Lock him away to stop the next war
With his presidency reduced to a mess, George W. Bush may just
decide to lash out wildly at Iran
By Phillip Adams
04/18/06 "The
Australian " -- -- WE cannot wait any longer for
the impeachment of George W. Bush. Far more efficient to have
Bush certified. There is no need for further debate on his
mental state. The US President is bonkers.
Having turned the White House into a madhouse, having taken more
lunatic positions on more issues than any head of state since
GeorgeIII (are they, perchance, related?). GWB needs a long rest
and a change of medication. And it shouldn't be too hard to
guide him into a padded cell. Just tell him it's the
presidential bomb shelter.
Let's examine the symptoms of his mental decline. First, Bush
convinced Americans that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11. This is
something the poor fool might have believed, given a tenuous
grasp of geography, history and political reality. He then began
to hallucinate about weapons of mass destruction, despite the
evidence of Hans Blix and a multitude of others that there
weren't any. And he finally organised a tatty little alliance to
join him in the silliest war since Vietnam, one guaranteed to
recruit terrorists in unprecedented numbers.
Like Vietnam, the Iraq war was launched with presidential lies.
Like Vietnam, the Iraq war descended into a moral and military
quagmire. And if Iraq seems to be less of a stuff-up, consider
this fact: it's taken just three years in Iraq for US deaths to
equal the body count after six years in Vietnam.
Little wonder six retired senior generals have joined ranks with
the American public in condemning the war, or that the guru of
neo-conservatism, Francis Fukuyama, has broken ranks with the
likes of Charles Krauthammer and William Kristol in denouncing
it. Or that many in the Republican hierarchy have joined
left-wing critics denouncing the invasion as a mistake and a
failure, calling for immediate withdrawal.
When Bush was re-elected in 2004, this column suggested the
President would go on to blast Iran or have the job done by
Israeli surrogates. Both scenarios were dismissed as absurd and
alarmist. Now journalist Seymour Hersh's revelations of a US
plan to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, perhaps with nuclear
bunker-blasters, are causing national and international dismay.
They've also provoked anger among the Pentagon's highest-ranking
officers already enraged by Donald Rumsfeld's stewardship of the
Iraq invasion and occupation. Given Rumsfeld's clear contempt
for their opinions, they might well feel mutinous should he and
the Commander-in-Chief show further signs of strategic insanity.
But would that prevent air strikes by the Israelis? Given the
sabre-rattling by that ratbag in Tehran, what could hold Israel
back?
Bush is attempting to hose things down, but the world recalls
his endlessly repeated mantra before the invasion of Iraq.
Military intervention wasn't inevitable, just an option.
Now bleeding in the polls with mid-term elections looming, isn't
it possible that Bush might go for broke? Double or nothing? A
final, desperate throw of the dice?
Condoleezza Rice might join the Pentagon in trying to talk him
down. So, one hopes, would Tony Blair and John Howard. But did
Bush listen to reasoned argument last time? With a reckless,
irrational President, you've the perfect set-up for the tail to
wag the dog. As with 9/11, here's an opportunity for reality to
follow a Hollywood script.
Last week I discussed this scenario with Fukuyama. His initial
response was that Bush's political situation is too perilous for
such a tactic, that the US public and its media wouldn't
tolerate another Iraq. But bombing Iran's nuclear facilities
could be characterised as surgical. It might not need troops on
the ground and would certainly seem more relevant to the war on
terror than the neo-con adventure in Iraq. Fukuyama conceded
that such a strategy was possible.
And that possibility is more than enough. A lame-duck President
with the eagle as his symbol once again takes the role of hawk.
With his presidency a total mess, what's there to lose? So it's
time to certify the President. Yes, you'd have to certify his
equally deranged Vice-President as well. And toss in Rumsfeld to
keep them company. Along with anyone else in the administration,
the Congress, the Senate or the Australian parliament mad enough
to think Iraq a sane decision.
© The Australian
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