Bush Announces new Same Old Strategy

In a 20-minute speech (see transcript) that was even worse than I imagined, Bush repeatedly lied, minced words, and sounded — in substance — as if he must have been hallucinating.

Basically, the president said that NOW, what didn’t work BEFORE WILL work, because “in the past we attacked and killed insurgents and then we’d move on and they would return.”

Probably the dumbest thing he said, though, was “the terrorists and insurgents are without conscience.” Is he saying that every non-Christian is a terrorist?

Of course, he proceeded to “encourage” Congress’ input, citing “good Congressmen” like Joe Lieberman — there was a series of statements that should have ended “and then laugh in your face,” i.e. “We will listen to your suggestions…..

Most disconnected was Bush’s continued oblivion to the fact that, the mere basics — regular electricity, etc, is still out of whack throughout Iraq.

Other notable lies, poor use of language, and hallucinatory allusions:

— An early mention of 9/11
— Numerous butcherings of “freedom” (in Iraq, to some extent “freedom” would imply freedom from American occupation).
— The misuse of the term “strategy”
— Somethign about Al Qaeda wanting to take over Anbar province
— stating that most Sunnis and Shiites just want to live together in “freedom.”
— one use of the word “nucular” — in reference to keeping Iran from going that way.

He keeps saying this is important to secure our liberty and freedom as Americans and, man, I just can’t even try to understand how anyone can be getting that. I feel damn free, and as long as we’ve still got some liberty let’s feel free to get out of the mess we made swiftly. The pure idiocy of nearly everything Bush said is just downright insulting. My thoughts go out to the troops and their families. This is bullshit.

John Gilmore’s Airport ID SCotUS Challenge Fails

Thus ends — onen would think — Gilmore’s valiant effort to uncover a secret law. Read the article:

The Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a challenge to the federal government’s policy of requiring airline passengers to show identification before they board flights, spurning arguments that the well-known but unpublished policy would lead to more secret laws.

My interviews with Gilmore are here and here.

Hussein-o-vision: Citizen Video Undermines State Rhetoric

saddam hussein is hangedIn a backhanded testament to the usefulness of citizen journalism as a voice of dissent, the Iraqi government announced the arrest of (up to three?) two guards and an official who supervised the hanging in connection with the unauthorized videorecording of Saddam Hussein’s execution. The video, apparently made by cellphone, was posted to the Internet on Saturday.

While it appears that a low level guard stands to be charged (name[s] of the arrested have yet to be released), Will Bunch and others find reason to believe the guilty party to be none other than Iraq Nat’l Security advisor Mowaffak Al-Rubaie, the virtual equivalent of the White House’s Stephen Hadley. Oh, the irony of an investigation of a sensitive and untimely leak — this time, not Bush needing to point his finger away from Hadley, but al-Maliki needing to find a scapegoat for his rebel with or without a cause.

While al-Rubaie was installed mostly at the discretion of the U.S. — al-Maliki’s insistence on interrogating and bringing justice to whomever posted the video is yet another example of his unwillingness to cooperate with U.S. interests and to foster his own independence from being the partner that the Bush Administration has so fervently tried to create. It’s now crystal clear that Maliki has little interest in appeasing the U.S. — after all, he has his own life and family to protect while posing as a crucial figure in a civil war and, as the BBC reports, he just wants his nightmare term as PM to end.

Josh Marshall is tracking all developments on this story at Talking Points Memo.

forget it or not

Here’s to kissing 2006 goodbye. Let’s not miss it or forget to remember it. After all, history cannot pass judgment on its domain, contrary to popular belief.

Symbols leave there mark. Imagery and circumstance is what defines the times. Therefore, while little reason remained for anyone in the world to appreciate Saddam Hussein, one (of 1 billion or so Muslims worldwide) might find it insulting to lynch a former head of state on the eve of a major Muslim holiday.


Eid ul-Adha
. A Muslim holiday celebrating Abraham’s sacrifice of Ishmael to God. You’d think a so-called “born again” Christian could respect this, but then again, George W. himself might regret being considered within his family the expendable son to brother Jeb’s Isaac. The symbolism is just sickening. If he so wishes to be judged by history — let him at least BE history.

This is also a message for any hopeful candidates out there who wish to join Jalal Talabani and Hamid Karzai as U.S. approved temporary leaders for GWoT countries. We created Saddam too. And then hanged him.

As the death toll in the War on Terror since the war began in Iraq in March 2003 likely breaks 3,000 today, here’s a dramatic image reflecting Bush’s impression throughout the world of conflict.


A Kashmiri protester shouts slogans behind a fire from an effigy of U. S. President George W. Bush against the execution Saturday of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein , in Jammu December 31, 2006. (Amit Gupta/Reuters)

UPDATE: Marc Lynch posts reactions to the timing of the execution with Eid.

Anger over the timing has probably overwhelmed any other sentiment (with “it doesn’t change anything, Iraq is still a mess” coming a close second).