Monday, November 12, 2007

Wisdom From The Unlikeliest Source

Joe Strupp of Editor and Publisher tells us here that, on Veterans Day 10 years ago, sentiments were uttered that opposed a war in Iraq exactly like the one in which we are engulfed, one that drains our country in terms of the human toll exacted upon our military (both killed and injured) as well as the loss of other precious resources, to say nothing of the loss of our moral standing in the world.

And the person who spoke out against this type of a war was none other than George W. Bush.

(Writer Sig Christenson, who interviewed Dubya in 1997 when he was governor of Texas) pointed to Bush's defense of his father's decision during the Gulf War not to remove Saddam Hussein.

"There are a lot of Americans (who say), 'Why didn't you go get him?'" Bush told the Express-News back in 1997, according to Christenson. "Well, I'm confident that losing men and women as a result of sniper fire inside of Baghdad would have turned the tide of public opinion very quickly," Bush added.
Strupp’s column goes on to say how both Bush pere and Dubya have pretty much congratulated each other over all this time over doing the right thing, respectively (I agree in Senior’s case, but definitely not Dubya’s of course – we know the rationale Dubya will always use for his horrendously tragic war, wrongly then as now, so there’s no point in me mentioning it).

In light of this, though, I think George McGovern asked some good questions here for Incurious George…

Mr. President, Sir, when reporter Bob Woodward asked you if you had consulted with your father before ordering our army into Iraq you said, "No, he's not the father you call on a decision like this. I talked to my heavenly Father above." My question, Mr. President: If God asked you to bombard, invade and occupy Iraq for four years, why did he send an opposite message to the Pope? Did you not know that your father, George Bush, Sr., his Secretary of State James Baker and his National Security Advisor General Scowcroft were all opposed to your invasion? Wouldn't you, our troops, the American people and the Iraqis all be much better off if you had listened to your more experienced elders including your earthly father? Instead of blaming God for the awful catastrophe you have unleashed in Iraq, wouldn't it have been less self-righteous if you had fallen back on the oft-quoted explanation of wrongdoing, "The devil made me do it?"
And I give Strupp and E&P credit for reporting this, but to do it so soon after Veterans Day seems particularly repugnant somehow.

And this tells us that the preznit actually experienced a version of Iraq war combat (computer simulated, of course).

Also, we’re still all waiting for Dubya to attend a military funeral, aren’t we?

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