Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the Bush administration is its astonishing incompetence.
Most of it is well-reported: the unnecessary and bungled war in Iraq; the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction; the fact that no ties between Saddam Hussein and the Al Qaeda terrorist regime existed; the commitment of an inadequate number of troops with the wrong equipment for the war they would have to fight; the over-use and possibly misuse of National Guard and reserve units; the tragic and still-growing death toll, now more than 1,600 killed and 20,000 wounded badly enough to be sent home; the failure to provide electric power, drinking water and any minimal security to the Iraqi people.
Mistreatment and torture of prisoners and detainees at Guantanamo and Aub Ghraib prisons with indictments by Amnesty International; the refusal to sign the Kyoto Treaty or cooperate with the world community on matters of the environment. It all adds up to the loss of American prestige, honor and international respect on a scale never seen before.
Now we have a report with even darker implications. On May 1, The Sunday Times of London published the confidential minutes of a meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush, held long before any weapons inspections had been started in Iraq, which shows that Bush and Blair made the decision to invade and attack Iraq at that time. This would seem to offer proof that Bush lied to the American people regarding his reasons for the invasion of Iraq, and may add up to the greatest series of blunders ever committed by an American president.
If this proves to be true, that Bush lied and went beyond "creative selection" of intelligence information, then the congressional leadership will have to decide if the president should be permitted to retain the high office he holds.
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R.D. Olsen
Fargo
