Bush: Iraq war 'a do-over I can't do'

[freegood]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/12/bush_iraq_war_a_doover_i_cant.html

Bush: Iraq war 'a do-over I can't do'

by Mark Silva

President Bush, who has occasionally lamented that he regrets some of the tough talk he uttered in the war on terror - terms such as "dead or alive'' or "bring 'em on'' - also allows that the flawed intelligence surrounding Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction was the "biggest regret of all the presidency.''

"I think I was unprepared for war," Bush told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an interview conducted at Camp David and airing tonight on World News. "In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack.' In other words, I didn't anticipate war.

"Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen,'' the retiring, 43rd president says in the ABC interview.

On that flawed WMD intel: "A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn't just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence.

"I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess," Bush added - asked if he still would have gone to war if he knew that Iraq did not possess those weapons. "That is a do-over that I can't do.''

Rest of article (http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/12/bush_iraq_war_a_doover_i_cant.html)

[riseabove!]

I saw this interview and let me say that when he said that he was disappointed that there weren't any wmds in Iraq i realized how much i'm going the guy

[Whiffleball]

I saw this interview and let me say that when he said that he was disappointed that there weren't any wmds in Iraq i realized how much i'm going the guy

Not so much genuine repentance as a Gaelic shrug.

From The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/dec/02/george-bush-abc-interview):

But, as always, it's when Bush talks about the hard work of presidenting that he really shines.

On holding fast to his principles and making tough decisionings: "The thing that's important for me is to get home and look in that mirror and say, 'I did not compromise my principles.' And I didn't. I made tough calls. And some presidencies have got a lot of tough decisions to make." That's right. Some presidencies do have tough decisions to make. And some presidencies don't, like the presidency of Millard Fillmore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millard_Fillmore), 1850-1853, often known as the "striped or polka dot pantaloons presidency".

On the Iraq war and the failure to find the WMDs that had been used as the rationale for war: "I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess. … That is a do-over that I can't do." Brilliant. No backsies or reversies, either – to the enduring misfortune of the Iraqi people.

On shirking responsibility for the economic crisis:You know, I'm the president during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realise a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in president, during I arrived in president. I'm sorry it's happening, of course. Obviously, I don't like the idea of people losing jobs or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people gotta know that we will safeguard the system. … And when people review the history of this administration, people will say that this administration tried hard to get a regulator. And there will be a lot of analysis of why that didn't happen. I suspect people will find a lot of it didn't happen for pure political reasons.
Not my fault – and anyone who tries to say otherwise is just a deranged partisan. And people try to say Bush isn't a true conservative!

On being the comforter-in-chief: "The president ends up carrying a lot of people's grief in his soul. … One of the things about the presidency is you deal with a lot of tragedy – whether it be hurricanes, or tornadoes, or fires or death – and you spend time being the comforter-in-chief." But don't cry for him, Argentina. And you, neither, America: "But the idea of being able to serve a nation you love is – has been joyful. In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad, but the spirits are up." Hallelujah. I'm no expert on the sacred and divine, but surely that all the grief-carrying hasn't weighed down the spirits is a modern-day miracle.

On why John McCain lost: "I think it was a repudiation of Republicans. And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me." Gee, ya think?

On his future plans: "I'm going to have a lot of time to think. My day is going to go from getting up early-early, and being at the Oval Office at 6:45am, and having a lot to do when you get there, to waking up at 6:45am, getting Momma the coffee – and kind of wandering around trying – 'What's next, boss?'" Thank Maude for brush-clearin'! And good news for you literate types: Bush is planning on writing a book, too.

That is, if he can find a publisher (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008360756_webbushmemoirs.html).

Perhaps he could generate some interest by breaking with presidential memoir tradition and penning a play instead: Exit the Lame Duck, Stage Right. Sounds good to me.

[taters]

No shit...who says you cant teach a mallet to lift nails?

