Bush delivered a consistently mediocre State of the Union address this year. Even conservative George Will couldn’t hide his contempt on ABC’s post-game show. (I’ll send him a dollar if he’ll say so in a column.)
My favorite Bush line of all was this:
To date we have arrested, or otherwise dealt with, many key commanders of al-Qaida. They include a man who directed logistics and funding for the September 11th attacks … the chief of al-Qaida operations in the Persian Gulf who planned the bombings of our embassies in East Africa and the USS Cole … an al-Qaida operations chief from Southeast Asia … a former director of al-Qaida’s training camps in Afghanistan … a key al-Qaida operative in Europe … and a major al-Qaida leader in Yemen. All told, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. And many others have met a different fate. They are no longer a problem for the United States and our friends and allies.
Let me just turn on the translation matrix here for a little bit:
We’ve been whacking people right and left this year. Oh, I know, it’s still illegal for the US government to assasinate someone, but that “enemy combatant” thing’s worked out pretty nice so far, wouldn’t you say? Besides, this way I sound more macho—”assasinate” has so many esses in it you can’t help but sound like a sissy boy. (And anyway, if I don’t come out and say it, the damn liberals can’t bitch about how it’s illegal and how they’re just “suspected” terrorists. If they didn’t do it, how come Rummy thinks they’re guilty, huh?)
God bless America: land of the free, home of the brave.
Where does it say that it is illegal to assasinate someone?
It’s been illegal via executive order since the 1970s. Found details at http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,773574,00.html So no law on the books, but Bush did renew the executive order himself back when he first took office. It’s still illegal.
Can someone please put the current war with Araq into perspective for me? I want an objective perspective, if possible. Pro’s and con’s of going to war.
makingchutney.com does is not a subsidiary of Objective Perspectives™. You might try Alternet.
BUSH HAS KILLED AMERICANS JUST TO SATISFY HIS EGO AND TO NURTURE HIS BRUISED FAMILY PRIDE. HE HAS GIVEN OUR MONEY AWAY AND NEGLECTED NEEDY AMERICANS. WHAT COUNTRY DOES HE WANT TO BE PRESIDENT OF? IF HE WANTS TO DO SOMETHING GOOD WHY DOESN’T HE CLOSE THE BOARDERS? EVERYONE CANNOT LIVE IN ONE COUNTRY. THE MIDDLE EAST HAS A HISTORY OF KILLING OFF ONE ANOTHER. NOW THE UNITED STATES HAS A HISTORY OF SENDING THEIR YOUNG TO THE MIDDLE EAST TO DIE.