Do you remember back in 2004 when those contractors were killed in Falluja and then their burnt bodies were hung from a bridge? You might remember it because Markos got in a lot of hot water for questioning why contractors got all the attention on a day when a bunch of lower paid soldiers got killed, too. In any case, the commanding general in Iraq at the time was Ricardo Sanchez, and he has a new autobiography out. It details how the president responded to the tragic events in Falluja.
During a videoconference with his national security team and generals, Sanchez writes, Bush launched into what he described as a “confused” pep talk:
“Kick ass!” he quotes the president as saying. “If somebody tries to stop the march to democracy, we will seek them out and kill them! We must be tougher than hell! This Vietnam stuff, this is not even close. It is a mind-set. We can’t send that message. It’s an excuse to prepare us for withdrawal.”
“There is a series of moments and this is one of them. Our will is being tested, but we are resolute. We have a better way. Stay strong! Stay the course! Kill them! Be confident! Prevail! We are going to wipe them out! We are not blinking!”
A White House spokesman had no comment.
I don’t know…it reads like a deranged and bloodthirsty rant. I can understand that the president was incredibly angry at the horrifying images from the bridge in Falluja. But this performance seems unhinged. Can you picture Eisenhower reacting this way? And then, of course, we leveled Falluja as soon as the election was over and dropped white phosphorus all over the place, which is technically a chemical weapon.
I really am ashamed of my country because of George W. Bush.