[Genius]

With the shit he said about the war, how is this interview not dominating the news cycle? If he'd have made these same statements in 2005 or so, there would have been hard-line doves calling for blood (an interesting scenario), he could have stemmed the erosion of his approval rating, Congressional Democratic hopefuls wouldn't have been able to run on a nationwide anti-war campaign in 2006, and, since Obama wouldn't have been able to so effectively tie all Republicans to the sinking Bush ship, we might have a President McCain. But then, he would have lost his cowboy status, and we can't have that.

[tockit]

Bash Bush all you want!

Maybe the war was the wrong thing to do, maybe it wasn't? Time will soon tell.

If we are able to liberate Iraq and get their government going on its own, it would be an incredible asset to the world!

Lets face it, Iran is a time bomb, the India and Pakistan situation is a powder-keg that could explode at any given minute, and Syria is a haven for terrorist groups!

There is so much instability in that Persian Gulf that if things stay status quo, its just a matter of time before something catostrophic happens!

The more allies we have over there, the better.

Plus, you'll never convince me that Iraq didn't have WMD's prior to the invasion, and you can bet your last dollar that if Hussien (Sadam, not Barack) were still in power, he'd be stirring that pot like no tomorrow.

Also, for all the faults that Bush has, one thing that he has managed to accomplish which hardly ever gets mentioned, is that we HAVE NOT been attacked on our own soil since 911!

There's no telling how many attempts have been foiled under his watch, which in my book, is an extraordinary achievement!

I just pray that we can say the same thing 4 years from now!

[taters]

Maybe the war was the wrong thing to do, maybe it wasn't? Time will soon tell.


TIme has told. It was told before the war even began. Its was told with the (going on) 4000 american dead soldiers and 1+ million dead iraqis. Its being told when our economy went into the tank, and our position and respect around the world went into the toilet.


Anyone who cant tell that at this point must have a broken bizzaro world casio watch.

[Morfin]

Also, for all the faults that Bush has, one thing that he has managed to accomplish which hardly ever gets mentioned, is that we HAVE NOT been attacked on our own soil since 911!

There's no telling how many attempts have been foiled under his watch, which in my book, is an extraordinary achievement!

I just pray that we can say the same thing 4 years from now!

God, I hate myself for saying the following: I agree with tockit on this. This one point. And it is probably the only praiseworthy achievement of the Bush presidency, in my book.

[Genius]

Bash Bush all you want!
I didn't bash him at all!

Maybe the war was the wrong thing to do, maybe it wasn't? Time will soon tell.

He basically said he has no idea at this point. Which is a different answer than the previous eleventy-billion times that he said the war has been a dramatic success.

If we are able to liberate Iraq and get their government going on its own, it would be an incredible asset to the world!

We liberated Iraq years ago, and it has yet to even give us a hint of assetness!

Lets face it, Iran is a time bomb, the India and Pakistan situation is a powder-keg that could explode at any given minute, and Syria is a haven for terrorist groups!

None of this has changed in the slightest since we invaded Iraq, or even since 1978, for that matter!

There is so much instability in that Persian Gulf that if things stay status quo, its just a matter of time before something catostrophic happens!

And the best way to foster stability is by further destabilizing the region!

The more allies we have over there, the better.

You just got done telling us that the entire region is a powder-keg that is unstable and harbors terrorists, but hey, let's at least be allies with them.

Plus, you'll never convince me that Iraq didn't have WMD's prior to the invasion, and you can bet your last dollar that if Hussien (Sadam, not Barack) were still in power, he'd be stirring that pot like no tomorrow.

Don't bash Bush like this. He just said that they didn't have WMDs. Now you're calling him a liar?

Also, for all the faults that Bush has, one thing that he has managed to accomplish which hardly ever gets mentioned, is that we HAVE NOT been attacked on our own soil since 911!

While that Iraqi government is certainly doing a bang-up job, and is to be commended for all of its first-class efforts, let's call Iraq what it is: our own soil.

There's no telling how many attempts have been foiled under his watch, which in my book, is an extraordinary achievement!

I just pray that we can say the same thing 4 years from now!
Now these two lines, I can agree with!