"Bring 'em on." -- President George W. Bush, July 2, 2003.
DETROIT -- It's stunning that a president of the United States could publicly utter such an intemperate and reckless remark. George W. Bush, drunk with Texas machismo, and showing the gracelessness that always lurks in his character, issued that taunt to Iraqi militants who are daily attacking and killing U.S. troops.
The president made the unscripted remark as he was showing his irritation with a reporter's question about U.S. troop strength and the scant cooperation from other nations in trying to maintain order in Iraq.
Jabbing his right hand in the air with juvenile bravado, Bush screeched in that irritating twang, more fit for a Western movie than the world stage, "There are some who feel that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is: Bring 'em on. We've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation." He bragged, like John Wayne risen, that U.S. forces are "plenty tough" to deal with any threat.
The president then licked his lips with the smug assurance of a frat boy showing the world how tough he is. The flippant, immature "bring 'em on" remark finally got the usually timid Democrats to actually criticize the popular president.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) told the Washington Post, "I am shaking my head in disbelief. When I served in the Army in Europe during World War II, I never heard any military commander -- let alone the commander in chief -- invite enemies to attack U.S. troops." The senator added Bush's words were "tantamount to inciting and inviting more attacks against U.S. forces."
Rep. Richard Gephardt, a presidential candidate who supported the Iraq war, said he'd heard "enough of the phony macho rhetoric." Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and also a presidential hopeful, said Bush's words "showed tremendous insensitivity to the dangers" the troops face.
Bush spokesman Ari "I'll say anything" Fleischer, defending his boss, said the president was not "inviting" attacks, just showing his confidence in the men and women of our military.
The following day, 10 more American soldiers were wounded in attacks in occupied Iraq, and the chaos, confusion and danger show no sign of letting up.
American troops are increasingly demoralized and fatigued as they go about their difficult duties in the insufferable heat, living in constant fear of sniper attacks, and still with no indication how long they will serve as the street police in this highly volatile situation.
Last week, I wrote about the mess in Iraq, the quagmire we're in, and the Bush administration's failure to establish civil order in the post-Saddam nation. The situation clearly shows that, if we had a plan at all, it's not working.
I got a fair amount of e-mail, including the usual rants from the dittoheads who are shocked that there is a non-Rush view of the world.
I got several kind notes from folks from bastions of clear thinking, like Niagara Falls, of course, and also Boston, San Francisco, Ann Arbor and Manhattan. But one e-mail right from the heartland of America really stood out.
It was from a little town in Indiana, and the writer thanked me for "calling it like it is," and added, "I hope articles like yours can rally the American people to hold Bush and Co. accountable for their lies and deceptions."
The writer (I'll just call her Carol) says her "frustration level is at an all-time high." Her concern about the dangerous, interminable occupation in Iraq is deeply personal. Her son is with the 3rd Infantry Division over there, and she has no idea when he'll get home.
Carol calls Rumsfeld's office every day to complain about the situation, and in May she wrote President Bush and let him have it for suggesting the war was essentially finished.
"As I watched the footage of your landing on the U.S.S. Lincoln last week and listened to the speech about major combat being over, I found myself nauseated. While your political theatrics are being launched in hopes of getting the popularity polls up, my son is still in danger in Baghdad. Your feeble attempt at camaraderie with returning soldiers was patronizing, in my opinion."
Carol didn't miss the irony of Bush's flight suit fashion show. She reminded him of his year-plus absence from the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. In those days, George W. wasn't challenging Ho Chi Minh to "bring 'em on." He was hiding in some redneck bar in Alabama, working on the congressional campaigning of one of his daddy's pals.
Carol calls that absence from duty "desertion," and tells the president, "My son will come back a 20-year-old combat veteran. Do not even pretend to have any regard for what he and his comrades have been through -- the sights, the smells, the sounds they will have etched forever in their memories."
Carol blasted Bush for slashing health care and benefits for veterans, while painting himself the champion of the armed forces. She knows how money drives everything the Bush administration touches, especially as it relates to favored companies.
"You will close your eyes at night and see $$$ as you reap the 'back door benefits' of all the corporations making millions off the war. My son will most likely see images of mangled bodies, wounded children and major destruction. Where were your priorities? Bechtel, Carlyle, Halliburton -- I guess there is no profit in humanitarian relief."
The soldier's mother tells Bush what he doesn't hear from his handlers in the White House or at the military bases he likes to visit. "People in the U.S. are guilty of misplaced trust -- in their political leaders and the media. Misguided ignorance may have put you in office, but my hope is that the American public begins to see itself as responsible for searching out the truth of the war in Iraq and the lies and manipulation we are being subjected to, while covert agendas are being carried out by our government leaders."
While the troops suffer in Iraq, the president and vice president are on the biggest and most obscene grab for campaign cash in American political history. They expect to rake in a staggering $170 million before the primary season. That's especially interesting since the incumbent president will face no primary opposition. The Republicans will use the money to try to get the least-threatening Democrat nominated, and then march through the general election with the largest campaign war chest ever.
Carol is on to that, too, and how corrupting it is for the nation. She tells Bush, "Political policy seems to be dictated by those with power and big pocketbooks. We don't even have a democracy here anymore, how can we help Iraq to create a democratic society?"
I say too, "Bring 'em on." Bring on the simple truths so well understood and bravely said by a worried mother from Indiana who loves her son and her country, but fears what George W. Bush is doing to our nation.
Carol does not believe patriotism is blindly wrapping herself in the flag and saying the commander in chief can do no wrong. She wrote Bush what he should read more often. "I am an American, proudly supporting the men and women who are [serving] and have served this country, but I will no longer cower to the fallacy that I must support my president as well."
The president doesn't respond to her letters. He's too macho for that.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 8 2003 |