A Washington, DC press photographer vents about the political wranglings in our Nation's Capital.
Divided, we fail
Published on November 21, 2007 By joe-pro-photographer In Politics
In my last political posting, I suggested Bush was one of the worst Presidents in history. My reasoning was straight forward: no matter what your position on the war in Iraq, his handling of the planning up to war, the execution of the war itself, and the poor after-thought about the conflict's aftermath, make him a nominee for Lousy Prez.

So, many more conservative bloggers took me to task on the intelligence leading up to the war. "No," they write, "hind sight is 20/20, and it's easy to see the intelligence was wrong after the fact."

The problem is,from the beginning, Bush forced the intel to fit his agenda. It's not me who says this, it's a chorus of people from both the right and left. David Kay, former head of the Iraq Survey Group, couldn't believe the lack of intel on WMD's when he started looking for WMD's after the conflict began. And although he had no intel, was given a rag-tag group to look for WMDs, he still thought the wMDs probably existed. As he dug into the reports, he understood how everyone was duped.

The Bush Administration relied on Iraqi exhiles to support the WMD beliefs. Some of these folks hadn't been to Iraq since the first Gulf War. Their intel was more than 10 years old. One was later arrested for accepting money from SH himself, under the oil for food program. He had been a regular visitor at the White House.

A leader doesn't take facts and fit them to his agenda. A leader evaluates facts and reacts to the facts. A leader inspires others to come forward and voice their opinion, even when that opinion is different from theirs. A leader evaluates his team, and watches for power hungry people who can't run their department (read: Rumsfeld), a leader works with the minority and incorporates their concerns, where possible, into his agenda. A leader works within the Constitution. A leader unites and inspires.

Bush did none of these. (Though whether he stepped out of the bounds of the Constitution is open to debate). He took a "you're with us or you're against us" approach.

The uniter turned out to be the ultimate divider.
Comments (Page 1)
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on Nov 21, 2007
We got an arsewipe in OZ who's as trustworthy/reliable....equally despicable, but this is a personal computing forum. Perhaps your thread could be relocated to general discussion.

Hopefully, though, we'll be rid of ours after Saturday.
on Nov 21, 2007
Saddam tried to kill George Bush senior.

George Bush Jr did what he had to to get Saddam. (Every man on the planet would probably do the same).

The aftermath he does not care about.

This is why the all the lies stopped after he got Saddam.

on Nov 21, 2007
yeap, nt's right. the invasion of iraq was a personal vendetta between saddam and dubya. there were no wmd's as the world was told. the entire war outside of afghanistan has been a mess. we should've invaded afghanistan to retaliate 9-11. i've been against the war in iraq since day 1. i support our troops 100% but not the war. keep in mind, my son is in the army at fort bragg. fortunately, he has not been deployed overseas.
on Nov 21, 2007

George Bush Jr did what he had to to get Saddam. (Every man on the planet would probably do the same).

If that's all it was then the little dweeb should have done it personally...grow some 'nads and be a man, Bush, instead of snuffing out the lives of US servicemen [and others] just because some schoolyard bully picked on his dad.

"you pick on me and I'm gonna beat you up..."

"you and whose army?"

"exactly"

Bloody children.... but they're playing for keeps.

on Nov 21, 2007
Hopefully, though, we'll be rid of ours after Saturday.


You've got elections this Saturday? Please, Please, Pleeeeeaaaase get rid of Jonny!!

I will cross my fingers this weekend.
on Nov 21, 2007
I'm not in the mood to discuss this topic. I was just wondering why it is still in the Personal Computer area...
on Nov 22, 2007
Bush has conviction and I support our admin 100%... and I don't care who knows I think that.  
on Nov 22, 2007
I can tell I am going to be unpopular here. Fact one...you have had your vision and minds blurred. In the week leading up to the invasion Hans Blix ,himself, uncovered a long range missile producing facility complete with an engine testing section that was still in full production. These missiles were WMD. They breached the agreement and they argued the point when told to destroy them. The range made Israel easily within their capability. Engines being tested would have given these weapons a greater range. We know that WMD existed as Halabja proved. We know from the women scientists that Biological warfare materials were still being produced and worked on. We know that Saddam put everything on hold until the Inspectors had gone and then he planned to reactivate ALL programs. We know, as the UN Inspectors list shows, that there was still a long list of weaponry that Iraq had failed to reveal or prove destroyed. It does not take an Einstein to work out that the materials could easily have been transported out of Iraq to...say...Syria. Syria was where many regime members fled to. Perhaps the WMD were the fee for safehaven.  
on Nov 22, 2007
In my last political posting, I suggested Bush was one of the worst Presidents in history.


No way, Carter comes in at a close second and he was worse than Bush will ever be.
on Nov 22, 2007
Saddam tried to kill George Bush senior.


Might I remind everyone that this was an act of war. It was also a direct violation of the terms of the Ceasefire.

