Last November I was shocked to read a Washington Post editorial by Richard Cohen, where he wrote:
"One could almost forgive President Bush for waging war under false or mistaken pretenses had a better, more democratic Middle East come out of it."
I dashed off an LTE pointing out the moral and intellectual failure of allowing the ends to justify the means. In true form of how the Washington Post handles email, three months later I received this confirmation of receipt:
"This is an automatic reply to let you know that we have received your letter to the editor and are considering it for publication.... "
Whereas certain Wapo defenders would say "better late than never!", the more appropriate cliche is "justice delayed is justice denied".
Today we witness a tiny dim bulb coming on in Richard Cohen's head. Heaped under a preponderance of evidence, he is forced to agree that Bush wanted to go to war with Iraq long before there was a provable justification. However, there are limits to what uncomfortable truths Cohen can digest, as seen with this contorted bit of illogic and misdirection:
"None of this necessarily means that Bush doctored U.S. intelligence to make a purposely false case that Iraq was seething with weapons of mass destruction. There is plenty of evidence that others in the administration -- Dick Cheney, in particular -- exaggerated such that their pants must have caught fire, but nothing so far proved that Bush knew he was making a false case."
I just can't stop myself from sending the following snark letter to the slow kids who run the op-ed page:
To The Editor:
In regard to the Richard Cohen editorial published today (3/30/6) entitled "Bush Wanted War"; I am impressed with Mr. Cohen's ability to bring together hundreds of statements and thousands of facts that enabled him to finally reach the conclusion that George W. Bush sought war with Iraq since the earliest days of his administration. Certainly Mr. Cohen would have changed his opinion earlier, had he not been so numbed by the barrage of undisputable evidence.
I am now saddened that Mr. Cohen's keen insight is wasted at the Washington Post Opinion Page. Perhaps there is a house of ill repute in Washington that desperately needs a piano player who is so in touch with reality.
Regards,
-lono-