"And now he is not safe even inside his own closed circle." re: Bush

[understandinglife]

But recognition only raises the deeper question: why, in the face of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, does Bush persist in this way? How does it help him to continue repeating himself to a nation that increasingly believes he is lying on several fronts? How does his refusal to meet with Cindy Sheehan help him?

There is a two-part answer to this question: First, as far as Bush is concerned, he is telling the truth; as Madeleine Albright recently said to Columbia Magazine: "the most serious problem is that George Bush now believes what he says." Like many of my hospitalized patients, Bush has created a vast, detailed but vague delusional system he feels compelled to maintain at all costs. This system helps him manage the terrifying anxiety that threatens to make his already endangered inner world more chaotic.

The second answer is made clear by his reaction to Cindy Sheehan: he believes his lies because he feels his survival depends on it. He cannot help her mourn; he cannot take responsibility for his destructiveness. If he could he would. His inner need to be right would not just be modified; his entire internal mental structure would be shattered.

Psychoanalytic theory suggests that Bush's true enemy is an aspect of himself -- the overwhelming anxiety he works so hard to manage. For Bush, lying remains a central defense mechanism in managing his fears; he lies foremost to himself, altering his perception of external or internal reality to fulfill his psychic need to maintain order. His anxiety is so great that he cannot shift his thinking to account for new information -- especially the fact that patriotic families of patriotic soldiers demand that he speak with them.

From Why Bush Believes His Lies by Justin Frank on August 16, 2005

More at the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/justin-frank/why-bush-believes-his-lie_5752.html

With this as context, I think we have a basis for understanding the following encounter that Bush had with the Maher Family in February, 2005.

This past February, Maher, and his wife, Adeline, met with the President at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Warminster, PA. The President was in town to sell his Social Security plan. He made time to meet with the Mahers, so long as they would follow one ground rule.

“When the White House called my wife, they said she wasn’t allowed to tell even my other son or daughter that we were invited to meet the President. They didn’t want the press to know, and said the President didn’t want the press to know. If it would have leaked out, we would not have had the meeting.”

Which is telling. It belies the complaints of those who think the President has somehow politicized the situation regarding those who have died in Iraq.

<clip>

“When the President said our son, or any other son would not die in vain, that made me feel real good, because I certainly don’t want this thing to end up the way Vietnam did, with American vs. American, and I felt really good he made that statement. The man sticks to his word.”

From The Consoling President by Michael Smerconish on August 16, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/michael-smerconish/the-consoling-president_5757.html

I regret that Mr & Mrs Maher, after the loss of their son, were then malignantly victimized by Bush.

Yes, Mr Smerconish, the structure of the encounter is truly "telling," but not because of any effort to avoid politicizing the meeting. Bush did not want anyone questioning his version of the story to the Maher's -- not even their other children.

Read, Mr Smerconish, the words Mr Maher and his wife shared with you and critically compare them to what most of the world knew in February of 2005. Most of the world already knew that Bush's illegal war and occupation of Iraq was responsible for the deaths and injuries of our and our allies' soldiers and the deaths, injuries and torture of many Iraqi citizens. In fact, millions new it to be illegal and criminal before he launched the invasion on March 19, 2003.

Bush has constantly set American against American and the manner in which you relate your story only furthers Bush's divisive agenda.

Just how disconnected was Bush when he met the Maher's -- do a Google search on 'last throes'; 'insurgency failing'; ... just more lies, more propaganda, and he held a super-secret session with grieving parents so he could lie some more, and not have anyone question him.

Just how disconnected does Bush remain ...

How bad is the situation there? Barham Salih, Iraq’s minister of planning and development, tried to look at the bright side of things by saying, “We are failing to reach compromises. But we are not killing each other.” []bYou know things are in trouble when the good news is that the Founding Fathers of the New Iraq are not blowing each other to bits. Too bad the same cannot be said for the insurgents targeting our troops and ordinary Iraqis.

Yes, Cindy Sheehan is merely a symbol of the Iraq debacle. But presidents are symbols too. And symbols matter -- especially in a time of war. And projecting an image of total disconnection to what is going on in Iraq -- and the pain it is causing here at home, as well as the precious resources it is consuming -- is a very disturbing message for Bush to be sending.

