I Hate What You Just Said

Dear Congress, MSM, Blogosphere, and all Fellow Human Beings:

Please, please, please, please don’t let this story fade away until we know for sure whether it is true.

And if it is true, please, please, please, please don’t let them get away with it. They have already gotten away with so much. Surely this would have to be the final straw, no?

A new book by the author Ron Suskind claims that the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein.

Suskind writes in “The Way of the World,” to be published Tuesday, that the alleged forgery – adamantly denied by the White House – was designed to portray a false link between Hussein’s regime and al Qaeda as a justification for the Iraq war.

The author also claims that the Bush administration had information from a top Iraqi intelligence official “that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion.”

P.S. - as I am writing this post, the big headline on CNN.com is “‘Astonishing’ gorilla find reported.”

John McCain’s stance on the war in Iraq just got bitchslapped by . . . the leader of Iraq:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months.

In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.”

I’m not really sure how McCain wriggles out of this one. If you disagree with the democratically-elected leadership of Iraq you end up looking like the imperial overlord. But if you change your position, now you’re a deceitful flip-flopper who caved in on the defining issue of your campaign. Good luck with that.

Sorry for the rather blunt title. But each day he seems to find a new way to prove it. In his column today, he takes on the new MoveOn.org ad.

He summarizes the ad this way:

The ad is simple. A mother speaks as she holds her baby boy:

“Hi, John McCain. This is Alex. And he’s my first. So far his talents include trying any new food and chasing after our dog. That, and making my heart pound every time I look at him. And so, John McCain, when you say you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because if you were, you can’t have him.”

Predictably, Kristol is offended by the idea of a mother not wanting her son to die in a phony war of choice, built on lies, mismanaged calamitously, and seemingly with no end in sight. I mean - the gall! How dare she?!

An example of the extreme dickitude:

Now it might be pedantic to point out that John McCain isn’t counting on Alex to serve in Iraq, because little Alex will only be 9 years old when President McCain leaves office after two terms.

Pedantic? You think?

Then he repeats this crap:

And it might be picky to remark that when McCain was asked whether U.S. troops might have to remain in Iraq for as long as 50 years, he replied, “Maybe 100” — explaining, “As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, it’s fine with me, and I hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world. …”

In other words, McCain is open to an extended military presence in Iraq, similar to ones we’ve had in Germany, Japan or Kuwait. He does not wish for, nor does he anticipate, a 100-year war in Iraq.

And the crescendo of dickness continues with this:

But it is surely relevant to point out that the United States has an all-volunteer Army. Alex won’t be drafted, and his mommy can’t enlist him. He can decide when he’s an adult whether he wants to serve. And, of course, McCain supports the volunteer army.

Right. Because that’s how that works, Bill. You dick.

In one brief column, Bill has reaffirmed that his views on the Iraq war completely disconnected from reality, that he is a snotty bastard, and that he believes (or more likely, is willing to pretend) that America has no class system. From Bill’s point of view, since there is no class system to worry about, and economic opportunities are open to all, the concept of an all-volunteer army is perfectly democratic and lovely.

I officially endorse the draft - of William Kristol.

And I stand by the title of this post.

Check out all of David Rees’ Get Your War On cartoons.

Jeff Jacoby, the Boston Globe’s token voice of the unhinged right wing, chastises George Bush and his administration in his latest column. Interestingly, he chastises Bush for not being Bushy enough.

(And the the timing of JJ’s column is just delicious, given today’s news).

To his credit, I guess, Jacoby makes the sound, if obvious point that the United States should do a better job of supporting brave dissidents who stand up to authoritarian regimes.

The rest of the column reads like the author’s application letter to an insane asylum.

The point? We need more Bush Doctrine, not less. More Iraqs, not fewer.

Bush was the leader who pledged at his second inauguration to support “democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” He let it be known that the truculence of rogues and dictators would not be indulged. “Some,” he said pointedly, “have unwisely chosen to test America’s resolve - and have found it firm.”

Whatever became of him? The president who in the wake of Sept. 11 posed a stark choice to the sponsors of jihadist violence - “You are either with us, or you are with the terrorists” - where is he now? And, more important, where is the foreign policy he once stood for?

For some time now it has been apparent that the Bush Doctrine - with the single exception of Iraq - didn’t survive the Bush presidency

So, let’s see then. The one place where the Bush Doctrine has been applied is Iraq. And what we need to do is to be more consistent in applying the Bush doctrine. Got it.

Then we can print up some more of these, and have some more of this and this, presumably.

As usual, JJ is dy-no-mite!