Grr. I hate it when departing politicians, particularly unpopular ones, decide to do a ‘farewell tour’. They’re an unmitigated waste of time, resources and news coverage - Blair did it and I found it grossly distasteful then, and now it’s Bush’s turn. The very act of touring countries shaking hands, getting all chummy with the native leaders is so undignified - the personal relationships they’re seeking to form / rejuvenate serve nobody but the individuals themselves, since once the administration changes it’s a total reset. Thus, I see these tours as self-indulgent ego stroking - no change there then for Mr Bush. He’s doing his trademark brash smirk / swagger combination in Downing Street today, and no doubt getting on the tits of most British people he meets, even if the crushing weight of his ignorance won’t let him recognise it.
Bush is already a has-been, with his only remaining notable acts likely to be a few last-minute pardons or favours for his chums before his sweaty hands are prised from the tiller of the economic powerhouse of the world. He’s clearly thinking about his legacy - but having presided over arguably the darkest period in American politics since at least Nixon, and in all likelyhood surpassing even that, this man has absolutely nothing to be proud of, except perhaps spawning an unintentional bi-product - that he has hopefully reinvigorated the more intelligent citizens of the USA to get involved in politics again to try to make sure that an administration like this doesn’t get their hands on power next time.
So, sod off Bush, you swaggering, arrogant, bigoted, egotistical ignoramus. Please do let the door hit you on the ass on the way out, assuming you can figure out how to open it in the first place.
June 16th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
“economic powerhouse of the world” - what, he’s in charge of China?
June 16th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Yes, economic powerhouse of the world. According to the cia (not sure why they were the first google hit for this) the us gdp was $13.84 trillion in 2007. Adjusted for purchasing power, the chinese gdp was $6.991 trillion.
Not sure if this was a joke, but, in the eventuality that it wasn’t, i thought some facts would be nice.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I guess one of the most feared things to happen to a politician is what history will write him ;). I share your sentiment toward some politicians as well, with Bush (of course, duh) as one prominent example. His hands are responsible for some decisions that lead to thousands (if not hundreds of thousand) of people being displaced from their homes. Oh not counting people who get killed and bombed.
And some people chuckle, why of the hatred.. be relax and cool. And I ask back why of the hatred and resentment toward serial killers who only kill far less people comparatively
June 17th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I don’t see protests against many serial killers. For many people its not really the number of deaths, its the context. People dieing accidentally as a country moves itself forward to a better place is easier to handle than someone who is killed by a serial killer without a conscience.
June 18th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Well that is not what I meant - it is not the death of soldiers. Specifically, it is the Iraqi civilians. All evidences so far pointing back to GWB and the gangs - they use whatever they can to justify the war. For an example, there is no WMD but they pursue it anyway. As a result, the country is practically destroyed, many Iraqi lost their home and fled to the neighboring countries and not to mention many many lives were destroyed as a result. And then when you get to watch the TV channel like Fox/CNN etc, you get to watch and listens all those ‘experts’ claiming about the long buried hatred between Shia and Sunni so all those violences (such as bombs in the open markets) are a result of this. But the reality is this: in the past, it is almost unheard of the fights between them, nor any kind of question ‘are you shia/sunni’ when they cross the path with each other.
I dont live in there, but I do read a lot of related blogs.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
“a result, the country is practically destroyed, many Iraqi lost their home and fled to the neighboring countries and not to mention many many lives were destroyed as a result. ”
No it is not…. in fact a lot of them are better off now - in any case it is all relative.
Your point about Shia/Sunni infighting being caused by the US and not their long standing differences, is frankly ludicrous - have you ever heard about Shia uprising in 1991 and consequent genocide perpetrated by Saddam and his Sunni supporters ?
You are reading wrong blogs.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:58 am
syedhs, are you trying to tell us that Iraq was a peaceful and safe place before US occupied it? What blogs are you reading?
June 19th, 2008 at 8:01 am
@warmi,
You yourself have answered it, you can only find it long back 17 years ago (1991). Within this year, there are hundreds reported - need I say more?
@kungfoomasta,
No I didn’t say it was peaceful. But it was in much better shape then it is now. At least Saddam Hussien could still contain the Shii and Sunni as politically, he is strong for both of them. People still could get basic necessities like water, electricity etc - it was not in perfect shape, but it was far peaceful than it is now. I haven’t read iraqi blogs for quite some time, but I remember one of them as ‘Burning Baghdad’.
