Are we getting used to this?
“Judge Mukasey is not being treated fairly,” the president said, after taking the extraordinary step of inviting a group of reporters into the Oval Office to vent his feelings. Sitting behind his desk and leaning back in his chair, Mr. Bush said he was concerned that some people may have “lost sight of the fact that we’re at war.”
We’re at war, so we have to give the president everything he wants. The problem the president has is that he is a torturer. He wants us to overlook the fact that he has sullied our country with a reputation for torture.
“People who say we are not at war are either disingenuous or naïve,” Mr. Bush said at another point.
No one has suggested that we are not at war. We have suggested that you end the war. And none of this is relevant to whether you should be imprisoned for being a torturer.
“If the Senate Judiciary Committee were to block Judge Mukasey on these grounds, they would send a new standard for confirmation that could not be met by any responsible nominee for attorney general,” he said in a speech before the Heritage Foundation. “And that would guarantee that America would have no attorney general during this time of war.”
We have an acting Attorney General. Think about what you are saying, Bush. You are saying that no Attorney General could ever say that torture is torture. That’s what you are saying.
Meanwhile, Dick Cheney continues to obfuscate:
“They’ve been carefully reviewed by the Department of Justice and are very carefully monitored,” Mr. Cheney said of the techniques, in an appearance before the American Legion in Indianapolis. “The program is run by highly trained professionals who understand their obligations under the law. And the program has uncovered a wealth of information that has foiled attacks against the United States; information that has on numerous occasions made all the difference between life and death.”
Was Torquemada a ‘highly trained professional’, too? Imagine all the excellent intelligence Torquemada gleaned from those poor, desperate Jews and Moors.
The confirmation hearings are bringing reality back to the front. Our president is a torturer. Our vice-president is a torturer. Anyone that wants to be our chief law enforcement officer should admit as much.
“People who say we are not at war are either disingenuous or naïve,” Mr. Bush said at another point.
‘Disingenuous’…. I’ll bet THAT word took a lot of practice before whipping it out in public! Must have called Mommy half a dozen times to check…
At least he used it correctly, which is a bit of a rarity these days. Kudos to whomever was programming the teleprompter.
I would, however, say that we are not at war in any modern sense of the word. We have a bunch of troops getting their asses kicked on the other side of the planet, but modern wars involve the near-total mobilization of national resources. Our troops may be at war, but we are not.
And that, and not the conduct of Congressional hearings, is why we are losing. It is why we lost Vietnam, and why the Korean war ended with more or less the status quo ante bellum. Limited wars of that sort are not winnable, because you are always up against an opponent who is fighting a total war. While this war was lost beyond any possible hope of victory at Abu Ghraib, the groundwork was laid when the President demanded a tax cut and ordered everyone to go shopping… for something other than war bonds.
I wonder how many times we have to repeat this scene before enough people realize that there is no such thing as a casual war.
Nah, he called Darth Cheney about its correct useage.
He is going to bat for an Mukasey because Mukasey is an enabler. Another version of Gonzo, but older and without the tan. How hard is it to respond to whether water boarding is torture or not..reminds me of the phrase “depends on what the meaning of “is” is”
He can’t afford to have an Attorney General of the United States who will say that a technique authorized by him is illegal.
He’s probably having visions of himself at the bottom of one of those naked guy pyramids.
IIRC on or about 9/11/01 there were an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 A.Q. in Afghanistan. That number may have quadrupled but by no means is there a threat that can take down the good ol USofA outside of Bush’s peabrained little head.
“Was Torquemada a ‘highly trained professional’, too? Imagine all the excellent intelligence Torquemada gleaned from those poor, desperate Jews and Moors.”
And you say I’M shrill?
my friend, welcome to the club!
was that shrill? I thought it was just on point.
I dunno. I’m not the best judge: what others think is shrill, I think is just plain speaking.
what’s up with your Rambo brother? Does he think he is Charles Bronson?
I don’t think it’s all that Rambo except for the knife. I woulda done the same thing.
ray is awesome. I think you guys have met, but if you haven’t you should. You’d get along really well i think.