<clip>

The president also let us know that it’s important for him “to keep a balanced life”. Well, I’m all for balance -- we Greeks invented it. But it seems the presidential equilibrium has gone way out of whack. To regain his footing he needs to re-connect to the crisis in Iraq, give Cindy Sheehan a few minutes of his time, and get the hell out of Crawford.

Show us you’re willing to make a sacrifice in a time of war, Mr. President -- even if that just means cutting your vacation a little short. Those of us who are mindful of what is really going on around us will appreciate the crispness of that decision.

From The War Comes to Crawford, The President Disconnects by Arianna Huffington on August 16, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/arianna-huffington/the-war-comes-to-crawford_5756.html

The problem is, as Justin Frank notes, "Taking responsibility has always been hard for George W. Bush. And taking responsibility for inflicting harm on others, a major step in the development of maturity, is a step President Bush has yet to make. Instead, he persists in lying to himself, surrounding himself with people who agree with him. And now he is not safe even inside his own closed circle."

Only someone who starts an illegal war could be behaving as Bush currently is -- five weeks vacation.

Only someone who starts an illegal war could know that a memorial to those who have died has been destroyed, and not condemn it.

Only someone who authorizes torture could talk about keeping a 'balanced life' while riding a bicycle and not get the cold, heartless cruel irony of his actions and his words.

We need regime change, here -- now.


Peace.

[hiley]

1. WE do need

regime change Now!

[FreedomAngel82]

3. I definietly think

that Bush is a mad-man.

[hiley]

34. Oh yeah, he is definitely a mad-man

:argh:

[fooj]

2. "The president we get is the country we get."

Impeach the lying bastard.

Peace.:patriot:

[shance]

4. Pre-empt to try to bring in Cheney/PNAC? Better watch what you pray for.

If Cheney became president, God help us.

[understandinglife]

10. I said - 'regime change' -- and I know how many ...

.... must be purged.

Thanks for commenting.


Peace.

[electropop]

32. Right, as co-conspirators, Bush & Cheney would go first,

but there's the whole cabinet that would follow, and next in line is Tom Delay, if I'm not mistaken, who is on his way to jail too. So the ranks thin, and whoever takes the reigns then is seriously weakened, assuming he's a member of the Greedy Oil Party, which will by then be on its knees.

Let the de-Bushification begin!

[Cleita]

We have to go after both of them. They are a matched set you

know. We still will have to settle for another Republican, like we had to with Gerald Ford, but at least the worst was over with.

[mod mom]

27. I disagree. When the floor drops beneath them, the time for Conyers to

put forward the massive election fraud evidence will occur. The American people will be open to facing the truth once the avalanche of lies and deception is exposed. The rightful winners of the election should take office.

The sad thing is we, the people, are the losers for we will be left to clean up the mess and re-build our country. We need to make sure the re-building is done honestly and fairly. (Not just a transfer of power to another party of ruling elite.)

[Cleita]

30. I don't care how it happens, I just hope it does.

Yes, we need to review how the system got so corrupted so it never happens again. We just can't keep going in every eight years to clean up Repuke messes.

[Ladyhawk]

49. These days the Republicans are more vicious and there are more of them.

Even if we could get the goods on this admin and put them in prison, there would be hundreds waiting in the wings. I have seen the face of the Republican Party and it is the face of my family and townsfolk.

[Im with Rosey]

56. I agree

The very worst part of the whole evil mess is that so many are vicious. I've been looking for an appropriate word and I believe you have hit on it, "vicious". Not only that, but I think they have the feeling of righteousness, that everything is acceptable because they say it is. Where do we go from here? I think until we completely and thoroughly prove the illegality of ALL of this, we will only continue to go through the rank and file of varying degrees of vicious, self-proclaimed "leaders".

[hiley]

35. bush goes down so does cheney

regime change means all of them!:applause:

[TahitiNut]

5. Neurotics build castles in the sky; psychotics live in them.

Smirk is in a full-blown psychosis.

