Bigfooting the General
14 September 2007 7:39 am by Taylor Marsh
It’s hard to understand why Mr. Bush stepped on the message of his own general
who had provided him with cover. After all, by most accounts, at least on the
Republican side, Petraeus’s performance in both hearings convinced Republicans
to stay the course with the boss. So when Bush walked out last night and started
rambling, not only did he undercut a man who commands a lot more respect, but
he had the hubris to postulate an "enduring partnership” with the
Iraqis, who at this point in time don’t even have a cohesive government with
which to make such a deal.
Then Bush muddied the waters further. On the one hand, he has a "vision
for a reduced American presence" in Iraq. On the other hand, he foresees
a need for "U.S. political, economic, and security engagement that extends
beyond my presidency," and he talked about building "an enduring
relationship" between the United States and Iraq.What is this enduring relationship? What does it require, in the way of troops,
bases, and other resources? What other countries or international agencies
will be involved? Do the relationship’s elements include stepped-up diplomacy
with Iraq’s neighbors? None of these vital questions was broached, much less
answered.
There were so many ridiculous moments in the speech it’s hard to pick one that
stands out. But Think
Progress nailed Bush on a particularly
egregious claim, levity provided by Chris Matthews (video above), with fact
checking actually done by the AP.
BUSH SAID:
"We thank the 36 nations who have troops on the ground in Iraq and the
many others who are helping that young democracy."FACT CHECK:
There may well be 36 nations contributing to the cause, but the overwhelming
majority of troops come from the United States. For example, Albania has 120
soldiers there and Bulgaria has 150 non-combat troops in Iraq. Bush visited
both nations this summer as a thank you.The United States has 168,000 troops in Iraq.
However, none of this seems to have bothered the Washington
Post editorial board monkeys. War without end seems to be fine
with them.
