Bush mired in quagmire with no escape route

[CHIMO]

President George W. Bush made a most perceptive comment the other day, almost certainly without realizing what it was he was actually saying.

Bush's remarks were part of a counterattack by the Bush administration against rising calls for the U.S. to pull out of Iraq.

In fact, there is not the slightest possibility Bush will do this.

There are his deep-rooted convictions about the war on terrorism. There are the strategic considerations. The jihadist terrorists would win a huge moral victory; the U.S. would suffer a massive loss to its prestige and credibility.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1119869253707&call_pageid=968256290204

[KeepItReal]

1. He should not have painted himself into the corner then

Saddam was totally contained.

Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and maybe even in Saudi Arabia were the real threat. In 2001 there was only a few thousand of them. Why didn't we wipe them all out then when we had momentum and the whole world on our side?

Bush pulled our Army Rangers and other Special Operations troops outta that fight in Afghanistan and re-directed them to Iraq.

That was Bush's misstake.

"As early as Sept. 12, 2001, Clarke says, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged bombing Iraq despite repeated assurances from intelligence officials that the threat emanated from Afghanistan.

"Rumsfeld said there aren't any good targets in Afghanistan. And there are lots of good targets in Iraq," Clarke said on Sunday's 60 Minutes. "I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with it.' "

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-03-20-clarke_x.htm

[wake.up.america]

2. What happens when Bush decides to throw a war and nobody shows up?

A most interesting thought.

What happens when Bush decides to throw a war and nobody shows up?

The public in general is having second thoughts. This encourages soldiers to got to Canada and potential recruits to stay home.

Bush's support stems from a John Wayne mentality that is slowly ebbing.

Now, Bush is caught between aggravating more people overseas and possibly causing more negative reaction to US policies and thereby hoping to increase the USA USA USA responses and of course to increase his popularity, or shutting up and thereby calming people's fears of even more body bags and thus gaining more popular support.

Bush is in this for himself and his buddies. As Steve Austin would say, "That's the bottom line."

Bush will change quickly if he is convinced his personal gain is at stake.


"There are already the human wounds — more than 1,700 U.S. soldiers dead since the start of the war. As a consequence of this, military enlistment is plummeting. In April, recruiting goals were 43 per cent below target. The U.S. military machine, its principal source of imperial power, is beginning to wear down."


http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename...

[bemildred]

3. As predicted over and over, here and elsewhere, for years now.

There is no cure for stupidity and arrogance and Washington has a raging case of both.

[Jack Rabbit]

4. This pretty well nails it

Bush did not address his previous lies last night. Of course, few expected him to do so.

However, he didn't propose anything new, although there was some reason to expect that. He is going to stay the course, even though the course headed straight for rocks and everybody but Bush and the neoconservatives know it.

Any serious discussion about whether Bush's justifications for invading Iraq were based on accurate information were laid aside long ago. They weren't. Any serious discussion about whether Bush and his aides deliberately lied is closing fast. They did.

The only matter open for discussion is what to do next in Iraq. But last night's speech gave no one any reason to think that as long as Bush and his neoconservative aides are in power that anything different is going be done.

No meaningful discussion on Iraq can be held with Bush in power, yet Bush is unwilling to admit that his program for Iraq was based on lies and has completely failed. The only way we can have a meaningful discussion on Iraq is to remove Bush, Cheney and the neoconservatives from office, the sooner the better.

There are more than sufficient grounds for impeachment and removal, even criminal prosecution. We need to get started on this work.