War criminal....

I (obviously) didn’t see Bush’s “9/11 address to the nation” last night, as I'm(thankfully!) out of the nation.

I heard snippets on the radio this morning, which were enough to put me off my feed. I could barely bring myself to read it in its entirety today.

I do not understand how anyone can be taken in by Bush! His nauseatingly overblown rhetoric is more appropriate to satirical works, like Orwell’s 1984, than to the speech of an honest-to-god sitting president.

Some quotes and my responses:

“Nineteen men attacked us with a barbarity unequaled in our history.”

No disrespect to those killed on 9/11/01, but America’s history is replete with barbaric acts, many perpetrated by its very own citizens. Against African slaves. Or Native Americans, who initially greeted European newcomers with generosity. Or Vietnamese peasants. The list is tragically long.

“Today, we are safer…”

Every objective measure challenges the veracity of that statement.

“Since the horror of 9/11, we've learned a great deal about the enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy…”

First, as Bush has reiterated ad nauseam, we have not suffered another attack on American soil since 2001, thanks to his glorious efforts to protect the Homeland. (Otherwise known as good luck.) So, wouldn't it be more correct to say “On 9/11, we learned”?

More importantly, since we had killed, as of October, 2004, more than an estimated 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians, wouldn't Bush’s words better describe us?

And finally, simplistically characterizing an enemy as evil killers is a timeworn propaganda tactic. I’m shocked anyone would be taken in by it.

“America did not ask for this war.”

Excuse me? America invaded an innocent country, Iraq, without provocation. (Twice, I might add.) And as for the attacks of 9/11, I abhor and condemn all terrorism, including those acts. But America's long history of meddling in the Middle East, arms sales, coups (such as the one that set up Saddam Hussein or the Shah in Iran), and partisan support of Israel against Palestine, made the US far from an innocent bystander.

“Every American wishes it were over. So do I.”

I seriously doubt that. The “War on Terror” is the primary means by which the Bush administration rammed through its radical authoritarian, proto-fascist agenda.

Not to mention, Bush, Cheney and their allies are making megabucks on the war and its historically high oil prices.

“Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone.”

Straw man argument. No one has seriously made such a ridiculous claim. Other than Bush and his supporters, in order to make their own points in the process of tearing it down.

“They are thrown into panic at the sight of an old man pulling the election lever, girls enrolling in schools, or families worshiping God in their own traditions. They know that given a choice, people will choose freedom over their extremist ideology.”

Give me a bucket, I'm going to hurl! If an Irish leader spouted such treacle, he or she would be jeered off the stage. Are Americans really so stupid?

“And then, on a bright September morning, it became clear that the calm we saw in the Middle East was only a mirage.”

Which calm was that exactly? The calm in Israel and Palestine? Or between Iraq and Iran? Or maybe the calm in Afghanistan under the Taliban? Oh, I know! The calm in Lebanon before Israel bombed the small country into rubble with US manufactured bombs, helicopters, and F16's last month!

“At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when the people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the fertile gardens of liberty, and resume their rightful place in a world of peace and prosperity.”

That Bush can utter such words, given the monumental amount of deaths and destruction he is personally responsible for in the Middle East, is truly astonishing. [Re-reading this a few hours later, I realise that while it's ungrammatical, it effectively communicates my sputtering outrage!]

"The attacks were meant to bring us to our knees, and they did, but not in the way the terrorists intended. Americans united in prayer, came to the aid of neighbors in need, and resolved that our enemies would not have the last word. The spirit of our people is the source of America's strength. And we go forward with trust in that spirit, confidence in our purpose, and faith in a loving God who made us to be free.

Thank you, and may God bless you."

Unfuckingbelievable. The nation's founders are rolling over in their graves.