No reason for that attitude.

• Palin and cronyism. sm - Sharon
  • Here is what I understand - New Englander
    • You sure are getting a lot of mileage out of those...sm - oldtimer
      • No reason for that attitude. - Chele
    • Pure garbage. I actually think the repubs leaked that...sm - nm
      • How pathetic....sm - good grief
  • Here's another one: Bill Clinton....sm - ms
    • The problem is Bill Clinton isn't running for VP - Sharon
      • I do understand your point...sm - ms
  • Here is the link to an article about Palin and her friends. - Gobama
    • But, we all know, the NYTimes is a left- - another oldtimer
      • CULT warning. "Trust no - andromedica

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his own personal reasons.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050620/why_george_went_to_war.php

The Downing Street memos have brought into focus an essential question: on what basis did President George W. Bush decide to invade Iraq? The memos are a government-level confirmation of what has been long believed by so many: that the administration was hell-bent on invading Iraq and was simply looking for justification, valid or not.

Despite such mounting evidence, Bush resolutely maintains total denial. In fact, when a British reporter asked the president recently about the Downing Street documents, Bush painted himself as a reluctant warrior. "Both of us didn't want to use our military," he said, answering for himself and British Prime Minister Blair. "Nobody wants to commit military into combat. It's the last option."

Yet there's evidence that Bush not only deliberately relied on false intelligence to justify an attack, but that he would have willingly used any excuse at all to invade Iraq. And that he was obsessed with the notion well before 9/11—indeed, even before he became president in early 2001.

In interviews I conducted last fall, a well-known journalist, biographer and Bush family friend who worked for a time with Bush on a ghostwritten memoir said that an Iraq war was always on Bush's brain.

"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," said author and Houston Chronicle journalist Mickey Herskowitz. "It was on his mind. He said, 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He went on, 'If I have a chance to invade…, if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency.'"

Bush apparently accepted a view that Herskowitz, with his long experience of writing books with top Republicans, says was a common sentiment: that no president could be considered truly successful without one military "win" under his belt. Leading Republicans had long been enthralled by the effect of the minuscule Falklands War on British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's popularity, and ridiculed Democrats such as Jimmy Carter who were reluctant to use American force. Indeed, both Reagan and Bush's father successfully prosecuted limited invasions (Grenada, Panama and the Gulf War) without miring the United States in endless conflicts.

Herskowitz's revelations illuminate Bush's personal motivation for invading Iraq and, more importantly, his general inclination to use war to advance his domestic political ends. Furthermore, they establish that this thinking predated 9/11, predated his election to the presidency and predated his appointment of leading neoconservatives who had their own, separate, more complex geopolitical rationale for supporting an invasion.

Conversations With Bush The Candidate

Herskowitz—a longtime Houston newspaper columnist—has ghostwritten or co-authored autobiographies of a broad spectrum of famous people, including Reagan adviser Michael Deaver, Mickey Mantle, Dan Rather and Nixon cabinet secretary John B. Connally. Bush's 1999 comments to Herskowitz were made over the course of as many as 20 sessions together. Eventually, campaign staffers—expressing concern about things Bush had told the author that were included in the manuscript—pulled the project, and Bush campaign officials came to Herskowitz's house and took his original tapes and notes. Bush communications director Karen Hughes then assumed responsibility for the project, which was published in highly sanitized form as A Charge to Keep.

The revelations about Bush's attitude toward Iraq emerged during two taped sessions I held with Herskowitz. These conversations covered a variety of matters, including the journalist's continued closeness with the Bush family and fondness for Bush Senior—who clearly trusted Herskowitz enough to arrange for him to pen a subsequent authorized biography of Bush's grandfather, written and published in 2003.

I conducted those interviews last fall and published an article based on them during the final heated days of the 2004 campaign. Herskowitz's taped insights were verified to the satisfaction of editors at the Houston Chronicle, yet the story failed to gain broad mainstream coverage, primarily because news organization executives expressed concern about introducing such potent news so close to the election. Editors told me they worried about a huge backlash from the White House and charges of an "October Surprise."