"he feels his survival depends on it" is a very succinct description of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and Smirk is an extreme pathological narcissist. No doubt about it.

[DELUSIONAL]

20. We can see it -- but his cult members refuse to

see that their hero is stark raving loony tunes. He is nuts -- crazy -- completely insane.

I don't much like Iran -- nor any country that subjugates women -- however that does not mean I want that country to be Nuked -- and I do fear that bushie is working up to that.

He probably has a timetable and has his followers eliminating anyone who is trying to block his blood lust.

And I hope to god/dess that I am wrong.

This is sort of like sitting on a mountain watching two trains approaching each other about the hit head on -- we know it is going to happen but there's not a damned thing that we can do about it.

Many of us got out and protested BEFORE the Iraq invasion -- we are being proved right -- but we were ignored then and if bushie/cheney get their way -- we will be proved right again.

Cheney and the idiots who are in bushie's inner circle are just as crazy as he is -- but different. They are a bunch of crazies.

Ray McGovern during an interview said that this whole bunch was known to be crazy -- nuts during the bush one administration -- now these idiots are in control.

God/dess help those of us who are sane -- even if we are delusional to believe that this is a democracy.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

26. He has become..... what he feared the most.... Saddam Hussein.

[Gay Green]

33. But without Saddam Hussein's personal warmth. n/t

[txindy]

43. True, that.

And more than a little unnerving.

[TahitiNut]

39. What he fears most, without any doubt whatsoever, is ...

... not being noticed. Not just being ignored, but not being worth noticing. He feeds on attention - reactions. He's incapable of seeing himself except through others -- and when they don't notice him, he stops existing. He'll do anything to force a reaction when he feels deprived. Anything. Even his retribution is for the sake of a reaction. When he mocked Carla Faye Tucker, he was bragging because, in his mind, her pleas were to him - the reaction he craves.

In a sense, the death of others is about his power and being noticed (by God?). When his little "only child" empire was shattered by the birth of his sister, he wished her dead. He got his wish. He's never outgrown that experience. It was about him.

It still is. Death is his 'zero sum game.' When someone else dies as a "result" of his wish, it means he 'wins.'

He's a really sick fuck. As I said above: a pathological naricissist.

[KansDem]

59. I'm not an expert on all matters of the pathological naricissist...

But what you say does ring true regarding:

He'll do anything to force a reaction when he feels deprived. Anything. Like rubbing the heads of bald men? I've often wondered about that quirk. What an ass to want to put his hands on another person, in essence to violate their space, particularly to highlight a bald head. And I've noticed in some of the photos I've seen with him doing this, he is looking around, seeing the reaction of others. Also, why the need to give nicknames? Originally, it was described as a "good ol' boy" practice, but I wonder if it's a need to control people by taking away their self identity and redefining them in "Bush terms."

[Wizard777]

36. I think he has finally found reality.

Too bad he made it a really bad place to be before he got there. Several of the crimes he has committed carries the death penalty. Genocide and Treason to name two. He is a desperate man fighting against government investigations for his life. His survival really does depend on his ability to pull the wool over peoples eyes. You can expect a news black out of Saddam's trial. Bush wouldn't want to risk America watching that and saying. Wait a minute! Bush has done that too! Saddam is facing the death penalty. Also he won't appear to be evil personified now that America has seen what Saddam was effectively keeping the lid on. Even if you believe that the torture was necessary to our security. Then you also have to admit that it was necessary for us to use Saddam's methods.

[TahitiNut]

41. He will literally never find 'reality' -- not as ordinary folks know it.

If justice is at all served and he (together with 10-15 cronies and handlers) is indicted, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for life, he'll get a perverse satisfaction from receiving the attention. He is only capable of knowing his own existence through the reactions (attention) of others. Thus, such processes of justice will be, in very large measure, a narcissistic supply.

Saddam's mental problems probably aren't the same as the Chimperor's. Saddam is a secondary sociopath like Chimperor Faceplant, but Saddam most likely has Borderline Personality Disorder, in my (nonprofessional) opinion.

[ninkasi]

54. I agree 100%

I remember even before the 2004 travesty of an election was imposed upon us, getting a sick feeling, all of a sudden, that our country was in the control of madmen, and too many of our fellow citizens were swallowing the lunacy.

