Bush Feared 'Looking Weak' on Iraq - consortiumnews.com

[helderheid]

Less than two months before invading Iraq, George W. Bush fretted that his war plans could be disrupted if United Nations weapons inspectors succeeded in gaining Saddam Hussein’s full cooperation, possibly leaving Bush “looking weak,” according to notes written by a secretary to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The notes, taken by Blair’s personal secretary Matthew Rycroft, were included in a new edition of Lawless World, a book by University College professor Philippe Sands. The notes on the Jan. 30, 2003, phone call between Bush and Blair were reviewed by the New York Times, which said they were marked secret and personal.

At the time, Blair wanted Bush to seek a second resolution from the U.N. Security Council that would have judged Iraq to be in violation of U.N. disarmament demands and would have authorized military action. According to the notes, Bush agreed that “it made sense to try for a second resolution, which he would love to have.”

But Bush’s deeper worry was that chief U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix would conclude that Hussein’s government was cooperating in the search for weapons of mass destruction, thus delaying or blocking U.S.-led military action. Bush’s “biggest concern was looking weak,” the British document said.

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http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/101405.html

[thebigidea]

1. awww, what a shame - he ended up looking like a weakling anyway.

the most powerful empire in the history of the world couldn't even conquer and occupy one of the weakest powers in the world. Bwahahah. Some cowboy.

[ixion]

2. IMO, his biggest concern was

not getting to cause mass destruction and mayhem. That seems to be what he enjoys doing the most. :-(

[NYC Liberal]

3. Note that he was concerned about LOOKING weak,

not that he was doing a crappy job. That's all these people are about: apperances, PR, and disguises to hide what they're really doing.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. In other words, the Chimperor was afraid Saddam would do exactly what

the UN wanted him to do, thereby depriving * of an excuse to invade.

:nuke:

[Poiuyt]

6. Bush wanted to invade Iraq more than anything

As his biographer said:

"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. "It was on his mind. He said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He said, 'If I have a chance to invade·.if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency." Herskowitz said that Bush expressed frustration at a lifetime as an underachiever in the shadow of an accomplished father. In aggressive military action, he saw the opportunity to emerge from his father's shadow. The moment, Herskowitz said, came in the wake of the September 11 attacks. "Suddenly, he's at 91 percent in the polls, and he'd barely crawled out of the bunker."

more-

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1028-01.htm

Did you catch that? "If I have a chance to invade..." He was looking forward to it like a little boy at Christmas,

[central scrutinizer]

8. All DUers need to re-read that quote

everytime they say he is a moron and mis-underestimate him. He is a shrewd conman with a sociopath's ability to lie convincingly. All of that aw-shucks country boy bullshit, the photo-ops, the Hollywood stage "ranch" is all designed to carefully cultivate a totally false image. He is the most effective carpet-bagger in history. This quote proves that he had the political acumen to know that starting a war, any war, would overshadow any kind of unpopular policies that they rammed through. It would open the doors of the treasury to massive looting by cronies and friends and they could wrap themselves in the flag and hide behind the soldiers whenever they encountered criticism of any kind. It would frame the debate and trap the opposition.

[Poiuyt]

11. That is why I think Bush is one of the most heinous leaders of the 20th

century. He started a war solely to make him more politically popular. The bastard!

[snippy]

9. Just like a little boy. Here he is planning the invasion.

FIRE THE LIAR

[Missy M]

5. Can you imagine invading a country because you were concerned..

about "looking weak". What an evil little bully bush is. Starting a war on lies and decimating a country so he wouldn't look weak. Now he has created a mess that he will never be able to clean up. All the deaths are on your shoulders george and I hope you pay for it in the end.

[snippy]

10. Well . . . to be fair, Bush did disarm this Iraqi.

FIRE THE LIAR

[kentuck]

7. Interesting... insight into the brain of GWB

Rather than look weak, he would prefer to lie and invent reasons for going to war. He would prefer that other people die in a war that did not have ot be fought rather than "look weak". He did not want to be called a "wimp" like his Daddy. Yes, these notes say a lot more than jsut the words in them.

[Kansas Wyatt]

12. That jumped out at me too.

If we are to believe anything these people say, then why was he worried about looking weak?

The answer is that Bush knew that he was weak and stupid, and that is why the Right Wing Propaganda Machine, "catapulted" on the American people that Bush was "Strong" and our 'Holy Glorious Commander In Chief.'

The truth is the exact opposite of what this Crime Family wants Americans to believe.

[TahitiNut]

15. It's a very common kind of sociopath - we call 'em bullies.

:shrug:

[tlsmith1963]

13. It's Weak Not to Admit Your Mistakes

So I guess Bush is weak, anyway.

Tammy

[donco6]

14. He doesn't want to be his father.

Remember the Wimp Factor? Many say it's what brought Sr. down.

[CatWoman]

16. better to look weak

than to look stupid.