Joe: Do you recognize any responsibility or authority of the United States to enforce the ceasefire of 91?
on Nov 22, 2007
I agree with this Bush Bashing no matter where I find it. I have been told by soooooo many people that they didn't vote for Bush, if that is the case then who voted him in? I will bet no one wants to admit they did.
Four years was all we should have put up with from the start.
Since President Clinton left office it's become harder for the poorest to get anywhere.
There are no jobs, no one can live on min. wage unless they live with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and perfect strangers.
Gas prices have just gone nuts and the war is part of that problem.
We are a country that is Trillians of dollars in debt again.
People are losing their homes.
Elderly and disabled do not have enough money to live on, and people in general are losing their collective minds trying to help them.
Our children are losing access to medical care and education that they need and the same for the elderly and disabled.
I am sick of what I see in our country right now.
I can not wait for election time and help us all if we don't find someone who can fix this mess and fast.
This country hasn't even found a way to rebuild New Orleans, calif. is burned to a crisp, this stuff stays in the back burner because the government is spending millions of dollars to keep a war going, and keep our men and women in other countries just to try to keep a lid on everything they can.
It's a question of when you pay your taxes, what do you really want to pay for?
Better schools, roads, medical care for everyone, better wages and more jobs?
I don't know about you but I see some very unhappy americans right now and no bright future in sight. People just don't like what is going on in our country but no one is listening, and Bush is deaf to our cries for humanity
Humanity At Home, Help At Home, Justice At Home and a Future That looks a whole lot better than what we are seeing right now.

on Nov 22, 2007
START OF RANT

DO NOT KID YOURSELF

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. "

OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL and who controls it......

Bush is controlled by forces we can't imagine.

If this movie was real Bin Laden would be dead. You can't tell me that with all the resources available to the U.S. government they can't get this son of a bitch?

What is going on?

LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES LIES are what we are fed.

This is an agenda that is by and for the rich. What else can explain this madness?

This administration is against universal health care and tells people that they should save their own money for retirement. They have raped Social Security. They are liars and care little about the common man. They speak with a forked tongue.

THE NATIONAL DEBT IS 9 TRILLION DOLLARS AND THEY TALK ABOUT THE COMMON MAN BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS OWN MONETARY WELL BEING!

Bush has said that he doesn't care about opinion polls. He says history will judge him. History has a tendency to a be harsh critic. I think Bush will be damned by history.

END OF RANT

on Nov 22, 2007
They have raped Social Security


sorry this one is the congress not the president. and mostly the democrats since they were in control of the congress for 40 years straight.
on Nov 22, 2007
Ummm, Bush and his Dad never really got along... Bush Jr. kept embarrassing him by blowing family money on failed business ventures in Texas, so I kind of doubt Bush Jr. would risk impeachment for his Dad. Oil, well, the Bush family made their money in oil. First in drilling equipment, then in drilling for oil but that is a red herring. Oil is on the way out, as the fuel that drives our engines and economy. The real reason is hidden in 'where' Iraq lies.
There is a lot of oil beneath the sands of Saudi sands, but there is one thing that lies beneath those sands there is more of than oil. Gas,(not what the kind we will all be letting on Thanksgiving night) is why we are in Iraq. Right now there a huge reserves of propane gas beneath the sands of Saudi Arabia. When the oil wells run dry, and cars are all hybrid Saudis do not want to loose the flow of cash that they have become addicted to. Now, you can't pump gas on to a tanker and ship it all over the world, gas has to be sent via a overland pipeline. Iraq (and Afghanistan) stood between the Saudi's LPG (Liquefied Propane Gas) and their customers in Europe and Russia.
In order for the Saudi's to get their LPG to their awaiting customers (and continued wealth) they had to find a way to get the pipeline through Iraq and Afghanistan. That was not going to happen while Sadam was in power (and the Taliban controlling Afghanistan), and the Saudi's have had the Bush family (especially Bush Jr.) by the short hairs since before George W was Governor of Texas. With Sadam out of the way and the US controlling the land they needed for the pipeline the Saudis could build their LPG pipeline through Iraq and Afghanistan and to their waiting customers.
For all those who doubt what I am saying (and I am sure that a great many will), just keep watching and reading the news. Soon it will become clear to everyone in America that our troops have been the unwitting tools of the Saudi's. The pipeline is already being built, and some of our returning troops are already talking about seeing the elements of the pipeline at the southern border of Iraq, prior to our 'Shock and Awe' campaign. When you consider that Saudi's already have more than one Trillion dollars tied up in our stocks and capital investments, it becomes clear that Bush really had no choice than to clear the way for their continued wealth and control over the 'Next' fossil fuel dependency.
Time will tell the tale, and history will prove that American treasure was spent (and America blood was spilled) all in an effort to make sure Saudi Arabia stayed rich long after all the oil was pumped from beneath those sands.


on Nov 22, 2007
Propane is a three-carbon alkane, normally a gas, but compressible to a liquid that is transportable. It is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing. It is commonly used as a fuel for engines, barbecues, and home heating systems.

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