Debating The Timeline For War

But today, as public doubts over the Iraq invasion grow, and with the Downing Street papers adding substance to those doubts, the Herskowitz interviews assume singular importance by providing profound insight into what motivated Bush—personally—in the days and weeks following 9/11. Those interviews introduce us to a George W. Bush, who, until 9/11, had no means for becoming "a great president"—because he had no easy path to war. Once handed the national tragedy of 9/11, Bush realized that the Afghanistan campaign and the covert war against terrorist organizations would not satisfy his ambitions for greatness. Thus, Bush shifted focus from Al Qaeda, perpetrator of the attacks on New York and Washington. Instead, he concentrated on ensuring his place in American history by going after a globally reviled and easily targeted state run by a ruthless dictator.

The Herskowitz interviews add an important dimension to our understanding of this presidency, especially in combination with further evidence that Bush's focus on Iraq was motivated by something other than credible intelligence. In their published accounts of the period between 9/11 and the March 2003 invasion, former White House Counterterrorism Coordinator Richard Clarke and journalist Bob Woodward both describe a president single-mindedly obsessed with Iraq. The first anecdote takes place the day after the World Trade Center collapsed, in the Situation Room of the White House. The witness is Richard Clarke, and the situation is captured in his book, Against All Enemies.

On September 12th, I left the Video Conferencing Center and there, wandering alone around the Situation Room, was the President. He looked like he wanted something to do. He grabbed a few of us and closed the door to the conference room. "Look," he told us, "I know you have a lot to do and all…but I want you, as soon as you can, to go back over everything, everything. See if Saddam did this. See if he's linked in any way…"

I was once again taken aback, incredulous, and it showed. "But, Mr. President, Al Qaeda did this."

"I know, I know, but…see if Saddam was involved. Just look. I want to know any shred…" …

"Look into Iraq, Saddam," the President said testily and left us. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty stared after him with her mouth hanging open.

Similarly, Bob Woodward, in a CBS News 60 Minutes interview about his book, Bush At War, captures a moment, on November 21, 2001, where the president expresses an acute sense of urgency that it is time to secretly plan the war with Iraq. Again, we know there was nothing in the way of credible intelligence to precipitate the president's actions.

Woodward: "President Bush, after a National Security Council meeting, takes Don Rumsfeld aside, collars him physically and takes him into a little cubbyhole room and closes the door and says, 'What have you got in terms of plans for Iraq? What is the status of the war plan? I want you to get on it. I want you to keep it secret.'"

Wallace (voiceover): Woodward says immediately after that, Rumsfeld told Gen. Tommy Franks to develop a war plan to invade Iraq and remove Saddam—and that Rumsfeld gave Franks a blank check.

Woodward: "Rumsfeld and Franks work out a deal essentially where Franks can spend any money he needs. And so he starts building runways and pipelines and doing all the necessary preparations in Kuwait specifically to make war possible."

Bush wanted a war so that he could build the political capital necessary to achieve his domestic agenda and become, in his mind, "a great president." Blair and the members of his cabinet, unaware of the Herskowitz conversations, placed Bush's decision to mount an invasion in or about July of 2002. But for Bush, the question that summer was not whether, it was only how and when. The most important question, why, was left for later.

Eventually, there would be a succession of answers to that question: weapons of mass destruction, links to Al Qaeda, the promotion of democracy, the domino theory of the Middle East. But none of them have been as convincing as the reason George W. Bush gave way back in the summer of 1999.

that I feel will ruin us if Obama is elected.  Oh...if you don't want to pay your fair share.....just don't make as much.  Why should people feel like they have to lower their income.  It will make hard working people not want to work hard because the government just takes what they earn.  Then you have the people who don't make anything and are living off of the government and that number will grow.  The more government assistance given, the more they want and the more they will take.  It will make spending for these programs outrageous.  Why should we enable people to mooch off of the government? 

