Not that I'm a big Al Gore fan but his little speech blasting Bush ("Real Gore") loudly proclaimed what many of us feel - that Bush et al have abused their positions, have abused the American Trust, and have made the world less safe. Critics of Gore cry that Gore should talk about honor when Clinton was getting some in that Oval Office.
But there's a big difference about getting head in the Oval Office versus lying to the American People and wasting *BILLIONS* of American dollars pursuing a private agenda.
In the '00 Election Bush criticised Clinton for spreading American forces too thin, of opening too many fronts. Bush said he wouldn't do that.
Bush get appointed President and starts his rampage of American pillaging when - BOOM! - 9/11. The entire world is shocked and outraged. Bush vows revenge on the terrorists behind the heinous act and the fingers point to Bin Laden. (Note, no mention of Bush ties to the bin Laden family).
Bin Laden apparently is hiding in Afghanistan supported by the Taliban. Bush says to the Taliban "GIve bin Laden up or else!" The Taliban tell Bush to do something nasty to a camel and in we go to Afghanistan. We have the support of the world as we go after the terrorist responsible for 9/11.
And this is where Bush blew it. He starts pointing fingers at Iraq. "Hussein has Weapons of Mass Destruction! He's going to use them against us ANY MOMENT NOW!!!" And with these cries of alarm Bush opens a second war in Iraq.
100 days later it's over. Hussein has been toppled. Life is good. The Iraqi people are ecstatic and quickly install a Democratic Government.
Except that last chunk of writing is pure fiction. It's not over. Hussein is gone - sure, but there's no Democracy in Iraq. The Weapons of Mass Destruction are like bin Laden, still not found and likely never to be found. Seemingly every day we have new revelations that Bush et al manipulated intelligence to fit their agenda.
We went from having the worlds sympathy to facing the worlds loathing, and we can't blame the French or the Russians. Only Bush and his cronies deserve the blame. By switching focus from bin Laden to Hussein, Bush lost the focus, lost the momentum, lost honor, lost credibility. He has brought disgrace to America and a new level of fear to the World. With the invasion of Iraq he has helped terrorist by giving them a cause to rally around. By not pursuing Bin Laden aggressively and persistently he has given the terrorists a leader to rally around. By taking the stance of proactively invading "threatening" countries Bush has placed America squarely as a target for the rest of the world, for if we have right to protect ourselves by aggression so does every other sovereign nation.
125,000 troops, $125 billions dollars, and Bush has no idea what he's doing in Iraq. You think that with those troops and that money, that Bin Laden could have caught by now?
And you have to wonder, if the EU and an Asian consortium demand that we disarm our WMDs or face military consequences would Bush comply? Would the King of the Hill allow himself to be brought down to the common level? Would the smirk and the arrogance disappear?
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