It's not just Bush; he is careful to surround himself with people who either believe as he does, or give the appearance of doing so, in order to further their own agendas.

As a nation, we have dealt with weak, or incompetent, or corrupt administrations, and sometimes a combination of all 3. Never, I think, have we dealt with a full blown sociopath, who is encouraging the other psychotics among us to go along with him.

This must be why, in the face of so much evidence to the contrary, so many people seem to worship him. There are people in this country who have some serious mental problems, and when you add their number to the wealthy who benefit from the Chimp's policies, and the radical religious right,
you have what we have today, a nation on the brink of disaster.

The president is insane, I can think of nothing else that would explain his words, and actions. Sadly, the ones who should be able to step in and take over the job are members of the same group who would willingly destroy every good thing this country has ever stood for. I hope, and pray, that we can change the balance of power somewhat in 2006. If not, can we as a nation survive?

[sakabatou]

6. There should be mandatory psychological tests for presidents...

[jbnow]

23. I liked Letterman saying

It's good that bush passed his physical, but we don't know about his mental

[Wizard777]

40. The purpose of a political party.

Is to select canidates that are suitable to serve in the office they are running for. America needs to revoke the Republicans Political Charter and not allow them to enter canidates in elections. At least until they can find some that are not corrupt mental defectives with a pension for treason.

Oh yeah and speaking of pensions for treason. Pull the rip cord Dick! Pull the rip cord!

[Cleita]

7. Start writing your Congress critters both Dem and Repub.

Tell them you think the time has come to impeach the President for lying about his reasons for invading Iraq and for allowing a CIA agent's cover to be blown by one of his staff. We have to keep pressuring them hard, long and relentlessly until they do so. With 2006 elections coming up, it should be easier to get their attention than in the past.

[Cha]

8. "Taking responsibility has

been hard" for bush because he's never been made to be held accountable..Whose fault is it? What was his punishment for blowing up frogs when he was just a little demon? Bigger and better toys?

[ewagner]

9. The Maher story puzzles me

I think the Maher's were quite vulnerable at that meeting. Note that the author says that the wife was already breaking into tears before the President entered. Bush* apparently smoozed his way through it and told them what they wanted to hear:

1. Their son's death was for a nobel national cause
2. Their son's death was not in vain.

If you IGNORE the fact that our soldiers were sent to Iraq under false pretenses then MAYBE those words are okay.....but under the circumstances, they are almost obscene.

[understandinglife]

14. Precisely. And, my message to the author of that article is that he ..

... is, perhaps unwittingly, contributing to that obscenity.

Other than those in denial and the few who truly will never get it, by February of 2005, the rest of the world knew that Bush's war on Iraq was illegal, and his crimes against humanity growing daily.

Thank you for sharing your insights.


Peace.

[TorchTheWitch]

53. I used to have to work with that ASS Smerconish

There is ONE thing he cares about, and that's his own personal finances... period.

He does nothing "unwittingly". He's also a Bush appointee, which should tell you pretty much everything you need to know about whose ass gets his lip prints.

Don't even get me started on that swine.

[Lisa]

17. I think Bush uses his status to intimidate people into silence

Exactly as you say -- he picks vulnerable people. By acting like it's super-secret, and making sure that he meets with people who are still in disbelief or in mourning, in small gatherings, it prevents any awkward questions from being asked. Those who might feel inclined to challenge him get the message that "this is neither the time nor the place", and if anyone (like Cindy Sheehan) has second thoughts, the White House can shrug them off with "you've had your chance".

And he comes in there with his retinue, and through their presence he can constantly remind people how important he is, and how lucky they are to be in his presence. Given that they're still numb with grief, is it any wonder that he can act "like it's a party" (as Cindy later recalled) and nobody will take him to task?

"Shock and awe", basically.

