George W. Bush needs to take responsibility

[EarlG]

"The people know where I stand. I mean, in terms of Iraq, I was very clear about what I believed." -- George W. Bush

The right-wing is starting a movement to blame liberals for the failure of the Iraq war. Let's be clear: the appalling situation in Iraq is not the fault of those who opposed the war. It is a direct result of the administration's mismanagement.

EXHIBIT A:

"The Iraqi dictator must not be permitted to threaten America and the world with horrible poisons and diseases and gases and atomic weapons." -- George W. Bush 2002

"The Bush administration has admitted that Saddam Hussein probably had no weapons of mass destruction." -- The Sunday Herald, 2003

EXHIBIT B:

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." -- George W. Bush, 2002

"Did the Bush administration manipulate intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs to justify an invasion of Iraq? Based on my experience with the administration in the months leading up to the war, I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat." -- Joseph Wilson, 2003

EXHIBIT C:

"We have also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. We are concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using these UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for missions targeting the United States." -- George W. Bush, 2003

"The key judgment in the NIE that Iraq was developing a UAV 'probably intended to deliver biological warfare agents' also overstated what the intelligence reporting indicated about the mission of Iraq's small UAVs." -- Conclusions of Senate's Iraq report, 2004

EXHIBIT D:

"We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories. You remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said, Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons. They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two. And we'll find more weapons as time goes on." -- George W. Bush, 2003

"In concluding that two trailers seized in northern Iraq were biological weapons laboratories, the United States rejected Iraqi claims that the vehicles were actually designed for making hydrogen for weather balloons. But while some have described the Iraqi explanation as far-fetched, the US Army has its own fleet of vehicles designed for precisely the same purpose." -- Sydney Morning Herald, 2003

EXHIBIT E:

"Should Iraq acquire fissile material, it would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year." -- George W. Bush, 2002

"The United Nations' nuclear inspectors will deliver a serious blow on Monday to Washington's case for going to war with Iraq, telling the world they have found nothing." -- The Guardian, 2003

EXHIBIT F:

"In the course of addressing that threat, we'll want to work with our friends and allies in the region. We'll want to work, I think, with the Iraqi opposition, with the Iraqi National Congress. I personally met with Mr. Chalabi myself in years past, and I would expect that they will be a part of a continuing effort as we think about how best to deal with that threat." -- Dick Cheney, 2001

"U.S. officials believe they have 'rock solid' evidence that Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi, once a darling of the American government, passed secrets to Iran, Fox News has learned." -- Fox News, 2004

EXHIBIT G:

"The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We've removed an ally of al Qaeda, and cut off a source of terrorist funding." -- George W. Bush, 2003

"The CIA believes the Iraq insurgency poses an international threat and may produce better-trained Islamic terrorists than the 1980s Afghanistan war that gave rise to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, officials said on Wednesday." -- Reuters, 2005

EXHIBIT H:

"...the risk of doing nothing, the risk of the security of this country being jeopardized at the hands of a madman with weapons of mass destruction far exceeds the risks of any action we may be forced to take." -- George W. Bush, 2003

"I think it would be a cakewalk." -- Ken Adelman, Defense Policy Board adviser, 2001

"America sent you on a mission and that mission has been accomplished." -- George W. Bush, 2003

Total American fatalities as of June 27, 2005: 1742 -- ICasualties.org

EXHIBIT I:

"...with the approval of the Iraqi government, we will demolish the Abu Ghraib prison as a fitting symbol of Iraq's new beginning." -- George W. Bush, 2004

"Faced with a ballooning prison population, U.S. commanders in Iraq are building new detention facilities at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison." -- LA Times, 2005

EXHIBIT J:

"Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action." -- The Downing Street Memo, 2002

And there's plenty more where those came from. Here's the deal: George W. Bush ran for president pledging a new era of personal responsibility:

"(I) pledge an optimistic, positive campaign, in the Reagan tradition, to renew America's spirit and encourage a new era of personal responsibility and freedom." -- George W. Bush, 2000

So far, this is the amount of responsibility he's taken for the Iraq debacle:

"Gosh, I don't know ... I'm sure something will pop into my head here," -- George W. Bush, unable to think of a single mistake he'd made during his first term, 2004

Don't let the right-wing tar the left with their own mistakes. George W. Bush and his administration must take responsibility.

