Bush Misses the Point, Again

In a speech President Bush gave at a Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony, he pointed to declassified intelligence that says Osama Bin Laden thought about sending a top lieutenant to Iraq in 2005. But he's missing the point.

Bush said:

There's a reason bin Laden sent one of his most experienced paramilitary leaders to Iraq. He believes that if al Qaeda can drive us out, they can establish Iraq as a new terrorist sanctuary.

But there are a few things the President fails to realize:

1. While Bin Laden may have discussed sending this lieutenant to Iraq, there is no evidence to support he followed through with that plan. Exactly how many pieces of intelligence information has the United States compiled on people who thought about doing something, but didn't? And what other time in our country has that been held up as rationale for actions?

2. Bush and the media glossed over the fact Bin Laden discussed sending this lieutenant in 2005 -- two years after the U.S. had invaded Iraq. Would this not also be a shining beacon of proof that Bin Laden's organization was not in Iraq before we invaded? Should that not be pointed out early and often?

And finally:

3. Isn't it possible the chaos we created in Iraq would have made the country a more attractive terrorist breeding ground? And using that logic, wouldn't any attack we receive from terrorists stationed in Iraq be our own fault?

The president also made a comparison between Iraq and the Vietnam War, saying, "There are many differences between the two conflicts, but one stands out above all. The enemy in Vietnam had neither the intent nor the capability to strike our homeland. ... The enemy in Iraq does."

No Mr. Bush, as you already admitted, Bin Laden did not send his lieutenant. He's had no success in setting up an operation that could strike the U.S. from inside Iraq.

Although the White House rejected suggestions the revelations were timed for political purposes, Bush's address coincided with a push by Democrats in Congress to force an end to the U.S. military presence in the region.

Throughout May, 81 U.S. military personnel have died in the Iraq war, bringing the total to 3,432.

Errr, What?

"I stand by Al Gonzales, and I would hope that people would be more sober in how they address these important issues. And they ought to get the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring how to be actors on the political theater stage," Bush said.

Okay, I'm going to ignore the hypocrisy in Bush railing against the political theater thing, except to add this:

But honestly Mr. President, what could be more sober than investigating whether or not the top law enforcement official in the country was intentionally subverting the law? Is this really something you view as a waste of time? Oh don't answer that, I already know you have very little regard for our laws, your wiretapping without warrants proves what an utter disregard you have for the same Constitution you swore to protect.

Secondly, it seems you need to be reminded again that one of the jobs of Congress is to provide oversight on the other branches of government, this means investigating any semblance of wrongdoing by the federal government. I'm curious if you were equally annoyed when Congress was investigating whether or not President Clinton received fellatio from another consenting adult.

And thirdly, you have no one to blame for this "political theater" than yourself, your staff, your Attorney General, and his staff. If the Attorney General, who had over a month to prepare his testimony didn't appear to be suffering from early onset Alzheimer's, if Monica Goodling hadn't threatened to plead the 5th amendment when it was obvious she would be subpoenaed, if your Whitehouse hadn't "lost" over 5 million emails, if several of Al's staff hadn't resigned since this all began, including his chief of staff, and his deputy, and finally if you hadn't claimed you were impressed by Gonzalez's inability to remember anything, this would have most likely gone away quite a bit faster. The media is a fickle group, and the Democrats are a spineless bunch. Had you, and your cronies not thrown gasoline on the fire at every turn, this story would have faded away like all the countless other stories that have surfaced about your administration breaking the law, and getting away with it.