Back (briefly) from hockey. Now that the Repugnican hatefest is over, I want to comment on its main theme — America is “safer” with Dubya in charge. Once again, Bush and crew mislead the American public.
In his State of the Union address after September 11, Bush expressed the framework of his “plan” to make us safer. He identified the “axis of evil” and summarized the pre-emption doctrine: “I will not wait on events while dangers gather. I will not stand by as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world’s most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world’s most destructive weapons.”
What happened? As Bush and crew feverishly misled the American public about the threat posed by Iraq, the North Koreans told us they had a nuclear weapons program. Based on the neocon hype, we invaded Iraq to quell the threat of WMD. Within months, the North Koreans abrogate an accord to keep Korea nuclear-free, begin weaponizing plutonium and it begins to look as if they actually have nuclear weapons.
So, invading Iraq to eliminate WMD didn’t seem to deter North Korea. But then, North Korea is so far away from Iraq. Certainly, the invasion had an effect on Iran’s policies. It sure did. It appears Iran accelerated its nuclear weapons program coincident with our actions and involvement in Iraq. In fact, it continues to push forward, even announcing it the last few days that it will begin converting tons of yellowcake. (You know, the stuff falsely cited in another State of the Union address as a basis for invading Iraq and which led the Bushies to out a CIA agent.)
Yes, invading Iraq certainly taught Iran and North Korea a thing or two. Unfortunately, the two remaining members of the “axis of evil” — and likely other countries — concluded their best option is to develop nuclear weapons. (Something even the mainstream media has actually started to figure out.) That undoubtedly makes America and the world safer.
And this is only the impact of Bush’s policies on nuclear weapons development. It omits the recent assessments that the “most probable scenario” in Iraq is “fragmentation and civil war.” (Via Cursor). It overlooks the thousands (if not millions) of additional terrorists and the overwhelming hatred of the US in the Middle East that the Bush administration has engendered. Far more “dangers gather” and the peril grows because of Bush and his Crusade.
How can Dubya and the Repugnicans claim they’re making America safer? It’s just their usual tactic — if you repeat falsehoods often enough people begin to believe them. (As one commentator noted, “True Lies” would be an excellent title for what was spewing out of the GOP hate gathering.) Reality, though, shows the Great Misleader and his policies are an abject failure when it comes to making America or the world safer.
