A Definitive Renunciation
I know I said that Bush’s manifest merry-andrew act was likely just that, an act, but I’m starting to pull back from that position. I was thinking of initiating a discussion as to the identity of the most fatuous individual ever elected president (and there have been a few abundantly witless officeholders in our nation’s storied history), until I realized the terminal flaw in my plan: the likely hands-down winner, George W. Bush, was never actually elected president.
Maybe I’m still a little pissed off at Duh-bya for holding one of his (blessedly few) news conferences in place of Survivor — the latter certainly has more to offer both in entertainment value and in educational content. Here’s a guy with the megalomania of Charles Foster Kane, the integrity of Al Capone, and the intelligence of a well-used gardening implement.
Whoops, turns out that the paper trail showing that Iraq is trying to get hold of uranium is fake. The names on the documents weren’t even the people in the alleged positions at the time (whoa, don’t know how we missed that one). And uh-oh, all of the experts agree that the “anodized aluminum” tubes that Colin Powell made such a big deal out of actually can’t be used in centrifuges for uranium enrichment. And wouldn’t you know it, Bush (and Powell, which really gets me) knew this before Powell’s big U.N. speech, and decided to ignore that little fact (doesn’t help the argument for war, you understand). As of yesterday, the administration was still trotting out Powell to mumble some vague, waffling statements to the effect that they’re still not sure it’s all fake.
Bush is hell-bent on leading us into a war unprecedented in the history of the United States, a war with no direct provocation. Evidence be damned. World opinion be damned. Economy be damned. Real threats be damned. Daddy had a war, and I want one too; those pesky terrorists just aren’t high-profile enough to divert attention away from the mess I’ve made of pretty much everything in the last year. So what if it undoes decades of world diplomacy? All my friends say I’m right. I’m the president, dammit! I’ve got the football!
After the events of September 11th, I could almost — almost — buy the argument that we needed to present a “united front” as Americans. But now that that chimp in the White House has used those events as a trumped-up excuse to take more freedoms away from us than Osama bin Laden could have imagined, as a justification for elevating himself to the status of de facto führer (I’d use the more appropriate word “tsar,” but people seem to have forgotten what that means), I can no longer stomach the thought of offering him the slightest bit of support, tacit or otherwise.
I am an American citizen, and George W. Bush does not — and never will — speak for me. I have no president.
Maybe I’m still a little pissed off at Duh-bya for holding one of his (blessedly few) news conferences in place of Survivor — the latter certainly has more to offer both in entertainment value and in educational content. Here’s a guy with the megalomania of Charles Foster Kane, the integrity of Al Capone, and the intelligence of a well-used gardening implement.
Whoops, turns out that the paper trail showing that Iraq is trying to get hold of uranium is fake. The names on the documents weren’t even the people in the alleged positions at the time (whoa, don’t know how we missed that one). And uh-oh, all of the experts agree that the “anodized aluminum” tubes that Colin Powell made such a big deal out of actually can’t be used in centrifuges for uranium enrichment. And wouldn’t you know it, Bush (and Powell, which really gets me) knew this before Powell’s big U.N. speech, and decided to ignore that little fact (doesn’t help the argument for war, you understand). As of yesterday, the administration was still trotting out Powell to mumble some vague, waffling statements to the effect that they’re still not sure it’s all fake.
Bush is hell-bent on leading us into a war unprecedented in the history of the United States, a war with no direct provocation. Evidence be damned. World opinion be damned. Economy be damned. Real threats be damned. Daddy had a war, and I want one too; those pesky terrorists just aren’t high-profile enough to divert attention away from the mess I’ve made of pretty much everything in the last year. So what if it undoes decades of world diplomacy? All my friends say I’m right. I’m the president, dammit! I’ve got the football!
After the events of September 11th, I could almost — almost — buy the argument that we needed to present a “united front” as Americans. But now that that chimp in the White House has used those events as a trumped-up excuse to take more freedoms away from us than Osama bin Laden could have imagined, as a justification for elevating himself to the status of de facto führer (I’d use the more appropriate word “tsar,” but people seem to have forgotten what that means), I can no longer stomach the thought of offering him the slightest bit of support, tacit or otherwise.
I am an American citizen, and George W. Bush does not — and never will — speak for me. I have no president.
2 “classic” comments visible on the new comments page
Um, Bill, when you talk about the uranium thing—don't you mean Iran, not Iraq?
The Post article today spoke about Iran.
"Iran also acknowledged to the IAEA the construction of a plant to convert uranium into UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), the gaseous form of the metal that is used in centrifuges, the officials said. Some UF6 gas had already been imported by Iran from a foreign source, and some weapons experts suspect Iran enriched small amounts of uranium in a research facility elsewhere in the country. Any previous enrichment of uranium would constitute a violation of Iran's agreements under the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Is this what you spoke of, or am I off base?
The Post article today spoke about Iran.
"Iran also acknowledged to the IAEA the construction of a plant to convert uranium into UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), the gaseous form of the metal that is used in centrifuges, the officials said. Some UF6 gas had already been imported by Iran from a foreign source, and some weapons experts suspect Iran enriched small amounts of uranium in a research facility elsewhere in the country. Any previous enrichment of uranium would constitute a violation of Iran's agreements under the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Is this what you spoke of, or am I off base?
William R. Coughlan · Mon, Mar 10th 2003, at 2:42PM
No, the evidence showing Iraq was trying to obtain uranium from Niger (and we therefore had to invade immediately) proved to be a rather poorly-done fake (see the first link in the third paragraph of my original post). As was recently discovered (and made today’s headlines), Iran is working to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapons arsenal. As was the case with North Korea, Duh-bya is spending so much time making Saddam out to be the be-all and end-all of world villains that he’s completely missing (or, rather, choosing to ignore) true, demonstrable villainy.
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