[BQueen]

29. My thoughts exactly

There's another post by Frank asking other families to share with him their recollections of their meetings with Bush here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/justin-frank/unmasking-george-w-bush_5704.html

I posted it earlier in comments to an op-ed by ELDoctorow (reprinted in 8/13/05 Houston Chronicle, orig from 9/2004)http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/3309407

OUR UNFEELING PRESIDENT
Bush cannot grieve because he doesn't know what death is
By E.L. DOCTOROW
******
He does not mourn. He doesn't understand why he should mourn. He is satisfied during the course of a speech written for him to look solemn or a moment and speak of the brave young Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

But you study him, you look into his eyes and know he dissembles an emotion which he does not feel in the depths of his being because he has no capacity for it. He does not feel a personal responsibility for the 1,000 dead young men and women who wanted to be what they could be.

They come to his desk not as youngsters with mothers and fathers or wives and children who will suffer to the end of their days a terribly torn fabric of familial relationships and the inconsolable remembrance of aborted life ... they come to his desk as a political liability, which is why the press is not permitted to photograph the arrival of their coffins from Iraq.

How then can he mourn? To mourn is to express regret, and he regrets nothing.
*****
orig DU thread at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x147538

Doctorow could teach shrub about the use of the word "dissemble" that's for sure -- read it all, it's poetry.

[Lisa]

58. at the meeting with the 9/11 victims' families, he was autographing things

There were children asking him if he knew where their missing mom or dad was, and all he could think of was to push an autographed slip of paper at them, and make some comment to the effect that "if they find your dad, imagine how pleased he'll be that you got to meet me".

I had hoped that this was some isolated incident, due only to his being in shock himself ... but as you (and that amazing Doctorow essay) point out ... it seems to be completely in character.

[rateyes]

11. Isn't one of the definitions of insanity..

doing the same damned thing over and over again and expecting a different result? What the hell did people expect gas prices to do when you elect Bushco? If I didn't have to pay it, too...I would hope for gas to go to $10 bucks a gallon.

[quiet.american]

12. I was wondering what Justin Frank was making of this

Thanks for posting. I, too noticed something you commented on:

Only someone who starts an illegal war could know that a memorial to those who have died has been destroyed, and not condemn it.

The White House spokesperson (not Scottie this time) was directly asked a question about this and had no comment.

I remember the days when an American President, no matter how disliked, would not have tolerated such an action in silence. What's more, Bush is probably up there looking at the photos of the fallen crosses, pumping his fist, and saying, "feels good."

[DanCa]

I was going to post something funny

but on second thought theres nothing funny about this sociopath. Nothing in the least.

[indepat]

13. Is this mere psycho-babble or the real thing on the loose?

[understandinglife]

18. I think we are looking at 'the real thing' and it is not just 'on the ...

... loose, but it has a guy carrying a brief case that 'the real thing' can use to launch a nuclear attack.

I am reminded about a certain group of Senators who took a stroll down Pennsylvania Ave and told a certain President he had to resign.

We are now confronted with a situation where I do not think we have elected representatives with the courage to walk into the White House and tell BOTH the Pres and VP to resign.

Thus, we need to do it for them -- 10s of millions of us. Soon.


Peace.

[mod mom]

28. UL, Do you believe there are forces within the government (military/cia)

that are working on our side? Or have they all been purged?

[understandinglife]

38. Have no insider knowledge, at all. But, we have several folk with ...

....considerable knowledge sending us plenty of signals - from Gen Byrnes ex-wife to Larry Johnson to ......

I remain hopeful that truly patriotic Americans will pull together and save the Republic.


Peace.

[Just Me]

42. There is certainly a coalition of former military and intelligence,...

,...member who have taken a step in opposition to this insane cabal.

[understandinglife]

45. "Former FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley" ... headed to Crawford

Former FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, along with a state senator whose son died in Iraq, are headed to Texas this week to join a growing anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch.

Rowley, now a Democratic candidate for Congress, and Sen. Becky Lourey will join a protest initiated by Cindy Sheehan, whose own son died in Iraq last year. Sheehan started the vigil Aug. 6, coinciding with Bush's summer vacation. She has said she won't leave until the president meets with her.

Rowley said Tuesday that she and Lourey would leave Thursday and stay at least through Sunday, sleeping in a tent at the site. They are paying their own way, she said.