[sabra]

1. Excellent presentation of the facts!

thank you.

[rodeodance]

6. The right-wing is starting a movement to blame liberals for the failure of

the Iraq war"--------does this mean they admit to the elephant in the room?

[EVDebs]

21. Sen Hegel knows better; so does Paul Craig Roberts and other R's

who know full well that Bush & Co. take full responsibility for the lies and deceptions of Iraq-nam.

They will pay in '06 and '08 and they KNOW it !

[EarlG]

29. They won't say it out loud

Administration officials will say everything is going just fine in Iraq, although they will occasionally throw out the occasional patriotism grenade, like Rove did the other day. It'll be mostly in the right-wing media, on talk radio, and on the right-wing blogs that we'll see the "liberals are to blame" idea tossed around. Which, yes, is ironic, because by doing that they'll be simultaneously admitting defeat.

Actually, I wonder if we should keep an eye on those who are plugging the "blame the liberals" idea. Because anyone who says that the problems in Iraq are the fault of liberals are also overtly admitting that there ARE problems in Iraq. It's a split from the White House party line of "things are just dandy."

I'll be intersted to see what Bush comes up with tomorrow night. There was a great prediction post here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1887910

Let's face it - tomorrow Bush is going to stand up in front of a backdrop of members of the military, receive multiple standing ovations and "hoo-yah"s and generally play the war president. It could be the aircraft carrier all over again. As the bad news continues to come out of Iraq, they're totally setting the "unpatriotic liberals lost us the war" plan.

[AuntiBush]

32. The Saddest Part of all of this is He Stuck us in a Quagmire Alright!

Excellent post, EarlG. You're right...

I'll be watching with 1 eye closed and a puke-bag nearby. And for certain, the remote must be far from hand-tossed reactions.

Wouldn't surprise me 1 bit if he tosses in some "lib-ur-al" retorts. Nothing like dividing us a whole lot more. Have long realized that's part of the game-plan. Sadly, sadly stinkin' so.

:banghead:

[DemReadingDU]

28. Excellent, Thanks for sharing!

[Richard Steele]

2. DAMN straight he does! Recommending.

[Vickers]

3. He'll take responsibility for the Iraq mess like Raygun took

responsibility for the Iran/Contra crimes.

IOW: better start practicing your Alzheimers, "cowboy."

[tavalon]

27. Sadly, it won't be practicing

He's got presenile dementia related to years of abusing coke and alcohol. He partied hard and his brain is swiss cheese.

[Roland99]

4. It's not that he must take it, he must be FORCED to take it!

By the media and by our elected leaders!

[rateyes]

13. You've got that right!

Never in his life has Bush taken responsibility for anything. He had a duty to fulfill his military duty in the Guard. He shirked that responsibility. When he was supposed to be working on that campaign in Alabama--his excuse for not fulfilling above duty--he didn't show up for work on time. When he was Gov. of Texas, he had a MORAL obligation to review death penalty cases. He had 15 minute talks with A. Gonzales--who also didn't do his job--and declared--they're guilty. He was warned beforehand that "Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S."----he had his mind on Iraq and mountain-biking and riding around in his PU truck in Crawford.

His daughters have graduated college, have no jobs--he most certainly hasn't mentioned military service to them--passing along the legacy of ducking responsibility.

The man is LAZY. He is just a puppet, surrounded by the wrong puppet masters, who are pulling the wrong strings. And, we are paying for his irresponsibility in DOING HIS JOB.

And, the ones I blame the most aren't Shrub or the puppet-masters--but, those who voted for him. And, I'm sorry, but that includes the majority of the "troops" we ARE supporting--and the "weekend warriors" who now have to earn their pay--by paying for Bush's screw-ups.

