A Correction: Why Is Anyone, Including Someone With The Surname "Bush," Voting For Bush?
Just when you thought that the record of the Bush Administration could not possibly get any worse, they surprise you and achieve dramatic new lows. Today, October 25, 2004, the New York Times reported that the interim Iraqi government had reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency that approximately 380 tons of extremely powerful explosives known as HMX and RDX were simply "missing" from a huge Iraqi military facility known as Al Qaqaa. According to the Times, the missing explosives could fill a fleet of forty trucks. The explosives can also be used to detonate a nuclear weapon, and again according to the Times, the missing amount would be sufficient to function as the triggers for 380 atomic bombs.
This really happened. 380 tons -- missing. Poof! Just mislaid, disappeared. D'oh! Whatta ya know?
I fully expect that George Bush will convene one of his extremely rare press conferences tomorrow and announce that he is endorsing John Kerry for President. Bush will declare that even he is disgusted by the disastrous record of his own Presidency.
It is hard to know where to begin in contemplating the monumental catastrophe that this revelation entails. First, there is the question of why the facility at which these explosives were stored was never secured by U.S. troops after the invasion. This matter becomes even more inexplicable when one considers that the Al Qaqaa installation was, in the past, also the principal location of Iraq's nuclear weapons research facilities. Supposedly, this war was fought because the Bush Administration believed that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. One would have thought that having U.S. troops secure a facility such as Al Qaqaa would have been the top priority. We all know, however, what was the top priority of the invading forces: securing the offices of the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
Second, there is the matter of how the information about the missing 380 tons of deadly explosives has suddenly come to light. Apparently, Condoleeza Rice knew about the missing explosives sometime earlier this month (notably, the Times points out that it is not even clear that anybody even bothered to tell Bush about it). However, the information was not made known to the American public by our own government. Instead, the information came to light because the Iraqi government was required by UN resolutions to report such information to international weapons inspectors.
The description in the Times article about the reaction of Bush Administration to the news of the missing 380 tons is reminiscent of an Inspector Clouseau movie. They don't seem to have the foggiest idea what happened to these deadly weapons. We all recall that when Iraq was plagued by rampant looting after the invasion, Rumsfeld said that this was simply the flower of liberty, commenting, "stuff happens." 380 tons of lethal explosives: that's a hell of a lot of stuff.
It seems almost too horrifying to state the obvious, namely, that the 380 tons of deadly weapons are not only in the possession of the Iraqi insurgents who are killing our soldiers, but are probably now in the hands of Chechen murderers, Palestinian suicide bombers, and perhaps, even the successors to Mohammad Atta now planning a reprise of 9/11. And the Bush campaign has the gall to claim that their policies have made us all safer?
Anybody taking bets on when Bush will hold his news conference to announce his endorsement of Kerry?
This really happened. 380 tons -- missing. Poof! Just mislaid, disappeared. D'oh! Whatta ya know?
I fully expect that George Bush will convene one of his extremely rare press conferences tomorrow and announce that he is endorsing John Kerry for President. Bush will declare that even he is disgusted by the disastrous record of his own Presidency.
It is hard to know where to begin in contemplating the monumental catastrophe that this revelation entails. First, there is the question of why the facility at which these explosives were stored was never secured by U.S. troops after the invasion. This matter becomes even more inexplicable when one considers that the Al Qaqaa installation was, in the past, also the principal location of Iraq's nuclear weapons research facilities. Supposedly, this war was fought because the Bush Administration believed that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. One would have thought that having U.S. troops secure a facility such as Al Qaqaa would have been the top priority. We all know, however, what was the top priority of the invading forces: securing the offices of the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
Second, there is the matter of how the information about the missing 380 tons of deadly explosives has suddenly come to light. Apparently, Condoleeza Rice knew about the missing explosives sometime earlier this month (notably, the Times points out that it is not even clear that anybody even bothered to tell Bush about it). However, the information was not made known to the American public by our own government. Instead, the information came to light because the Iraqi government was required by UN resolutions to report such information to international weapons inspectors.
The description in the Times article about the reaction of Bush Administration to the news of the missing 380 tons is reminiscent of an Inspector Clouseau movie. They don't seem to have the foggiest idea what happened to these deadly weapons. We all recall that when Iraq was plagued by rampant looting after the invasion, Rumsfeld said that this was simply the flower of liberty, commenting, "stuff happens." 380 tons of lethal explosives: that's a hell of a lot of stuff.
It seems almost too horrifying to state the obvious, namely, that the 380 tons of deadly weapons are not only in the possession of the Iraqi insurgents who are killing our soldiers, but are probably now in the hands of Chechen murderers, Palestinian suicide bombers, and perhaps, even the successors to Mohammad Atta now planning a reprise of 9/11. And the Bush campaign has the gall to claim that their policies have made us all safer?
Anybody taking bets on when Bush will hold his news conference to announce his endorsement of Kerry?
posted by democratic core at 5:42 PM
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