I understand there are people who legitimately need help.  People who are truly disabled and can't work.  However, there are many others who are literally just mooching so they don't have to work. 

I have to think of MY future.  I have two kids who will go through college.  One boy is a freshman now so college really isn't too fair away.  I have a house I'm paying for.  I have a special needs child that requires more of my money.  I want to put my hard earned money back for my kids and myself for a rainy day.  I don't want it taken from me and given to people who I don't know and who I don't know whether they truly need it or are just lying and mooching off of the government. 

The bottom line is this, making more money is an incentive to work hard.  You take their money away and give to people who don't work hard and what does that show.....it shows that you don't have to work hard because the government will pick of the tab and it shows the hard workers....why bother.  I don't want that for my country.  I don't want my kids raised in that kind of life thinking that hard work doesn't pay off. 

just makes you seem somewhat sexist and I really was just curious? 

is quite amazing.  Exactly how do you know that Obama was not sent by God, or as you would say, that the will of mankind by choosing Obama is not in line with the will of God?  Has, per chance, your god bestowed upon you the gift of seeing into the future? If this is not the case, exactly what do you base your assumptions about the job Obama will do on?  Maybe its because you have bought into the fear doctrine of Bush so much that you can't see beyond it.

You said, *If you believe for one minute that Obama is going to change the way that Iran or any other country in the middle east view America you are very, very naive.  The only thing Obama will accomplish will be to weaken this country in an effort to make us more "likeable" to the world and in the end the only thing we will be is weak*

I would love to hear your definition of *weak.*  From what I can gather from your posts, weak in your eyes is the unwillingness to use force first.  So, what is so wrong with diplomacy?  Is your only response to a situation the *shoot first and ask questions later* mentality?  Believe it or not, there is strength in the ability to negotiate and compromise with others.  Since you base everything on religion, what does your Bible say about that?  Does it not teach compassion and understanding?  Of have you just interpreted it in a manner that suits you personally? 

Do I believe Obama will put an end to offshoring American jobs?  I believe that is his goal, unlike Bush and McCain who both supported tax breaks for companies overseas who do that exact thing.  Look up their voting records.

*How can he make America liked and respected by other countries, and take away a source of income for so many in third world countries?*    It's called FAIR TRADE.  Look it up.  Maybe you didn't pay attention to what Obama was saying during his campaign.  Did you even listen to him, or did you just get the Fox rendition?  I would be willing to bet that those *third world countries* know more about his policies than you do, and yet they overwhelmingly support him.

And then there's the middle east.  Everyone says they don't want Iran to have nukes.  I agree, but I also don't want anyone else to have nukes either.  You would argue that Iran is too radical to be trusted with them.  I would say the same thing about Israel and the US.  Under Bush's reign we have started 2 major wars and are presently funding Israel in its war to the tune of about over 2 billion a year in direct military support.  Put yourself in someone else's shoes for a while.  If you lived in Iran (a democratic state), you saw this behavior, and you know you are labeled as *next* on the Bush hit list, wouldn't you be trying to arm up?

Now I know you're going to say that each and every one of those wars was justified, but you are sooo wrong it's ridiculous.  Israel -- They have been bullying everyone over there for years in the name of the holy land and are currently killing civilians at an alarming rate.  Iraq -- An unjust war, to say the least.  And then there's Afghanistan, which was supposed to be retaliation for 9/11.  Why do you think 9/11 happened?  Do you think before 9/11 that everyone in the world just loved the US?  News flash -- No, they didn't.  The US has been meddling in the middle east for years on end (which included putting people like Saddam in power).  So, you think that the Bush administration had no way of seeing it coming.  Maybe you missed this interview.  It's very enlightening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5TkWGsmZF0

And yet, you would say that Bush has *kept us safe.*  What a joke!

Amazingly, you call me naive when I am the one looking at the facts, and all you have are innuendos, rumors and guesses about what may happen.  Unfounded fears about the future do nothing for the progression of society.  The sooner you learn that, the sooner you will be able to see the truth.