He WON'T take responsibility until he's forced to take responsibility, and that won't happen until WE impeach and indict the Chimp.

Edit to Add: The PEOPLE vs. GEORGE W. BUSH---that's what we need to be reading in print.

[indepat]

5. All the damning information and evidence in the exhibits will be turned on

bleeding-heart, pinko, commie-loving, soft-on crime and terrorism un-American, unpatriotic liberals.

[DinahMoeHum]

7. Bush has run away from responsibility all his fucking miserable life.

He wouldn't know responsibility if it smacked his ass and called him Sally.


:argh:

[wicket]

8. Great post Earl!

kicked and nominated

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[Q]

9. The American Nationalist, Corporate Media also needs to do the same...

...The American Media needs to take responsibility for helping Bush push his insane war and for demonizing anyone in opposition.

And then they should apologize to the American people for being nothing more than stenographers for the Bush White House Talking Points.

[hippiechick]

10. Kick ...

...and emailed to all my friends & co-workers.

:applause:

[kentuck]

11. The Democrats had the perfect opportunity to point this out....

with Karl Rove's remarks about the "liberals" the other day. He more or less admitted it was all Bush and the conservatives idea to invade Iraq, even though many Democrats believed his lies and voted with him on Iraq. Even then, they did not give the president the authority to invade. He took that responsibility on his own.

[sellitman]

12. Kerry had the perfect chance to point this out.

He did a piss poor job. Only now is he coming to life. A day late and a dime short.:banghead:

[Nothing Without Hope]

35. I agree. The Dems have done a non-job in getting the truth to the people

and now, with the new DNC Ohio election report, they are STILL denying that there were enough "problems" in Nov 2004 to affect the election outcome. They are also still not talking about electronic election fraud - just those long lines that a lot of people already knows about. Fact is, even if those long lines are taken care of, the central machinery of election fraud is in place and will never allow democracy until it is dismantaled.

The DNC does not appear to be interested in this task.

We need to PUSH PUSH PUSH PUSH them. We can't just blithely assume that they will act for the greater good. Not any more. They've had plenty of time to do so, and they keep opting out. We have to rouse the public with the truth and push the Dems to do what is right.

[politicasista]

36. No, the entire Democratic Party had the perfect chance to point this out

Not just Kerry. Too bad they played right into the hands of Zippy and the Corporate controlled media with their piss poor punditry during the election.

[katinmn]

14. Right-O. They have been allowed to duck accountability

over and over again for misleading (read "lying") to the public and Congress and for being so confident and boisterous in their ineptitude.

Bush's speech tomorrow is going to repeat the same lame rap: Progress is being made, Democracy is on the march.

He will never willingly accept responsibility for any of the disastrous policies, both foreign and domestic.

We need to step up our communications with Congress and the media this week!

[xxqqqzme]

15. Among others things at our

Democratic booth @ the local swap meet, we have a 'The president is lying' sticker (we also have 'terminate the terminator' sticker & arNOld buttons). On Saturday, a woman passing by, noticed the items, did double take & doubled back. Gesturing to the table (all the while keeping a phone 2 her ear) she said, 'the reason people hate him is that he makes people take responsibility for their lives and it pisses them off' 'n walked away. As she turned, I - being totally confused by her remark, asked after her 'which one?'. I suspect she meant kommander kookoo bananas but w/ these dedicated koolaid drinkers - who knows?

one thing I know, the words 'responsibility' and b*sh in no way relate to each other.

[byronius]

30. Good God. Headless people, walking around.

Lost in their sick dream/nightmare where somehow John Wayne and Elvis gave birth to Jesus, and Jesus grew up knowing that all black people are lazy and steal -- after all, according to the KKK, 'Jesus did not choose non-white apostles!'

'Responsibility for their lives'. That woman had better hope her world-frame is an illusion -- because otherwise, she's goin' to the hot place. And I heard, the way they tell it, it's really, really bad. What a lunatic.

