Bush and McCain's Displaced Ardor for War
Arianna Huffington
The Huffington Post
When it comes to the war in Iraq, the president and the leading GOP contender to replace him seem to be stuck in a time warp -- tossing out applause lines from years gone by and using rhetoric drawn from the Dark Ages of the Iraq debate.
There was the president, cobbling his final State of the Union address from the yellowing pages of old speeches (perhaps his speechwriters, in sympathy with the WGA, have gone on strike). In lieu of new ideas, we got blasts from the past such as "jubilant Iraqis holding up ink-stained fingers," "we are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century," the obligatory mentions of 9/11, and the promise that "we will deliver justice to the enemies of America" (and somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan, Osama bin Laden does a spit take).
Bush also pulled out a pitch for the war that could have been uttered, unchanged, five years ago (and just might have been): "A failed Iraq would embolden extremists, strengthen Iran, and give terrorists a base from which to launch new attacks on our friends, our allies, and our homeland." The only things missing were 16 words on yellowcake from Niger and Colin Powell holding up a vile of baking soda standing in for anthrax. The problem is, our policy in Iraq has already failed, has already emboldened terrorists, has already strengthened Iran, and has already created a new terrorist breeding ground.
(Continued here.)
The Huffington Post
When it comes to the war in Iraq, the president and the leading GOP contender to replace him seem to be stuck in a time warp -- tossing out applause lines from years gone by and using rhetoric drawn from the Dark Ages of the Iraq debate.
There was the president, cobbling his final State of the Union address from the yellowing pages of old speeches (perhaps his speechwriters, in sympathy with the WGA, have gone on strike). In lieu of new ideas, we got blasts from the past such as "jubilant Iraqis holding up ink-stained fingers," "we are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century," the obligatory mentions of 9/11, and the promise that "we will deliver justice to the enemies of America" (and somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan, Osama bin Laden does a spit take).
Bush also pulled out a pitch for the war that could have been uttered, unchanged, five years ago (and just might have been): "A failed Iraq would embolden extremists, strengthen Iran, and give terrorists a base from which to launch new attacks on our friends, our allies, and our homeland." The only things missing were 16 words on yellowcake from Niger and Colin Powell holding up a vile of baking soda standing in for anthrax. The problem is, our policy in Iraq has already failed, has already emboldened terrorists, has already strengthened Iran, and has already created a new terrorist breeding ground.
(Continued here.)
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