Toronto Star: What Bush Didn't Say in His Speech

[marmar]

What Bush didn't say in his speech


The president's 'new way forward' is designed to pass the stigma of defeat to his successor
January 11, 2007

David Olive

In the latest of his high crimes and misdemeanours, U.S. President George W. Bush gave false hope last night to Americans and the world that stability can be achieved in Iraq and the Middle East using the same methods that have repeatedly failed in the past.

The "new way forward" Bush unveiled in a nationally televised speech calls for a further escalation of U.S. troops in Iraq, when three previous troop "surges" have made no difference. Bush again is installing new generals, describing their skills in the same glowing terms he used in announcing previous changes of command.

Demanding "patience, sacrifice and resolve" from the American people in the year ahead, Bush vowed the U.S. will rededicate itself to rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure. Similar pledges in the past have been thwarted by an Iraq insurgency a fraction of the size it is today.

And the president will ask for yet another massive appropriation of Iraq-war funding from the U.S. Congress, funds to be administered by the same bureaucracy in Washington and Baghdad that has overseen the squandering of billions of dollars through corruption and mismanagement.

Once again, Bush promised to apply pressure on the Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad to take on more of the job of running Iraq, and especially to end the bloodbath of sectarian violence.

That is a fantasy.

Al-Maliki's own party is a proxy for the Shia leadership in Tehran. When not turning a blind eye to the majority Shiites' low-grade campaign of ethnic cleansing against the minority Sunnis, al-Maliki has fed that conflict, most recently with his government's botched execution of Saddam Hussein. One could not ask for a less effective ally in bringing tranquility to Iraq. .....(more)

The rest of the article is at: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/169988

[Raster]

1. TWO! This editorial is a MUST READ!

Last two paras, emphasis mine.

<snip>
With so much more at stake in the Mideast than in the Mekong Delta, the world can no longer afford being held hostage by the absurd co-presidency of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

The question is, what is the world going to do about it?
:kick:TWO!

[marmar]

4. Exactly, it's a galvanizing call to the rest of the world.

Rise up!

[POAS]

7. Notice that this is NOT a question by Americans

for Americans. It is the internatinal community trying to decide how to deal with the threat posed by the Bush administration.

If we don't get our house in order on our own..........what? That is what THEY are trying to decide!

[Duer 157099]

2. "Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result"

Totally applies here

[Frustratedlady]

3. Why do other countries understand and explain our situation

better than our media? Excellent article.

[quiet.american]

5. Good question. I think because they do not ignore the elephants in the room. n/t

[quiet.american]

6. Phrase of note: ..."world oil price would jump at least 50 per cent...."

Can it be any clearer that this is what all of this is about.

[Ian_rd]

8. He's failed at everything he's ever done in his life and he's willing to kill thousands more

to avoid getting labeled a failure for what was to be his great victory, Iraq.

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. k&r - unfortunately, total US withdrawal might start

another oil embargo, or the seeds of WWIII if other Arab nations step in to protect the Sunni's...if we had a competent administration, they would be looking to the UN, or NATO, to step in ala Kosovo, separate/isolate the warring regions, and work from there.

But we don't have a competent administration.

[lyonn]

10. Harsh! Toronto Star nailed the "real" speech

eom

[eppur_se_muova]

11. "In the latest of his high crimes and misdemeanours, ..."

With an opening like that, I had to read the whole thing. Thanks for posting this. This guy really pounds it out, one inarguable truth after another.

[Captain Hilts]

12. I read the Star online every day. nt