recall the 2002 Brit "Downing Street Memo" which expressed concern the U.S.  "was determined to invade Iraq and that the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy by the Bush administration to fit it's desire to go to war."

       Need I say more?

       Well, yeah. Even if WMDs are discovered in Iraq, unearthing them will not alter all that has proceeded the find--that President Bush, no matter what, was going to war using any means necessary, legal or otherwise.

 

SAMMY