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Bush's Accomplishment by John M. Curtis Copyright
December 14, 2008 Making his last secret trip to Iraq, President George W. Bush, whose approval ratings hit the lowest in modern history at 25%, declared he’s pleased with the progress in Iraq. “This war is not over,” Bush told as select group of troops inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone. “It is decisively on its way to being won,” despite the suicide truck bombing killing 46 outside the fortress. Bush likes to tout his great accomplishment taking down Saddam Hussein April 9, 2003, one month before he declared, “mission accomplished,” flying onto an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego. Meanwhile, over 4,200 U.S. soldiers and tens-of-thousands of Iraqis have lost their lives in a power vacuum filled by foreign terrorists and a deadly insurgency in which Sunnis and Shiites unleashed age-old hatreds. Bush sees himself as the great liberator, while Iraqis have contempt for U.S. policies. Before embarking on his last Iraq tour, Bush told ABC News Dec. 2 his “biggest regrets” involved poor preparation for Sept. 11 and bad prewar intelligence about Saddam’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Bush, and his Secretary of State Condoleeezza Rice are trying to rewrite history, creating a favorable legacy for a failed policy, pushing the country into a stubborn recession. Nobel-winning Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz correctly identified the Iraq War as a major contributor of today’s recession. Bush refused during his presidency to acknowledge how the $12 billion a month price-tag downed the U.S. economy. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney gave a green light to the oil industry to gouge businesses and consumers. Years of inflated oil and gas prices also damaged the U.S. economy, pushing the country into recession. Bush talked Dec. 4 about how he received faulty intelligence on Iraq. When he was told in 2002 by chief U.N. weapons’ inspector Dr. Hans Blix that there was no WMD in Iraq, Bush insisted the U.S. could not sell its sovereignty to the United Nations.. Bush also wouldn’t listen to the best intelligence from the CIA, FBI, MI6, Mossad and German intelligence, preferring to cherry pick intelligence from a band of propagandists at the Pentagon headed by chief smoke blower Douglas J. Feith. Bush wants to pretend here received bad intelligence but the record clearly shows he ignored reputable advice and relied almost exclusively on the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans. None of Bush’s national security team, including Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who presented Feb 5, 2003 the White House case for war to the U.N. Security Council, got its intelligence from the CIA. Bush told U.S. troops he was “heading for retirement,” declaring the U.S. was “safer and more secure” than before the war. Yet terrorist data say otherwise, with al-Qaida, not Saddam Hussein, more operationally sound than they were at the time of Sept. 11. Bush leaves 150,000 troops in Iraq, diverting attention from Afghanistan. Since Cruise missile hit Baghdad March 20, 2003, over 4,200 U.S. deaths, more than 30,000 injuries and nearly $1 trillion have been spent on a war of questionable national security significance. Bush’s crowning achievement turned into his worst nightmare, sending both the economy and GOP into a tailspin. White House officials have only contempt for anyone suggesting the war and high oil prices pushed the economy to the breaking point. Bush has spent most of his presidency justifying the worst foreign policy blunder in recent U.S. history. Bush’s foreign policy team blasted President-elect Barack Obama for daring to urge timetables for exiting Iraq. Much of Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) criticisms centered on Barack’s date-certain for getting out. Bush and McCain accused Barack of “surrender,” despite the Nov. 17 security deal calling for U.S. troops to get out by 2011, only six months after Obama’s proposed deadline. Bush talks of his retirement while U.S. forces suffer, unable to complete the mission. From the get-go, U.S. troops were given a suicide mission, inserted into a bloody insurgency and civil war. Bush can’t admit that Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds want no part of a federal power-sharing government. Bush talks about “democracy” but doesn’t like or accept the outcome of elections in the Gaza Strip and Tehran, where they chose Islamic governments hostile to the United States. Sacrificing over 4,200 U.S. troops, costing nearly $1 trillion and breaking the U.S. economy, Bush seems resolved heading into retirement. While his retirement is secure moving into a tony Dallas neighborhood, his fellow citizens watch their retirements evaporate in the worst economy since the great depression. He handed off a losing baton to President-elect Barack Obama, who inherits disasters in foreign and domestic policy. His great accomplishment is disposing a ruthless dictator, whose brutal regime kept savage-like tribes from murdering each other. He gave Iraqis free elections but robbed them of security and amenities once known under the former U.S. ally that went to the gallows Dec. 30. 2006. Bush accomplished a lot enriching himself and his friends at the expense of the American people. While Bush touts his accomplishments, history says otherwise.John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma. |
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