[Maestro]

16. Excellent post

Nominated, bookmarked and kicked. :kick:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. One more quote for you

Paul Wolfowitz, 2003

Wolfowitz: No, I think it happens to be correct. The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason,

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20030509-depsecdef0223.html

Wolfowitz in 01

September 25, 2001

The New York Times reports: “Senior Bush administration officials are still wrangling over whether there is evidence to implicate Iraq in the Sept. 11 attack on the United States, senior administration officials said today. Mr. Wolfowitz is said to be wedded to the position that Mr. bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network could not have carried out the attack without Saddam Hussein's help, the officials said.”<35>

http://www.ips-dc.org/wolfowitz/tl_01-05.htm

[nonconformist]

18. Recommending and bookmarking. nt

[dajoki]

19. you would think so

the man(and i use the word loosely) never had to take responsibility for anything his whole life. everything was always handed to him and he always f**ked that up. but daddy was there to bail him out.:puke:

[dhinojosa]

20. Good post...

I am going to email that to my amigos!

[Tinoire]

22. Thank you!

Their desire to foist this off on us must not stand!

:mad:

[Mich Otter]

23. Remember the PNAC-Clinton Letter

The Neo-Cons made their false claims about Iraq in the 1998 Letter to President Clinton. The URL is:
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm
The signers are an interesting, and detestable, lot. I think they have all been working in the Bush Administration.



January 26, 1998

The Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing you because we are convinced that current American policy toward Iraq is not succeeding, and that we may soon face a threat in the Middle East more serious than any we have known since the end of the Cold War. In your upcoming State of the Union Address, you have an opportunity to chart a clear and determined course for meeting this threat. We urge you to seize that opportunity, and to enunciate a new strategy that would secure the interests of the U.S. and our friends and allies around the world. That strategy should aim, above all, at the removal of Saddam Hussein

[hootinholler]

26. Ok, I think we need to be working on debunking this.

You may have seen it already, but in April the PNAC published Iraq: Setting the Record Straight, A Report of the Project for the New American Century, April 2005

Warning it's a 108 page PDF here.

I haven't been able to read it yet, but it seems to be preparitory in defense of the administrations actions.

-Hoot

[Hatalles]

31. There is also Richard Clarke's testimony...

... and didn't Paul O'Neil say something similar to Clarke about the Administration's focus on Iraq? This stuff goes hand in hand with the DSM.

There was also another PNAC document which stated the need for another Pearl Harbor to garner support for their policies.

[calimary]

24. Like this list, EarlG!

I see lots of other people here do (or is that DU) too. Well-deserved! And kicked. And nominated.

[paineinthearse]

25. * has the ultimate responsibility.

He's been in his stolen office for 5 years. Can't blame it on bubba any more.

[Mich Otter]

33. They do blame the real President, President Clinton.

The blame always goes to the top and every time I hear them blame Clinton, I get a little laugh because they're blaming a real President.
This POS we have in the White House now is mentally incapable of doing the job. He lacks the character needed to work with people and to learn from them.

POS= Piece Of Shit, in case anyone was wondering.

[Nothing Without Hope]

34. He's not even a good LIAR. Once the American people finally see through

him they will be poleaxed by the pile of crimes and incompetent messes this administration has created from our country.

Thank you for this.

[wicket]

37. kick

:kick:

[CWebster]

38. Why should he?

If no one is willing to hold him accountable, he gets away with it every time. Even when his numbers are tanking, those who do take swings at him are dismissed as purists, or marginalized as some whacko fringe who don't represent the majority.

Kerry stands on the Senate floor and STILL broadcasts claims on how "the mission" should be accomplished--but he never questions "the mission" other than in the most offhand way.

[Goldmund]

39. Excellent post

I'd add the "Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11" quote -- although the positive equivalent was never claimed in a soundbite, but by association.

[UrbScotty]

40. Thank you, EarlG.

You make excellent points.