Lying and Dying and Wars, Ho-Hum
By now, most everyone who lives or spends time in the blogosphere (or is just out there paying attention) is well aware of the recent New York Times article verifying the memo outlining the January 31, 2003, Oval Office meeting between Tony the Poodle Blair and our own inimitable Preznit Tough Talk McAWOL, in which it was made clear that they were hell-bound for leather to start a war in Iraq regardless of what the inspectors found or what the UN said or pretty much any other consideration in the whole damn world. There can really be no question anymore -- except perhaps among that dwindling third of the country that still worships at the Altar of Bush, and ascribes to him the power of angels to dance on a pinhead (Rummy comes to mind), among other supernatural feats -- that our president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and is responsible for incredible, staggering amounts of bloodshed and carnage through his scheming, duplicitous ways. There are just way too many smoking guns at this point to deny it.
Perhaps the most damning item contained in the memo is the idea floated by the Bushitter of painting some American U-2s in UN colors and flying them over Iraq in the hopes of provoking Saddam's military into shooting them down, thus giving the US an excuse to start the war. In other words, he was willing to sacrifice American lives so that he could point to the deaths of those pilots and say "See? We were attacked! We have to defend ourselves!" -- at which point he could then begin the real sacrifice of American (and Iraqi) lives that ended up getting started anyway, and continues unabated to this day. How is this any different from the manufactured way that Hitler began World War II in Poland? For that matter, how is it different from the Gulf of Tonkin ruse that sucked us into the quagmire of Vietnam? It's way beyond cynical -- it's on a whole 'nother level.
But as bad as all this is -- and really, this is bad, it's heinous and evil and calculatingly Machiavellian -- what's worse is that there will likely be no consequences to Preznit Death Merchant because of this. The Downing Street memo has come and gone, and nothing. The admitted defiance of the law and the FISA court in the NSA wiretapping scheme has so far led to nothing more than Russ Feingold's lonely cry in the wilderness for censure. Valerie Plame gets outed as a CIA undercover operative just out of spite, and the only consequence is that Scooter Libby now has to wait for a trial to occur so his boss's boss can pardon him. Nothing sticks to these guys. Nothing they do gets the American people worked up enough to react with anything more than a collective yawn and maybe a wistful sigh for some half-remembered days when the nation was at peace and the government had a surplus of money, and politicians -- including presidents -- were expected to follow the rule of law and uphold the Constitution.
But see, times have changed, haven't they? The American populace, by and large, no longer gives a skinny rat's ass about what the administration does in their name. They'd have to first go find a skinny rat, and that would involve getting off of their couches and out of their La-Z-Boys and maybe even turning off the TV, and that isn't going to happen. The real fault, though, lies with a rubber-stamp, complacent Congress that has been derelict in its duty, that has abdicated its responsibilities to the American people in order to rake in illicit Jack-Me Abramoff funds and avoid the behind the scenes wrath of Turdblossom Rove and Buckshot Cheney. This is where the responsibility really rests -- with the branch of government that chooses not to use its power as a check and a balance on an out of control executive. Because, as we said here yesterday, "Republicans don't believe in the Constitution" and "Republicans believe the President is above the law." You can take that to the bank, and it will be worth a hell of a lot more than any speculation that this latest memo -- or any other evidence of blatant criminality on the part of the Chickenhawk in Chief that may turn up -- will go any further in holding him accountable than all the mountains of evidence piled up against him already have.
Perhaps the most damning item contained in the memo is the idea floated by the Bushitter of painting some American U-2s in UN colors and flying them over Iraq in the hopes of provoking Saddam's military into shooting them down, thus giving the US an excuse to start the war. In other words, he was willing to sacrifice American lives so that he could point to the deaths of those pilots and say "See? We were attacked! We have to defend ourselves!" -- at which point he could then begin the real sacrifice of American (and Iraqi) lives that ended up getting started anyway, and continues unabated to this day. How is this any different from the manufactured way that Hitler began World War II in Poland? For that matter, how is it different from the Gulf of Tonkin ruse that sucked us into the quagmire of Vietnam? It's way beyond cynical -- it's on a whole 'nother level.
But as bad as all this is -- and really, this is bad, it's heinous and evil and calculatingly Machiavellian -- what's worse is that there will likely be no consequences to Preznit Death Merchant because of this. The Downing Street memo has come and gone, and nothing. The admitted defiance of the law and the FISA court in the NSA wiretapping scheme has so far led to nothing more than Russ Feingold's lonely cry in the wilderness for censure. Valerie Plame gets outed as a CIA undercover operative just out of spite, and the only consequence is that Scooter Libby now has to wait for a trial to occur so his boss's boss can pardon him. Nothing sticks to these guys. Nothing they do gets the American people worked up enough to react with anything more than a collective yawn and maybe a wistful sigh for some half-remembered days when the nation was at peace and the government had a surplus of money, and politicians -- including presidents -- were expected to follow the rule of law and uphold the Constitution.
But see, times have changed, haven't they? The American populace, by and large, no longer gives a skinny rat's ass about what the administration does in their name. They'd have to first go find a skinny rat, and that would involve getting off of their couches and out of their La-Z-Boys and maybe even turning off the TV, and that isn't going to happen. The real fault, though, lies with a rubber-stamp, complacent Congress that has been derelict in its duty, that has abdicated its responsibilities to the American people in order to rake in illicit Jack-Me Abramoff funds and avoid the behind the scenes wrath of Turdblossom Rove and Buckshot Cheney. This is where the responsibility really rests -- with the branch of government that chooses not to use its power as a check and a balance on an out of control executive. Because, as we said here yesterday, "Republicans don't believe in the Constitution" and "Republicans believe the President is above the law." You can take that to the bank, and it will be worth a hell of a lot more than any speculation that this latest memo -- or any other evidence of blatant criminality on the part of the Chickenhawk in Chief that may turn up -- will go any further in holding him accountable than all the mountains of evidence piled up against him already have.
posted by Generik at 2:11 PM
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