Instead of actually contributing the conversation, you came along and just decided to pick out someone for a fight.  I really am happy that you have such a wonderful life and that this crisis is seemingly not affecting you.  However, I don't believe that gives you the right to criticize those who are being affected.  But then again, I would assume that was your point -- to just stir up a fight.  Maybe you should spend some of that $600 a month on a hobby.

BTW, if I were trying to be nasty, I would have actually told you that you are mindless wonder instead of just saying I would have called you something else.  LOL.

Lurker had the courage to try to debate you, tried to ignore your rude comments and personal attacks.  Yes, your intelligent debate triggered responses by Lurker, as follow:

Please do not preach at me and tell me I don't understand the concept of working for a living. I try my best not to berate or belittle anyone on this board and I would appreciate the same consideration.

I can see from her above post why you're so happy.  Looks like you succeeded in chasing her away for a while, too.

I'm sorry if you are offended by my opinion that I don't want to pay more in taxes. You wouldn't either if the tables were turned.

Bush gives new reason for Iraq war

Says US must prevent oil fields from falling into hands of terrorists

By Jennifer Loven, Associated Press  |  August 31, 2005

CORONADO, Calif. -- President Bush answered growing antiwar protests
yesterday with a fresh reason for US troops to continue fighting in
Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields, which he said
would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.

The president, standing against a backdrop of the USS Ronald Reagan,
the newest aircraft carrier in the Navy's fleet, said terrorists
would be denied their goal of making Iraq a base from which to
recruit followers, train them, and finance attacks.

''We will defeat the terrorists, Bush said. ''We will build a free
Iraq that will fight terrorists instead of giving them aid and
sanctuary.

Appearing at Naval Air Station North Island to commemorate the
anniversary of the Allies' World War II victory over Japan, Bush
compared his resolve to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's in the
1940s and said America's mission in Iraq is to turn it into a
democratic ally just as the United States did with Japan after its
1945 surrender. Bush's V-J Day ceremony did not fall on the actual
anniversary. Japan announced its surrender on Aug. 15, 1945 -- Aug.
14 in the United States because of the time difference.

Democrats said Bush's leadership falls far short of Roosevelt's.

''Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman led America to victory
in World War II because they laid out a clear plan for success to the
American people, America's allies, and America's troops, said Howard
Dean, Democratic Party chairman. ''President Bush has failed to put
together a plan, so despite the bravery and sacrifice of our troops,
we are not making the progress that we should be in Iraq. The troops,
our allies, and the American people deserve better leadership from
our commander in chief.

The speech was Bush's third in just over a week defending his Iraq
policies, as the White House scrambles to counter growing public
concern about the war. But the devastation wrought by Hurricane
Katrina in the Gulf Coast drew attention away; the White House
announced during the president's remarks that he was cutting his
August vacation short to return to Washington, D.C., to oversee the
federal response effort.

After the speech, Bush hurried back to Texas ahead of schedule to
prepare to fly back to the nation's capital today. He was to return
to the White House on Friday, after spending more than four weeks
operating from his ranch in Crawford.

Bush's August break has been marked by problems in Iraq.

It has been an especially deadly month there for US troops, with the
number of those who have died since the invasion of Iraq in March
2003 now nearing 1,900.

The growing death toll has become a regular feature of the slightly
larger protests that Bush now encounters everywhere he goes -- a
movement boosted by a vigil set up in a field down the road from the
president's ranch by a mother grieving the loss of her soldier son in
Iraq.

Cindy Sheehan arrived in Crawford only days after Bush did, asking
for a meeting so he could explain why her son and others are dying in
Iraq. The White House refused, and Sheehan's camp turned into a hub
of activity for hundreds of activists around the country demanding
that troops be brought home.

This week, the administration also had to defend the proposed
constitution produced in Iraq at US urging. Critics fear the impact
of its rejection by many Sunnis, and say it fails to protect
religious freedom and women's rights.

