< Back to The Bush Dozen
If you follow the news regularly, and you watch something other than Fox News from time to time, you have probably heard a lot of these examples. Still, it is something altogether different when you see them all together like this:
1. He and his administration ignored important intelligence data (inc.
an 08/06/01 memo called "Bin
Laden Determined to Attack Within the US.")and key intelligence advice
from non-partisan security experts (ie. Richard
Clarke.)
2. In August 2001, despite repeated warnings from security advisors and increasing security memos on the subject of terrorism, Bush vacationed in Crawford Texas the month before the attacks and had all that brush to clear.
3. When the attacks did occur, he remained in a Florida classroom for a full seven minutes before doing anything.
“Mr. Bush remained in the elementary school for nearly a half an hour after Andy Card whispered in his ear.” Michael Kranish, “Bush: US To Hunt Down Attackers,” Boston Globe, September 11, 2001.
4. On 9-11, Bush zigzagged all over the country in air force one rather than returning to the White House. Cheney was in a "undisclosed location". . . basically all of the Bush Administration was hidden in a bunker in the White House. The only people actually risking their lives by being in the White House that day were Richard Clarke and about four others working with him.
5. The only people allowed to fly in US airspace was the Bin Ladin
family, who were allowed to leave the country and fly to France for "their
safety." They left before the FBI got a chance to interview them.
6. After the attacks, fingers were pointed to the Clinton administration,
even though the Bush administration had ignored the Clinton administration's
overtures to share vital information and that during Clinton's presidency
the Republican congress denied his requests for funding to counteract terrorism.
7. Instead of asking Americans to band together, Bush encouraged Americans to continue to shop. He also instituted a tax break for SUVs.
8. He quickly dismissed offers of support and goodwill of the entire world for a "go it alone" philosophy.
9. He was not afraid to exploit the loss of the families of 9-11 for political gain.
10. He opposed the creation of the 9-11 Security Commission to look into what created the largest security flaw in our nations history. Then he said it was ok, but wanted to wait until after the election. Then he wanted refused to allow Condoleeza Rice from testifying before the commission before finally letting her go.
11. His administration created the "Patriot Act," a document that was taken to print late as to arrive to Congress to close to the necessary vote that they wouldn't have time to fully read it and the attacks on civil liberties it included.
12. He didn't bring in enough troops to accomplish the mission in Afghanistan, never found Bin Ladin (who WAS that again?) and still hasn't cleaned up the mess in that country.
13. Effectively ignoring Afghanistan, he mislead the nation with faulty intelligence that Iraq was a security threat and rushed to a war there with a very small group of allies, and against the wishes of the majority of the population of the US. (Dismissing record numbers of Anti-War protestors as "focus groups") He also mislead the a majority of the American people into believing that there were ties between al-queda and Iraq which have since been disproved.
14. There are some claims that the Bush Administration were planning an invasion on Iraq just days after taking office, not after 9-11. Many of those who claim this, such as Paul O'Neill, have been personally attacked by the Administration . . . so it is a case of who you want to believe, but it is still something to think about.
15. After prematurely declaring "Mission Accomplished" during his now infamous landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003, (which was docked in San Diego, nowhere near combat operations) the White House now blames the sign on the Navy, although this is a White House known for orchestrating it's public relations moments down to fine details.
16. After insurgent fighting begins, he taunts the insurgents to "bring it on."
17. He has inadequately funded troops, is cutting military pay and housing, and is taking money away from Veterans hospitals.
18. A month before the election, 1,055 American Soldiers have died in Iraq. While the US Government does not keep official body count information for civilian casualties, the best estimate from experts list it at between 10,000-15,000.
19. The war has created a need for a "back door draft" calling up members
of the National Guard (no irony there), which disproportionately affects
public safety employees, small town communities, and in some cases has
taken both mothers and fathers of the same family away from their children.
20. Our military is now so overextended, we cannot send troops to handle issues like genocide in Sudan, or the very real nuclear proliferation in North Korea.
All of this prompts me to ask, if Republicans are so afraid of Kerry doing a "bad" job in the War on Terror, what exactly does a "good" job look like? The War on Terror is supposed to Bush's strongest point, and he has failed us miserably.
Also, if you are curious what a President Kerry's plan against terrorism
would look like, the NY
TIMES Magazine carried a long feature on just that subject. You may
disagree that his vision is not as "aggressive" as you would like. The
way to think about it is this . . . you can either continue to invade
country after country that supports terror, inviting the question "where
does it end?" Or you can appropriately invest in Homeland Security measures
in this country* and invest heavily in intelligence, aka "A good offense
is the best defense" philosophy.
*Despite what Bush claims, he has drastically underfunded Homeland
Security and has also disproportionately funded certain rural states
with a low terror risk compared to urban centers with a high terror
risk. So good news for Butte, not so great for Boston.
