Conason: "the administration's lethal incompetence"

[nostamj]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/04/20/bush/index.html

From Richard Clarke, Bob Woodward and other critics, we are learning that the public was misled about matters just as grave as the intelligence concerning Saddam Hussein's arsenal and his alleged connections with al-Qaida. The president claims he cannot recall when he ordered his aides to begin planning war on Iraq, but it is clear that the administration was determined to invade long before last spring. The early execution of those plans bypassed budgetary and war-making powers of Congress in a manner that again betrays this administration's contempt for the Constitution.

Under intense pressure from the consequences of their tragic bungling in Iraq, the Bush team is losing its vaunted discipline. Even if the painfully loyal Colin Powell somehow manages to remain in office after quietly disowning the president's foreign policy, the doubts he confided to Bob Woodward will resonate with moderate voters who trust him far more than they trust Bush.

Moreover, Woodward's revelations are sure to encourage other nations to distance themselves from the White House and remove their troops from Iraq. But the worst problem for Bush remains the inarguable proof, reiterated in the media every day, that his logistical, military and diplomatic preparations for war were inadequate or nonexistent -- and that as a consequence, young Americans are losing their lives and limbs without prospect of victory.

[NewJeffCT]

1. why plan?

I'm waiting for the Iraqis to start throwing flowers at the feet of our soldiers... any day now. Yep. And, like VP Cheney said, we'll only be there for a matter of weeks (going on 60 now, I think?)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. They're getting all kinds of flowers...

I'm wondering where the sweets are, though.

[Richardo]

6. Very poignant, RiF...

...getting flowers indeed. :(

[Blue_Roses]

9. no doubt

some are getting more flowers than they should be...very sad...

This would be a great ad.

[union_maid]

2. So frustrated...

As more and more of this comes out - clear and not even really partisan stuff - how is it that he's not being run out of the country on a rail rather than hovering at around 50% in the polls? Randi Rhodes is right..if there was any justice it wouldn't be a matter of not re-electing him or even impeaching him. He and the whole cabal should be in Leavenworth. And yet..people like him. Oy!

[dennis4868]

8. I agree...

I keep telling people that the 2004 presidential election is not about politics anymore...I dont even know where Kerry stands on the issues...that is irrelevant right now. There is a cancer in the WH and it must be removed...the media plays along with Bush's criminal adventures but we the people must stand up and be strong and say enough is enough....

[Blue_Roses]

10. I agree and the people

who should be standing are the very ones who aren't ( for the most part). These are the ones who are deeply affected by the damage of Bush's policies and the first to go to war. Sad they are so hood-winked by him.

[Karenina]

3. ::Sigh::

Americans are not only losing their lives and limbs without prospect of "victory" (whatever THAT means), this LUNACY guarantees that the govenment will fail to deliver them the services they finance. What a ficken mess.

USA! USA! USA!

C'mon kids! We roust those near and dear until they WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!! Let's roll...

[LWolf]

4. "From inside that big, powerful Republican machine

comes the sound of things falling apart."

This has been inevitable, IMO. I don't believe a big, powerful machine fueled by greed, dishonesty, trickery, ego, arrogance, and disdain for the rest of the world is sustainable. It will ultimately disintegrate, because its inner parts have no more integrity than its outer workings.

It's just a matter of time. And of how much damage will be done before it's over. A matter of how far down the road of destruction we will have traveled, and if we can find our way back. Of how many will have paid a multitude of prices for allowing this machine to assemble itself in the shadows.

That's the thing; when that machine falls apart, all of the pieces will begin looking again to organize into a whole, to come back in a new, different-seeming machine. America, and the rest of the world, cannot afford to be complacent with a win in November.

[Tellurian]

7. It's just a matter of time...

Not with these scoundrels!

"That's the thing; when that machine falls apart, all of the pieces will begin looking again to organize into a whole, to come back in a new, different-seeming machine. America, and the rest of the world, cannot afford to be complacent with a win in November."

Why in the world should we sit idly by and let this happen?

Are we benevolent statues representing the last of mankind diligently recording the enfolding of current events as a final treatise to The Way We Were? Or worse, human Popsicles frozen in an Orwellian time warp?

When we become the moving partys, rather than the complacent recipients of an erstwhile democratic country, then and only then, will we prevail over a rouge, abusive government bent on our mutually assured destruction.

Impeach them NOW!

[FlaGranny]

11. Every day,

Nixon looks more and more like a boy scout, doesn't he? I never thought I'd say that, not to mention believe it.

The only thing I can think of in our history that compares in outrageousness is the time the First World War veterans were mowed down in Washington for demanding their promised bonuses.

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. Why the suprise? - Junior's reputation shoulda been well-known

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How he got even CLOSE enough to steal the election is beyond me!

Well, there were quite a few that actually Voted for






Better get him out, he's "expanded" his reach as pResident!

[Beetwasher]

13. Thanks For This!

Consason always puts things in perspective.