Decisions..Decisions
In his recent memoir, former president George W. Bush, offers us up an enticing and honest portrayal of his time as Commander in Chief.
Never short on gaffes, W. has been busy whistle-stopping this book to the likes of Oprah and NBC's Matt Lauer. In his interview with the latter, Bush offered a interesting tidbit to his view of the Iraq invasion. You know, that little war that has plundered the U.S. Treasury, killed thousands of American and Iraqi lives (not to mention the other nations involved in the "conflict"), derailed (at least in part) the global economy, spun Iraq into a civil war, and led to the uprising of such Jim Jonesish personalities like Cindy Sheehan (ugh!). (Okay, that last part was meant to be a joke to centralize this blog posting a bit more).
None the less, in his own words, Bush seems unwilling to admit that his decision to invade Iraq was, in fact, a mistake.(Note: Could you ever imagine being like, "So, uh, this one time (in mocking 15 year old Glee like voice), I ordered our military to attack a nation that has never attacked us without provocation, derailed their government, executed their Head of State, and lied to the American public about a WMD program that never actually existed. Oops, my bad!"
In the Lauer interview, Bush said, "I mean, apologizing would basically say the decision was a wrong decision. And I don't believe it was the wrong decision."
Okay, the guy wants to stick by his decisions. But C'MON!
The action was wrong George. However, your comment, like many of yours in the past, is just another example of your complete disconnect with the media and your reactionary, "stay-the-course" mentality that drove the car into the ditch.
Why not just admit to what we have since learned? That the invasion of Iraq was a failure. That does not mean that our troops died or have served in vain. On the contrary, they have and continue to fight valiantly. I just would have rather seen them providing this service in let's say, the Sudan, or...hmmm... buffing up the support in New Orleans during Katrina and the rebuilding effort.
No, this isn't about our troops. It's not even about the war. It's about a president that still doesn't get it. That the "cowboy" image that he fought so valiantly to protect, is indeed going to be his lasting legacy, and that's not necessarily a good thing. A man, blinded by advice he should have never taken (Rumsfeld and Cheney) and by a media that he could never master.
Wouldn't it have just been nice, if not an apology, to hear the real reason for the invasion. That it would create a cash cow. A war would stimulate contracting opportunities for corporations like Halliburton. Provide a "Democratic" stronghold in the Middle East (forget about Israel). Not to mention what many believe was the true reason, to eventually go to war with the oil-rich Iran. Wouldn't that truth have proved to be more accepting to the American public now, after billions of dollars and thousands of lives lost?
Who knows? Whatever the reasons for his "stick-by-your-guns" mentality, Bush did little to change his image in the eyes of the historians that will be writing about him, and crafting his story.
For all his decisions, one thing remains certain. You can always count on President Bush for a laugh.
