If Civilization is Really At Risk, Are Bush, Cheney & The Neocons the Only People "Smart" Enough to Realize it?
Bush has been telling us for years that the "War on Terrror" – of which he purports to distortedly think Iraq is a component – is a war for the survival of civilization.
If we were truly engaged in a war for the survival of civilization as we know it, wouldn’t we all be willing to do everything necessary to preserve it? And wouldn’t our allies do the same?
If we were truly engaged in a war for the survival of civilization as we know it, why is this something only believed by Bush, Cheney, and their cabal of neocons?
If we were truly engaged in a war for the survival of civilization as we know it, wouldn’t the evidence be so overwhelming that the American public would be clamoring for action?
Wouldn’t citizens of the UK, France, Germany, and all other western countries be jumping on board to protect civilization?
Bush’s Has Been Telling Us for Years that Civilization is at Risk
He didn’t mention "civilization" in his speech last week, but he was clearly implying that it is at risk
Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror -- and our safety here at home. The new strategy I outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help us succeed in the fight against terror.
If civilization were at risk, wouldn’t Bush’s European lapdog, Tony Blair support him?<<br>According to the
BBC,
Tony Blair has implied no more UK troops will be sent to Iraq, despite a commitment from the US to send another 20,000 soldiers to Baghdad.
If we look back at some of Bush’s earlier speeches, we can see that he has been fairly consistent at painting the Iraq war as equivalent to the war on terror and that failure means we will lose civilization as we know it.
For example, in Bush’s Address to the Nation on Monday, September 11, 2006, he directly addressed his position that civilization is at risk -- he indicated that "success" in the war in Iraq was necessary to the future of civilization:
This struggle has been called a clash of civilizations. In truth, it is a struggle for civilization.
blah, blah, blah
At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when the people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the fertile gardens of liberty and resume their rightful place in a world of peace and prosperity.
CNN summarized this speech as saying:
President Bush told the American people Monday night that the country faces "a struggle for civilization" as it fights the war on terrorism sparked by the 9/11 attacks five years ago.
In an address from the Oval Office, the president stressed the necessity of victory, tying together conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq to Lebanon as a "struggle between tyranny and freedom" that rivaled World War II.
"The war against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century and the calling of our generation," he said
In a speech he gave at the Air Force Academy in June 2004, he said:
The enemies of freedom are opposed by a great and growing alliance. Nations that won the Cold War, nations once behind an Iron Curtain, and nations on every continent see this threat clearly. We're cooperating at every level of our military, law enforcement and intelligence to meet the danger. The war on terror is civilization's fight. And, as in the struggles of the last century, civilized nations are waging this fight together.
I could go on and on with examples of Bush telling us that "victory" in Iraq is necessary to the survival of civilization.
If Bush is Right, Why Isn’t Every other Western Country Jumping on the Bandwagon?
If withdrawing from Iraq would really lead to the end of civilization as we know it, wouldn’t members of the UN security council be adamant that the US stay?
Wouldn’t other western nations be lining up troops to assist in securing Iraq?
Wouldn’t they be begging us to increase our troops?
Wouldn’t Bush himself think the situation so dangerous that he would do anything to succeed including instituting a draft and increasing troop levels well beyond 20,000? Wouldn’t he put 200,000 troops in there? Whatever was necessary? For as long as necessary?
And if it were so obviously important, would members of Congress on both sides of the aisle be so adamantly opposed to it? If they saw evidence, top secret evidence that we don’t see – that supported the President’s premise that the end of civilization is near, wouldn’t they be willing to do anything to preserve civilization?
It Doesn’t Matter Anymore – Bush has Failed & His Failure has Damaged The Country and the World
The truth is that it doesn’t really matter if he is right or not.
If he is right, then he has failed to make the case. He has failed to make the American people and our allies understand it. That means that he is a failure as a leader because he has failed to rally his troops.
If we believed he was right, we would all support actions to preserve society. Just as we did in WWII.
Perhaps we don’t believe him because he has cried wolf once too many times. If so, then he is still a failure as a leader. He mislead his people and could never correct his course. And the American people tend to be very forgiving.
So even if Bush is right, he will never succeed at convincing us to follow him. A leader without followers is no leader.
If Bush is wrong, which I believe he is, then he is either a liar or an incompetent. Neither of which are characteristics of a leader.
So, if he is wrong he is no leader.
Either way, all that he will have proven at the end of 8 years is that he is not a leader. That instead he was either dishonest or incompetent.
Either way he has done great damage to this country and to the world.
He has made all of us less safe than we were before he was President. He has made each of us less free than we were before he was President.
The Bush Presidency has been a complete failure. He has not just failed the American people, but his failures extend to the world around us. He has damaged our country, our people, and our world.>
He is most certainly the worst President in history. But knowing that provides no consolation. We need to repair the damage he has done. We need to start making reparations as soon as possible. Two years may be too long to wait.
I have been arguing against impeachment here.
I have thought it wrong for the Democrats in Congress to start chanting about impeachment.
I thought it would be better for them to just make the case – to give the American people the facts. That if they did that, the American people would clamor for impeachment.
Well, based on Bush’s latest plan to escalate the war in Iraq AND his willingness and insistence to do so even though the public and his military and other experts have advised against it.
Given that Maliki has shown that he is not interested in supporting American efforts to create a unity government but instead wants to create a Shi’ite government – something Bush seems to either not notice or not understand the consequences thereof.
Hearing Cheney characterize the November elections as nothing more than an opinion poll – and then discounting it further by saying opinion polls change – and then going further to say that Congress did have a role in Iraq, but then limiting that role to their obligation to fund whatever effort the President wished to pursue – was the last straw.
I do not believe we can wait 2 more years. We need Congress to stand up. Democrats and Republicans in Congress and face this President. Tell him he is wrong. Refuse to cooperate or to be co-opted. Congress has an obligation to protect the troops and this country. They have an obligation to protect the Constitution over which this Administration has run roughshod.
Congress needs to start drawing up articles of impeachment.
Bush and Cheney’s acts of war against Iraq – and now possibly Iran – constitute treason. They have endangered our country and put our people at risk. They have ignored their constitutional duties, violated their oaths of office and violated federal and international laws.
We cannot afford to wait any longer.
God Bless America. We need all the help we can get.