Sunday, September 14, 2003

The Bizarro World of Condoleezza Rice

In August 2003 Condoleezza Rice spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists convention and compared the opposition to the war in Iraq with segregationists in Alabama in the sixties. She didn't mention any old garden variety segregationists, but the ones who killed little girls.

But she has outdone herself more recently. In another foolish attempt at comparison she and Donald Rumsfeld repeated a specious account of Nazis who continued to fight after World War II had ended. This past week the entertainment value provided by this administration only increased. We were told tht we didn't know enough about Iraq before we invaded. I can agree on this point but I do not recall the president or anyone else on his team lacking in certainty about the need for war.

As if I didn't distrust the Bushies enough already, they are now beginning to make me doubt my sanity. Is it just me or does anyone else remember being told about the terrible evils perpetrated by Saddam Hussein? Now Condi tells us that they underestimated the brutality of his regime. (scroll down).

There are so many things that could be said about all this but I will keep it simple. Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rumsfeld, Rice, the neocons and everyone else who frightened the American people into wanting this war would have been better off if they had just talked to my mother first.

You see my mom always says something very simple but very profound. "When you tell one lie you end up telling one hundred." Rice is forced to make ever more insane remarks because she, her boss and her colleagues are all liars. There were no WMDs, and they knew it. There were no dangerous drones bearing down on an unsuspecting populace and they knew it. Iraq's nuclear capability had been destroyed by Israel in the 1980s, was never resurrected and they knew it. Saddam had nothing to do with September 11th and they knew that too. These people who were going to restore honor and dignity to the White House have taken a country that was not a terror threat and turned it into one.

I suppose it is a good thing that they are sharing their insanity with the public. I don't have to make the case any longer because they are doing it for me. But I think the president should give Condi a break. Cheney should get the assignment of making nonsensical statements. I think Condi has had enough for a while.