<clip>

From Ex - FBI Whistleblower to Join 'Peace Mom' By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Filed at 11:53 p.m. ET

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Peace-Mom-Rowley.html?pagewanted=print

Sociopath-in-Chief Bush is gonna have even more company for the weekend.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

48. Seymore Hersh tonight: "get out of there as fast as possible ..."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4374260&mesg_id=4374477

Roger that; loud and clear....

Come on everyone ... millions and millions and millions of us need to demand Bush, Cheney and all the neoconsters resign, NOW.

Or We The People .... WILL SHUT IT DOWN, MR & MS CORPORATE SCUM, UNTIL THEY DO .... get it ....


Peace.

[loudsue]

52. I must have missed that! What did Gen Byrnes ex-wife say?

I'd love to see that! Does anyone have a link?

:kick::kick::kick:

[understandinglife]

50. Larry Johnson, ex-CIA: "That all Americans are not up in arms ..."

THE RIGHT WING BULLY BOYS vs. MOM

byLarry C. Johnson

August 16, 2005

The clueless right wing is up in arms over the momentum of the Cindy Sheehan anti-war movement. There appears no depth they will not plumb, nor mudpit they will not enter in their effort to smear a mother who gave her son in service to our country. I cannot award a Chutzpah prize because there are too many deserving schmucks.

<clip>

If her son had died during an operation to kill Bin Laden than Cindy would at least have the peace of mind to know that her son died trying to make America safer. Instead, her son died in Iraq in an operation whose rationale still remains unclear. But we now know for certain that at least one of the President's claims, i.e., that we are "fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here", is no longer true. Instead of a safer America the President has made America at greater risk of a terrorist attack by the Islamic extremists who struck our shores almost four years ago. Since 9-11 the number of international terrorist attacks have soared to unprecedented levels. Last year, for example, there were almost 700 separate terrorist attacks in which someone was killed or wounded. This marks the highest level of terrorist activity since data was first recorded in 1968.

So, as of today, Cindy Sheehan's son is dead along with the sons and daughter of almost 1900 other families. The insurgency in Iraq is growing in strength and level of international terrorism is growing. That Cindy Sheehan is angry should not surprise us. That all Americans are not up in arms over the recklessness of George Bush should.

More at the link:

http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/08/the_right_wing_.html

That's clear.


Peace.

[Eloriel]

15. I have said from the very beginning

well, fairly soon after his inauguration, that he was not able to distinguish between the truth and a lie -- that in a very important sense either was acceptable, either was equally valid, and it just didn't matter which one he chose (aside from what benefits or outcomes would accrue to either, of course).

Really, there just isn't any internal mechanism for identifying truth vs. lie for Bush.

[AnnInLa]

16. OR, he's just dumb as a rock......and pure-d evil.

Whatever.

I hope there is an afterlife, and if, by some chance there is....then I want to be there when this maggot is judged.

[Jacobin]

19. All of which is a long way of saying that: "He's just a fucking idiot"

[Karenina]

21. NOR SHOULD HE BE!!!

[niallmac]

22. bushie sometimes seems totally spaced.

"Mr President, after this yet again bizarre press conference would you mind peeing in a cup?"

[understandinglife]

24. Neither the Bush administration nor the news media have shown interest ...

Already 82 members of the Iraqi National Assembly have signed a public letter calling for "the departure of the occupation." A former minister in the Iraqi interim government, Aiham Alsammarae, is talking with 11 insurgent groups about a transition to politics. Even the militant Shiites led by Muqtada Sadr have shown interest in the political process by collecting a million signatures for American withdrawal. Surveys earlier this year showed that 69% of Iraqi Shiites and more than 75% of Sunnis favored a near-term US withdrawal.

Neither the Bush administration nor the news media have shown interest in these voices, perhaps because they undercut the argument that we are fighting to save Iraqis from each other. By most accounts, the US military presence has attracted and enlarged the hard-core jihadist forces. The course we are on also contributes to incipient civil war because of subsidies and training for Shiite and Kurdish forces against the estranged Sunnis. It was not enough to invite a handful of Sunnis into the constitutional talks.

