The media reports of smiling Iraqis leading inspectors around, opening up buildings and saying, “See, there’s nothing here,” infuriated Bush, who then would read intelligence reports showing the Iraqis were moving and concealing things. It wasn’t clear what was being moved, but it looked to Bush as if Hussein was about to fool the world again. It looked as if the inspections effort was not sufficiently aggressive, would take months or longer, and was likely doomed to fail.
George W. Bush, Master and Commander of the Royal order of the Codpiece had sworn that you could fool him once, but fool him twice … won’t get fooled again. And Saddam was trying to fool him.
As we all know, this is total crap because VP Gepetto had told GWB that he was going to war over a year before. The president rather endearingly thought he was making a decision that had long ago been made. He’s so cute when he’s confused.
You can’t exactly blame the lil’ guy, though. Condi Rice, obviously suffering from a late night of single gal Pinot Grigios with Gwen Ifill, groaned this pile of nonsense when Junior asked her if we should go to war:
“Yes,” she said. “Because it isn’t American credibility on the line, it is the credibility of everybody that this gangster can yet again beat the international system.” As important as credibility was, she said, “Credibility should never drive you to do something you shouldn’t do.” But this was much bigger, she advised, something that should be done. “To let this threat in this part of the world play volleyball with the international community this way will come back to haunt us someday. That is the reason to do it.”
It isn’t about American credibility it’s about international credibility. Credibility shouldn’t drive you to do something you shouldn’t do, but if you don’t do this international credibility will suffer so you should do it.
This answer explains why Condi’s was the only opinion he sought. His poor head ached for days after that one.
He knew what Vice President Cheney thought, and he decided not to ask Secretary of State Colin L. Powell or Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
“I could tell what they thought,” the president recalled. “I didn’t need to ask them their opinion about Saddam Hussein. If you were sitting where I sit, you could be pretty clear. I think we’ve got an environment where people feel free to express themselves.”
Well, sort of:
In all the discussions, meetings, chats and back-and-forth, in Powell’s grueling duels with Rumsfeld and Defense, the president had never once asked Powell, Would you do this? What’s your overall advice? The bottom line?
Perhaps the president feared the answer. Perhaps Powell feared giving it. It would, after all, have been an opportunity to say he disagreed. But they had not reached that core question, and Powell would not push. He would not intrude on that most private of presidential space — where a president made decisions of war and peace — unless he was invited. He had not been invited.
Bush’s meeting with Powell lasted 12 minutes. “It was a very cordial conversation,” the president recalled. “It wasn’t a long conversation,” he noted. “There wasn’t much debate: It looks like we’re headed to war.”
The president stated emphatically that though he had asked Powell to be with him and support him in a war, “I didn’t need his permission.”
He’s so wonderfully masterful, isn’t he? Especially for someone with his cognitive handicaps. It reminds me of Junior’s quote in Woodward’s BlowJob Part I:
“I’m the commander. See, I don’t have to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don’t feel like I owe anybody an explanation.”
He didn’t need to ask Powell for his opinion because he knew his opinion and anyway he didn’t agree with it. Why bother listening to him go on and on and be so, like totally boring? Cheney and Rumsfeld were both telling him he should do it so there was no reason to ask them. They made him feel like a man. However, he did have to ask one other very, very important and highly experienced person her opinion on the matter:
“I asked Karen,” the president recalled. “She said if you go to war, exhaust all opportunities to achieve [regime change] peacefully. And she was right. She actually captured my own sentiments.”
It’s pretty clear that Junior has no sentiments until he talks to Karen to find out what they are.
The only people Junior explicitly asked for opinions on whether to go to war with Iraq were Condi Rice and Karen Hughes. Both women told him he should do it — Condi babbling something confused about playing international volleyball and Karen basically telling him to look both ways before crossing the street.
Meanwhile Vice President Richelieu sits in the corner saying nothing except a well timed “Saddam’s toast” to our Secretary of Oil, Prince Bandar — who is informed of our decision to go to war before anybody tells the Secretary of State.
Oh, sorry. Bush had informed one other person over the holidays:
The president also informed Karl Rove, his chief political strategist, of his decision over the holidays. Rove had gone to Crawford to brief Bush on the confidential plan for Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign. While Laura Bush sat reading a book, Rove gave a PowerPoint presentation on the campaign’s strategy, themes and timetable.
Opening his laptop, he displayed for Bush in bold letters on a dark blue background:
PERSONA:
Strong Leader
Bold Action
Big Ideas
Peace in World
More Compassionate America
Cares About People Like Me
Leads a Strong Team
I don’t think even Shakespeare could do this farce justice.