I have not diaried much in recent months, but have mostly lurked. But reading the comments to Fishoutofwater's excellent diary Bremer's Letters Debunk Bush on Iraq Army Dissolution my blood boiled over on an issue that I have commented about many, many times before and finally decided to put up as a diary.
It is time for kossaks to stop making excuses for Bush. Kossaks do it all the time, and I am sick of it.
In FishOutofWater's excellent diary it is shown by means of Paul Bremer's letters from the time when he was head of the Coaliton Provisional Authority in Iraq that the White House was fully informed of Bremer's activities to remove all Baathists from civil service and dissolve and outlaw the military. This is presented to make the case that George Bush was lying when he said in an interview for a book that he did not know how it happened that the Iraqi military was dissolved, and that his policy was to keep the military intact.
And an excellent case it is. Bremer's documentation is conclusive. It is also highly plausible that the President of the United States knew and most definitely should have known that the Iraqi military was being dissolved.
Well, you should have read the comments. And this is not an isolated incident. This has been going on for years now here on dailykos, and it has always made me sick. This is just the straw that broke the camel's back and motivated me to write this down in a diary.
When are people going to realize, I mean finally realize, I mean confront the stark reality head-on, that George Bush is not incompetent, not stupid, is not in denial, is not drunk, is not being manipulated by others, is not a helpless fool, is not lazy, is not careless, is not detached, is not uninvolved, is not bumbling, is not "in a bubble," is not "out to lunch," is not an idiot, is not in a medication induced haze, is not uninformed, is not helpless, is not concerned about his legacy, and is not upset about how badly wrong things went in Iraq.
George Bush oversees the most massive transfer of billions and billions of taxpayer funds to a small group of private industry in the energy, construction, defense technology, security, and logistics sector whose loyalty, devotion, and money will be enjoyed by him and all his team players for the rest of their lives. The team players include upper level military management who take advantage of their positions and parlay them into jackpot retirement packages as consultants, directors, and principals of companies in this group. To them, to all these companies, their upper level employees, their families, George Bush has not just been an amazingly wonderful president, he has been the windfall of a lifetime.
This massive transfer of money is so big, and the money is so good, and the rewards are so great, that the entire enterprise just keeps going for as long as it can. They are operating like a gambling joint that has been told by the sheriff to shut down. They just keep operating because the money is too good. They tell their lawyers to file motions in court and delay the inevitable. They won't shut down until the sheriff actually comes in and hauls away the slot machines.
This is why it has been quite clear for at least the last three years (and to some people it has been clear for a lot longer) that the administration has simply been playing for time in advancing one excuse and one reason to stay after another. The "shifting rationales" are advanced simply to play for time. A recent ploy was: "If you don't believe me, listen to General Petraeus on September 15," and of course, September comes around and we find another distraction, another excuse, another PR campaign. They are playing for time, and time is money! Great money! Really really great money! Really big, big bucks! Every day!
And this is why the geo-political issues are of little concern, and why the failed state of Iraq is of no concern, and why the humanitarian mysery is of no concern. They know that with the 2008 elections the gig will be up, everything will turn over, all the contracts will come to an end, we will get out of Iraq one way or the other, and the gravy train will come to its final destination. Fine. All we need to do now is clean up any evidence, make sure everybody "forgets" everything, and stall and kill any investigations that might lead to criminal cases under a new administration.
It was great while it lasted, and we will all go home and finally get to count the money. What a heist.