The best Asian site (not really a blog – definitely in a class by itself) offers some choice quotes uttered by our president at yesterday’s press conference. They speak for themselves.
“Our strategy is to help the Iraqis help themselves. It’s important that we train Iraqi troops. There are nearly 100,000 troops trained. The Afghan national army is a part of the army. By the way, it’s the Afghan national army that went into Najaf and did the work there.”
“It’s hard work in Iraq. Everybody knows that. We see it on our TV.”
“See 9/11 changed everything. September the 11th meant that we had to deal with a person like Saddam Hussein.”
“I think that the Iraq theater is a part of the war on terror. That’s what the prime minister said as well. He believes the same thing. He understands what’s going on there; after all, he lives there.”
“I’m not the expert on how the Iraqi people think, because I live in America where it’s nice and safe and secure. But I’d talk to this man. One reason I’m optimistic about our ability to get the job done is because I talk to the Iraqi prime minister.”
ESWN sums it up, “That man is unqualified and incompetent to be the president of the most powerful nation on earth; if anything, he is the greatest menace to peace on earth. How can someone who can’t tell between Afghans and Iraqis be the commander-in-chief of the greatest military power?”
He can’t. He can only be a puppet, and he can only make us the laughingstock of the world.
Update: Kevin Drum on the same subject, in one of his smartest posts ever:
It’s no longer clear if George Bush is merely a cynical, calculating politician — which would be bad enough — or if he actually believes all the happy talk about Iraq that his speechwriters produce for him. Increasingly, though, it seems like the latter: he genuinely doesn’t have a clue about what’s going on. What’s more, his staff is keeping him in a sort of Nixonian bubble, afraid to tell him the truth and afraid to take any positive action for fear that it might affect the election.
So things will just get worse, since no one is willing to admit the truth and no one is willing to propose serious action to keep things from deteriorating further — at least not until after November 2nd. But by then it will be too late. And when the Iraqi elections fail, what happens then?
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By chriswaugh_bj
One thing that struck me about Bush’s announcement of the start of the invasion of Iraq was the emptiness in his eyes. He seemed so incredibly vacant. I was shocked that such a vacant person could have so much power at his disposal. I find it difficult to accept that so many Americans think he’s qualified for the job. He isn’t. He is nothing more than a puppet. And it’s the people pulling the strings who terrify me.
September 24, 2004 @ 11:03 pm | Comment
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By richard
Yup.
September 24, 2004 @ 11:58 pm | Comment
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By Shanghai Slim
Another Great Leap brewing?
With two small changes …
>>>
What’s more, his staff is keeping him in a sort of [Mao-like] bubble, afraid to tell him the truth and afraid to take any positive action for fear that it might affect [their political future].
So things will just get worse, since no one is willing to admit the truth and no one is willing to propose serious action to keep things from deteriorating further (…)
< (aside: Richard, please excuse my ignorance, how does one create a quote or italics within a comment?)
September 26, 2004 @ 9:39 pm | Comment
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By richard
To creat italics, press SHIFT and the COMMA key, then type the letter “i,” then press the SHIFT and the PERIOD key. Then type the text you want to italicize, then to close the italics, press SHIFT and the COMMA key and then the SLASH key (the one with the question mark –but don’t press shift!) , then the letter “i” and then SHIFT and the PERIOD key. It’s that simple!
September 26, 2004 @ 9:47 pm | Comment