At the naval base, Bush declared, ''We will not rest until victory is
America's and our freedom is secure from Al Qaeda and its forces in
Iraq led by Abu Musab alZarqawi.

''If Zarqawi and [Osama] bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would
create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks, Bush
said. ''They'd seize oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could
recruit more terrorists by claiming a historic victory over the
United States and our coalition.

Like GT so eloquently wrote below, she has nothing to do with my request that you leave our board.  The only person who has anything to do with it is YOU.

You and every single one of your *friends* are rude, crude, abrasive, insulting, and continually lie, lie, LIE.  You are the kind of people I would choose NOT to associate with in real life because you have no values and you have a gang mentality, but most of all, you're just deplorable human beings, as you yourselves have demonstrated through your posts.

You have your own board.  Would you please just go back there?  You are offensive to many on this board.  This is the liberal board.  You clearly don't belong here any more than I don't belong on your board, where you and you *friends* indeed constantly gang up on anyone who disagrees with you.  If that's how you want to conduct yourselves on your own board, that's fine.  It's your board, and if you choose to turn it into a filthy sewer, that's your option.  But you don't have the right do that on the liberal board.  I'm very close to writing to the administrator and complaining about you all before I leave, as well.  You don't contribute anything of value to this board, and all you morons do is chase kind, loving and intelligent people away.

As GT says in her posts, you are clearly obsessed with her, and I don't understand why, but you're becoming psychotic about it, and you're showing that psychosis to anyone who reads this board.  You paint her to be a terrible person, and from what I read in her posts, she is NOT a terrible person.  She is loving and caring and intelligent..all traits that not ONE of you posseses.  You are way out of your limited ignorant hateful league on this board.  Please.  JUST GO AWAY.

I don't want government involved in my health care.  The VA is a joke and our veterans do not get the care that they need and deserve.  If heroes like that aren't taken care of by our government....what in the he11 makes us think that the government will take care of us?   

Maybe people who are struggling to afford healthcare, fill up their gas tanks and feed their families just happen to agree with his VIEWS on the issues.

ever called you a kool-aid drinker is because you constantly post about rhetoric.  When will you wake up and realize that even democrat politicians say one thing and do another.  You can't get much more obvious about than the Obama administration and yet you continue to sing his praise.  You are blinded by your own political party. 

Obama...the man who said he would sign no bill with pork in it and then did without batting an eyelash.

The man who said he would pull troops out of Iraq and has extended the time frame to keep troops in Iraq longer and to deploy more in Afghan.  He ridiculed McCain for not wanting a time line but I guess a time line is okay as long as you can push it back whenever you feel the need, huh? 

A man who promised tax cuts on 95% of the American people and yet he wants cap and trade which will tax everyone A LOT.

Gay rights activists sing his praise and yet Obama himself isn't for same sex marriage.

He wants people to have the right to choose to carry a child or abort it and yet he takes the rights away from hospitals and doctors by not allowing them to refuse to perform that procedure.  You complain about taking the rights away from people but yet you have no problem taking rights away from people with a different view point than yourself.

Yet all you ever come back with is that we are a bunch of babies who need to grow some balls and how ignorant we are for watching Fox News even though Fox has higher ratings than the crap you watch.

The channels you profess to tell the truth aren't even covering the tea parties.  I personally feel that thousands and thousands of Americans protesting is a big deal and should be reported on whether or not a channel agrees with the reason behind it.  Picking and choosing what to report is not telling the truth.  It is being very one sided.  Any open minded person would realize that.

marriage would not still be limited to two people (of whatever flavor) at a time.  Bygamy would still be bygamy. 

You're right.  Think what men with half a dozen legal wives and a couple of dozen kids could do to any medical plan, let alone our system for deducting dependents from income tax. 

On the other hand, I have a same-sex housemate who is disabled, unemployed and uninsured.  We are not gay, but if same-sex marriage were legal, I could marry her and get her insured under my plan.  Many marriages involve no sex.  Maybe they didn't start out that way but over time they evolve in that direction.  We would simply be skipping the honeymoon part.