And I am quite sure many Americans who reside outside of USA will agree with me for the reason I have no appetite to disclose
June 19th, 2008 at 9:08 am
The reason the violence has escalated is complex, but it has a lot to do with opportunity. Fact is that Saddam ruled with an iron fist and yeah, that largely prevented large scale infighting. He also imprisoned, tortured and killed his political and cultural enemies at every turn - the numbers are not even known, compared to now where everything is openly reported. Which is the lesser of the 2 evils?
I think Bush is a total moron with absolutely no concept of how countries and cultures work outside Texas, but I don’t think he’s a war criminal, and I do think that eventually Iraq will be better off than being a dictatorship. But with 20+ years of largely unsettled scores, is it any wonder that once the dictator is gone, violence erupts? It’s like taking the lid off a boiling pan. Bush & co are guilty of being too stupid to realise what would happen, for having absolutely zero plans in place to manage it beyond the fanfare of sending the troops in, but they’re not guilty of ‘causing’ the violence. They simply released it, and sat there dumbfounded as it all went to hell around them.
As for Iraq being better off under Saddam, it depends who you are. If you were a political enemy of Saddam, I doubt you would say it was better when he was in charge.
Most blogs simplify this whole situation because they tell it from one point of view, and boil the whole complex situation down to ridiculous oversimplifications such as ‘USA caused all the problems in Iraq’. That’s just as much bullshit as the flag-waving patriots who say Bush can do no wrong. There’s plenty of blame to go around here, granted, but that’s no excuse for pretending that it’s all very simple - it’s that kind of ignorance and failure to see the complexities of the situation that caused Bush to make such an arse of it in the first place (but just from the other direction).
June 19th, 2008 at 11:35 am
War criminal or not depends largely on this: had the war against Iraq received the nod from UN, then most of problem is settled - no bickering whatsoever, I promise :). You may read link like this: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0305-01.htm (or many others as a matter of fact) that the war is illegal and therefore, as simple as it sounds, Bush actually is a war criminal.
IMHO, you shouldn’t read just one blog - in fact you should read many of them and they give you the civilian perspectives and opinions. And coupled with the news you get to read/listen from the mass media, what comes out will be a wholly more balanced perspective.
And lastly, I do agree with your opinion Sinbad regarding the many Bush’s tactical errors - in fact, he (or Rumsfeld that is) had ignored far too many advises from the warfare expert.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
As far as US ( or French or whatever) interests are concerned, UN means nothing.
It is a discussion forum and a way to coordinate certain activitites - beyond that has no authority( nor it should.)
June 21st, 2008 at 4:18 am
““a result, the country is practically destroyed, many Iraqi lost their home and fled to the neighboring countries and not to mention many many lives were destroyed as a result. ”
No it is not…. in fact a lot of them are better off now - in any case it is all relative.”
Can you name a single criteria by which they are better off now? More bombs are going off. Baghdad has less reliable electricity, the water is less safe, and more people are unemployed than under Saddam. They are occupied by foreign invaders.
Bush is likely a war criminal for a number of reasons besides the invasion itself. Just to name a few: the approval of the use of torture against prisoners;using chemical weapons against civilian targets, in the form of white phosphorous ’shake and bake’ in Felluja; the rendition and abduction of civilians around the world to be tortured for no reason.
June 21st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
GDP in 2000 was $12,271 , in 2005 it has tripled to $31,140.
The GDP growth is currently at 17% - that’s huge.
They enjoy free press , just about everything that has been forbidden during Saddam reign is now allowed ( owning a satellite, phone etc etc).
In any case, now , more than ever, their future is mainly in their own hands – for the problems they are facing now are largely of their own making ( ethnic and religious violence etc) .
By your standards just about every leader who ever was involved in any sort of war is a war criminal - there will always be civilian casualties during any sort of conflict.
July 6th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I got stuck in the sucking vortex that enveloped Heathrow when GWB arrived — they essentially shut down the whole place without bothering to let any of the passengers know why they were left sitting for hours (until we were away from the airport & in the air, some 7.5 hrs late on a clear sunny day). I saw him on TV getting chmmy and hand-wavy with G Brown & it wasn’t, as far as I could tell, a farewell tour despite the arrogance of the show and entrance — it was just a round of campaigning for McCain. “Better the devil you know,” I’m sure he told every head of state.