Bush driven by his own scary agenda

http://www.adn.com/opinion/compass/story/9289843p-9204313c.html

Bush driven by his own scary agenda

Compass: Points of view from the community

By RUDY WITTSHIRK

Published: September 9, 2007
Last Modified: September 9, 2007 at 01:00 AM

President Bush claims U.S. troops in Iraq are fighting "the same people" responsible for 9/11.

Does it matter anymore what George W. Bush says -- or what he believes? The true extent of al-Qaida in Iraq could be useful information -- but the Bush administration "shapes" intelligence for public spin. The president and his homeland security chief, Michael Chertoff, are using the al-Qaida-Iraq connection to scare the American people with "gut feelings" of fear.

An alleged al-Qaida-Saddam connection was one of the original justifications for invading Iraq. The difference now is there are al-Qaida in Iraq. That's because Bush forgot to "stay the course" when he first promised to "get Osama." He was distracted by Iraq and failed to secure Afghanistan. This allowed Osama bin Laden and other 9/11 al-Oaida leaders to escape into the mountainous Pakistan border regions where they have since regained pre-9/11 capabilities.

Al-Qaida survived to fight another day because neoconservatives had convinced President Bush that invading Iraq (plus Iran and Syria) would secure America's energy future. While China and Russia were using smart diplomacy and friendly behavior to obtain favorable energy and pipeline deals in Africa and the Caspian regions, neoconservative "think tanks" were thinking up "pre-emptive" petroleum wars in the Middle East. snip

American casualties are precisely accounted for -- but the number of Iraqi casualties, though far greater, is officially nebulous. Iraqis killed in airstrikes are assumed to be "insurgents."

Understandably, most Americans want to "move on" from this horror show. But we can't get there from here. Too many Americans have invested significant economic, patriotic, cultural and religious beliefs in the Iraq War. Seventy percent of Americans favored the invasion for one reason or another.

In any case, Iraq is now crawling with insurgents. Some local insurgencies have joined up with al-Qaida but the numbers of foreign fighters are exaggerated. In the L.A. Times, Ned Parker reports, "Of the 19,000 'insurgents' held by the U.S. military in Iraq, only 135 are foreigners."

From a rational standpoint, every action taken by Bush has made things worse. But for the defense industries, the counterterrorism industries and the military support contractors every new Bush catastrophe brings greater wealth.

what they got in losing the war.

Msongs
www.msongs.com

what georgie's gut says.

he is not my president. period.