Removing the Capability that Could Have Been Passed
“We removed a declared enemy of America who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder and could have passed that capability to terrorists bent on acquiring them. In the world after September 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take.”
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040712/ap_on_el_pr/bush
Well, let’s see. “A declared enemy of America”? What does that mean? I know we attacked and defeated Saddam Hussein in 1991, but I don’t remember him doing anything in response other than defending himself. Was he preparing to attack America in 2003? No. Was he capable of attacking America? No. So I don’t understand that statement to mean anything other than, perhaps, Saddam didn’t like the country that had attacked him after supporting him for years.
What does Bush mean by “the capability”? Is that the next level down from “weapons-related programs”? Must be. It doesn’t even sound as if Saddam had “programs” anymore.
“Could have passed that capability”. Is this man serious? We went to war and lost 800 U. S. soldiers’ lives because Saddam “could have passed that capability”? Bush has a lot of explaining to do, but the good news is that he seems to understand that. He’ll never be anything more than a snake-oil salesman, but at least he’s bright enough to know a pickle when he’s in one. Sadly for him, of course, the dynamic is that the more he explains, the worse his explanations look.
“In the World after September 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take.” Of all his statements associating al Qaeda with Iraq, this one seems to me to be the biggest canard yet. He implies the war on Iraq had something to do with the hijackings and murders inside the United States, when of course it had nothing to do with them.
I guess it depends on what your definition of “the World” is.
Bush should stop, take a breath, and say, for the sake of his own career, “We have recently learned, thanks to the efforts of the September 11 Commission, that the intelligence on which we based our invasion of Iraq was flawed. The mission was noble, to defend our country, and no one can thank the families of our fallen and wounded soldiers more than I can. But this new information tells us that our new, most urgent mission is to restore Iraqi sovereignty and move on in our efforts to find and subdue the real enemies of and dangers to America. I promise to redouble our efforts in the fight to bring al Qaeda to justice wherever it may be found. For my part in the mistake, however, I ask your understanding and forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes, even presidents, and not even presidents are perfect. I will consider that even more often in the struggle ahead, as I work with our allies and friends around the Globe and listen to their views, some of which will certainly differ from mine. The goal is cooperation, not confrontation-the World has enough of that as it is.” That is what he should say. Will he say that? No.
Note to right-wingers: feel free to comment on my posts. I have decided, however, that I may not respond to your comments from now on, not because I feel any insecurity in my positions or fear of your awesome intellects or knowledge, but because what should be intelligent discussions are all too often fruitless for all concerned. Let’s just agree to disagree as patriotic Americans who differ on the “how” but not the “why”, okay?
We all love America and want her to succeed, no matter which candidate(s) we support or oppose.