Any settlement proposal must guarantee a troop withdrawal and new efforts at reconstruction. A successful peace process will guarantee representation for the Iraqi opposition in a final governing arrangement. It will encourage power-sharing arrangements in economic and energy development as well as governance. The handing over of the Iraqi economy to private and mostly US interests will by definition end with the occupation.

These are plausible steps toward conflict resolution. Perhaps Cindy Sheehan's moral stance will awaken courage among politicians who openly or privately deplore the fabricated origins of the war but cannot bring themselves to be honest about the war itself.

<clip>

From An exit strategy for Iraq now By Tom Hayden on August 16, 2005 in the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-hayden16aug16,0,7169089.story

The Iraqi's have told us they do not want us in their country. The US media, i.e., the White House propaganda machine, has failed to convey the message.


Peace.

[jbnow]

25. The frightening difference between bush's delusional system

and the hospitalized patients is that bush's is given support and validity by the circle around him.
And of course bush is president and though that might be a scam it is not a delusion.

[Just Me]

31. IOIW,...pure fraud. n/t

[understandinglife]

37. "How could President Bush be cavorting around on a long vacation ....

.... with American troops struggling with a spiraling crisis in Iraq?

Wasn't he worried that his vacation activities might send a frivolous signal at a time when he had put so many young Americans in harm's way?

<clip>

They had better start absorbing and shedding a lot faster, before many more American kids die to create a pawn of Iran. And they had better tell the Boy in the Bubble, who continues to dwell in delusion, hailing the fights and delays on the Iraqi constitution as "a tribute to democracy."

The president's pedaling as fast as he can, but he's going nowhere.

From Biking Toward Nowhere By MAUREEN DOWD on August 17, 2005

Much more at the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/opinion/17dowd.html?pagewanted=print

Time we halt the 'spinning class' and get the Bush and his fellow neoconster war criminals on a charter flight to The Hague.


Peace.

[CoffeeCat]

44. What we are dealing with here is a full-blown, down-in-the dirt psychopath

Bush is a psychopath.

That's not name calling. It's an accurate description of his behavior.

We're not dealing with someone who has feelings--or understands what feelings mean. Cindy is attempting to meet with a man who cannot possibly grasp her concerns, her emotions or her experiences. The man feels nothing. His feet don't touch the ground.

If you try and understand him or if you try to get him to act and feel normally--you are hitting your head against a brick wall. He's not speaking the same language as most of us.

I grew up with a psychopathic father. Trust me...at this point--and with so much destruction in his wake--junior is totally unreachable.

He needs to be out--because he's dangerous. He has absolutely no empathy or feeling and he could care less about the result of his actions on human beings. He needs to be impeached now.

[lonestarnot]

46. And the scary thing is that neither does any of this selected bunch...

Dick could give a fat fuck about anyone...same for red rummy... condesleeza... most cold incidious group ever in one place in history to be empowered over a nation like the U.S.

[Wizard777]

47. WOW and the CIA can't even get information into those circles. n/t

[understandinglife]

51. Here's a corruption metric anyone should be able to get ....

"the largest one-time cash transfer in the history of the New York Fed":

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/8/17/1027/50222

"And don't forget -- this money was just a FRACTION of the billions of dollars that have vanished in the same fashion. Many more billions that was Iraq's money, from the oil-for-food program, met the same fate.

Vanished into the empty duffelbags of god-knows-who.

And they say there are no more pirates ..... What's truly disgusting about this is that this should NOT be an issue of GOP versus Dem or right-wing versus left. This is an issue of our country being ROBBED, and no one being held accountable. I don't give a shit what party these people belonged to, this is just plain wrong.

And, then, of course, we have the vaporized children, the tortured prisoners, the .....

I'm just waiting for some person to question whether Bush and the neoconsters have qualified for top-tier barbarian status. Bring it ....


Peace.

[opihimoimoi]

55. The Crawdad Bunker....Attention Whore Bush is in his Bunker wondering

why peeps are looking at him funny...

This guy may yet take the honorable way out by donning a white under suit, and sharpening his special sword. A strong marine might be his Second........

[fooj]

57. Honor our troops by telling the truth!

Peace.