Sunday, December 11, 2005

The Little Cabbage

And now the French weigh in with revelations similar to those coming out of Germany a couple of weeks ago: that the U.S. was warned repeatedly before your war, Bush, that the intelligence on which your justifications were based was deeply flawed. The Los Angeles Times reports today on disclosures made by one Alain Chouet, a former French intelligence official, that "the French spy service began repeatedly warning the CIA in secret communications that there was no evidence to support the allegation" that Iraq had been trying to buy materials for making nuclear weapons in Niger. Joe Wilson, as you may recall, Bush, had drawn the same conclusion--along with the vengeful ire of your administration.

Chouet, of course, means "little cabbage"--though it's usually used by the French in its feminine form, "chouette", or its big form, "chou", as a term of endearment. This particular little cabbage, though, must be anything but endearing to those of your people who are still, unbelievably, trying to maintain the credibility of the original premise(s) for your war. Including, of course, your Cheney, who continues blithely to trot out the Saddam-al Qaeda myth as though it had not been thoroughly discredited by and sundry other than his good self.

One more smokescreen coming up this week, I hear, in the form of another election. I look forward to hearing from your lips all the predictable pronouncements on the huge success of your effort to democratize this intractible region of the world. But no matter how many times you assert that it's happening there, Bush--that democracy is taking root and that soon, very soon (in time for the 2006 elections) the Iraqis will be able to "stand up" and our troops will be coming home--I just don't even for one second believe it. Troops coming home, yes. For political reasons. A democratic, peaceful Iraq, no. Your rosy pictures fly in the face of so many centuries of history, they have a kind of fairy-tale innocence about them. I mean, I'd like to believe you, Bush, but I gave up on the tooth fairy a good number of years ago. As for Santa Claus, he used to frighten me so horribly as a little boy that my father revealed the secret before I was even six. Maybe this is just the "old European" skeptic coming out in me, but I'll believe your claptrap when I begin to see results other than more violence and discord.

By the way, Bush, my son came out to visit yesterday from Iowa, where he lives. You may remember that we spent a weekend with him around this time last year, in Tuscon, Arizona, but he hasn't actually visited us in at least five year. A momentous occasion, then. I may be a little more irregular than usual in our converstaions.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As I go through the net every morning and read the different papers, I find that if Bush would read them, he might get an insight. The articles I most enjoy are the ones from the Iraqi people. This "constitution" that Bush saddled them with will be no longer once the military is gone. They live by the Quran. This will be a theocracy. Also, as Deepak said, Bush isn't going to get the Muslim people to hate him less by bombing them. It just puts a bigger flame under all Muslims to get rid of Bushes' war machine, so they come from all over to get in on it. Any Iraqi that sides with this will go too. There were no countries that agreed with Bush, but when you blackmail them with taking away anything you have given them to make their life easier, you become a coalition. Sad. There were those who would not be bullied into submission. These are the people who know the world, know the how others live, know of their history. Something Bush never learned, apparently neither did Rummy or Cheney, you know, the ones running the country. I also notice troops being pulled out of different places around the world. Keep an ear to the ground, he has a new plan. I'm sure he wants to shove "democracy" down some other countries throat if he can, even as Iraq hasn't worked. I am happy for you and Ellie that your son is here, he's not there. An extra hug is in order for that one :).