Category: Sheer Idiocy

<![CDATA[Bush to Restate Terror Strategy:

President Bush issued a new national security strategy today reaffirming his doctrine of preemptive war against terrorists and hostile states with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, despite the troubled U.S. experience in Iraq.

The long-overdue document, an articulation of U.S. strategic priorities that is required by law, lays out a robust view of America’s power and an assertive view of its responsibility to bring change around the world. On topics including genocide, human trafficking and AIDS, the strategy describes itself as “idealistic about goals and realistic about means.”

The Bush Administration has shown repeatedly that it will rush headlong into events that it fails abjectly to prepare for, seeing only their imagined success rather than the reality of a situation. It’s statement about being realistic about means is PR, not policy.
With Iran singled out in the document (click here to get the PDF) as a threat and no significant forces available to widen the war in the Middle East, this is essentially a statement that the U.S. will consider using nuclear weapons against the country preemptively if Bush feels he has no other choice—and we know how often he can get so single-minded. We’re headed toward becoming the first country to use nukes offensively and, with Bush spreading nuclear technology in exchange for support in his mindless wars, this opens the door to many countries turning to nuclear weapons as a diplomatic and offensive weapon.
Very, very bad times. Getting worse.

Technorati Tags: Bush, nuclear, war

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<![CDATA[Bush Unaware of Ports Deal Before Approval – Yahoo! News:

President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.

In principle, I don’t have a problem with the ports deal if it was concluded legally. If we exclude companies because of their nationality, we’re getting to the kind of nationalist/racial fearfulness that this country has stood against internationally.
However, that the administration will turn around the day after President Bush defended the deal and say “he didn’t know about the deal,” compels me to point out that the President is where the buck stops and this is another example of the Bushies trying to have things both ways. If President Bush is going to make a politically unpopular deal—and defend it—he should also be taking responsibility for it.
I know, this is a country where, when the Vice President shoots someone in the fact and chest, that person apologizes to the Vice President.
Just when is this administration going to take responsibility for its actions? Hell, they won’t even stand up for their principles without hedging.
If, as reported elsewhere, the Saudi ports deal was concluded without the mandatory 45-day investigation of the companies involved, then the deal is illegal. I don’t suppose the President will be responsible for that, either.

Technorati Tags: accountability, Bush

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