“America’s reputation in the eyes of the world has been horribly damaged and our Bill of Rights is in shreds.”
by Jeff Davis
Finally sensing in his own mind that he is not the great generalissimo he once thought he was, and that defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan is now virtually certain, the drunken George W. Bush is now arranging his Blame Escape Plan. This involves setting up all kinds of elaborate structures and scenarios and throwing a lot of sand in people’s eyes so that he will (he thinks) plausibly be able to place the blame for failure of the Iraq War on others. There has already been an attempt to blame Iraqi politicians for not doing enough to build up an army of collaborators that can operate without the US backing them up at all times.
According to the http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001776_pf.html: “The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation.” So Bush put out a help wanted ad that basically said “Scapegoat needed apply 1600 Pennsylvania Ave” and nobody came rushing forward. A small army of military generals have retired just so they wouldn’t have to work for the screaming disrespectful Bush. Generals can only fight battles; they can’t work miracles such as making a stable, pro-West democracy out of all the mullah-following fanatics in Iraq.
This is one way in which incompetent Presidents seek to excuse or conceal their foreign or domestic policy failures–they either appoint a “czar” with supposedly autocratic authority to clean up some mess which is now beyond all hope of cleaning up, or else they try to refer the mess to a committee of some kind. Congress is, of course, playing right into Bush’s hands by kibbitzing in the war right now without actually stopping it. These politicians should remember that Vietnam was a bi-partisan failure. Once the population of Vietnam saw the US as a colonial occupier, there was no chance of success. The Kennedy-Johnson team lost about 29,000 troops in Vietnam, and Nixon, who no doubt thought he was much smarter, lost about 29,000 more.The Congressional Democrats should not get involved with the actual occupation of Iraq anymore than they should join the executive board of Enron or the Jack Abramoff fan club. It’s not their problem and they are best off putting all the blame on Bush. The only reason any Democrats are showing any support for the war is due to the Israeli Lobby, which wants America to stay there regardless of casualties. The neocons are working on a “Stab In The Back” myth. ‘They want people to believe that our gallant American troops were actually winning the Iraq War until the wicked Democrats stabbed them in the back by cutting off funding or otherwise interfering with the Commander-in-Chief.
Most of the retired officers whom Bush has approached with this offer have declined brusquely. The http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001776_pf.html again: “At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position…underscoring the administration’s difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.” In other words, “No sir, you’re not dumping this ghastly debacle in MY lap while you slip quietly offstage to write your memoirs!”
Retired Marine Corps General John L. “Jack” Sheehan laid it on the line to the Post: “The very fundamental issue is, they don’t know where the hell they’re going, So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, ‘No, thanks.’ ” For any military officer, active duty or retired, to make such a reply to the Commander-in-Chief, as well as to the press is unprecedented in American military and political culture –almost tantamount to mutiny. Bush is looking for a scapegoat, all these guys know it, and they want no part of it.
Bush is trying to cover his co-conspirators so far. According to the Post: “The new czar would report directly to Bush…and would have the title of assistant to the president,…The new czar would also have ‘tasking authority,’ or the power to issue directions, over other agencies.” Boy, bet that will make him popular at the Pentagon and the State Department. “To fill such a role, the White House is searching for someone with enough stature and confidence to deal directly with heavyweight administration figures such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.” Aha! So THEY can beg off responsibility as well when the investigators for the War Crimes Tribunal come cruising by. Maybe George and Condi and all the neocons can try some variation of the Nuremberg defense of “I was just obeying orders.” The Germans weren’t allowed to get away with that, but inconsistency and hypocrisy is quite popular today. America’s reputation in the eyes of the world has been horribly damaged and our Bill of Rights is in shreds. Hopefully Joe Sixpack is paying attention. We need to dump the two party system while we still have a chance to do so peacefully