The Bush Administration’s 4th Of July
Six years ago today we all know where we were and what occurred. In fact, we will never forget, and efforts will be made to ensure that. What happened six years ago today opened the flood gates, and we are, all of us, now up to our necks in it. For today, the 11th of September, is the Bush administration’s 4th of July.
Does it seem timely that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker’s testimony before Congress with regards to the supposed success of the surge in Iraq is taking place on and around this day of days? Do the terrible events that transpired on this day six years ago numb us to what is transpiring elsewhere, or perhaps even soften us somewhat as to the goals of those that used the tragedy to embark on one of the most reckless and illegal undertakings in recent history? Has the clock been reset on our patience and outrage?
Mere days ago, the very man that stood at ground zero six years ago and swore before the world that those responsible for 9/11 would be made to pay claimed that the man singled out as the architect of the attacks is now of little importance to him. Six years after the fact, the capture of the crime’s ringleader has become a secondary notion, and nowhere near as important as US efforts in Iraq. Yet, during his testimony yesterday, General Petraeus went on at length about the terrible threat posed by al-Qaeda in Iraq, and that a direct relationship exists between it and what he referred to as ‘al-Qaeda leadership’. Of course, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of us. Over the last six years, one of the administration’s objectives has always been to link the events of 9/11 to Iraq, no matter how unbelievable, nor matter how baseless. Ironically, by invading the country, they helped introduce the organization into certain segments of Iraqi society, and have since overblown their importance to such a degree that many believe al-Qaeda in Iraq to be America’s foremost enemy there.
One wonders if Iraqis mark the invasion of their country with the same somber reflection that we afford September 11th? True, they lived under the rule of an oppressive dictator prior to their ‘liberation’, but ironically even that dictator offered them more stability than those currently occupying the country. Were that not the case then there would be no need for surges, or anything else for that matter.
Today, while we remember the loss of just under 3,000 people, what becomes of the ghosts of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis sacrificed in the name of a lie? Who possesses the right to greater outrage – the people of the United States, the majority of which have no clue as to the history of their country’s complicities, or the people of Iraq, who have lost vastly more because of an event that transpired a half a world away that had nothing to do with them?
Two major conflicts now rage, undertaken because of what occurred on this day six years ago. One of them finds Canadians being sacrificed in the name of vengeance, though we have done our best to categorize it as anything but. The other, predicated on falsehoods, has cost more American lives than were lost on 9/11, and produced tens of thousands of maimed young men and women besides.
But today is not a day to dwell on numbers, nor even common sense or reasonable argument. That is, given the hour, blasphemous. Today is the day for remembering why we are afraid, not what that fear has allowed others to do in our name. Today, the 11th of September, is the Bush administration’s 4th of July.
There has been a great deal of speculation as to how the Presidency of George W. Bush will be remembered. Some claim that twenty years from now he’ll be regarded as one of the great Presidents due to what some view as his unwavering leadership in the War On Terror and the initiatives undertaken by his administration. On the other hand, many believe he will be remembered as one of the worst and most damaging Presidents in US history.
In twenty years I will hold with neither outlook. I will, at the age of fifty six, believe what I believe now. That, quite simply, he got away with it. And that we let him.
In Addition
Editor’s Note: The BBC website features a story today about the reaction of the press to General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker’s testimony before Congress entitled US media underwhelmed by Iraq report. They also feature another story of interest entitled US surge has failed - Iraqi poll. Also worth a look is TMP’s Iraqi Civilian Casualties: 2007 More Deadly Than 2006.
Updated by the author at 6:02 PM PST.
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September 11th, 2007 at 9:48 am
in twenty years, bush will be regarded as a lucky son of a bitch having gotten away with what he did, with the amount of bridges he burnt, and everything else will be irrelevent, unfortunately. The lives he cost will be but a number, but the fact that he will remain a legacy in US history, let alone the effect he had on the world, is truly disturbing.
Personally I think he should be the joke of the century, you know, people will be telling it twenty years from now, and it’ll still be funny. But he’s already done an excellent job of that himself. Maybe that’ll be the punchline- that he was “clever” enough to turn himself into the longest running joke in US politics.
But I digress….
September 11th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Must figure out how to use the editing feature. I think I deleted my whole comment instead.
I’m flying out today and I’ve received emails and being reminded in the office of flying out on 9/11. I’m not afraid of flying or dying. I’m more afraid now of retaliation done in my name to seek “justice”. I thought my brother was a bit loopy when he named his oldest son Justice. Reason being, he said, “there’s no justice in this world, now there is.” I’m beginning to see what he means.
I’ve been getting emails and reminders to “have a moment of silence on this day.” I’m trying not to be angry about it. I don’t think one life is more valuable than another. I think if we’re going to have a moment of silence for close to 3000 innocent people being killed, we should do that when numbers of innocent people reach that figure in foreign countries.
Where are the ceremonies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur etc.? Who’s speaking for them? Are their lives just not as valuable?
I will never forget where I was that fateful morning 6 years ago. I’ll never forget the feeling of horror and fear. Sadly, I won’t know where I was in 6 years this past July when over 2800 people died during the current occupation. Nor will I ever know their names, the anguish of their parents and the children they’ve left behind. For that, I’m ashamed. And angry.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I HAVE to believe that he WON’T get away with it.
At some point in time he is going to answer for it ALL !
September 11th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Absolutely 9/11 was a horrible tragedy, and even worse is the tragedy of Bush’s reaction since then. Does killing thousands more Americans, Iraqi’s and countless others in the name of ‘War’ make it okay now? Will they ever heal?
Every time I see Bush and what he/his administration is doing now in Iraq, and wherever, makes me flabergasted that they are the ‘world leaders’ so to speak. We are killing ourselves, and I…just…can’t believe how far humans have come, but then how far we really haven’t come at all since the days of hunting game.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Perhaps in 20 years we’ll still be trying to figure out HOW he managed to get away with it.
OT: I wanted to comment on one of your flickr pictures (e.g. the recent one of your cute dog - wanted to know what kind it is) but I see no place for comments. I’m fairly new to flickr - am I missing a link to comment or something?
September 11th, 2007 at 11:34 am
[quote comment="25871"]in twenty years, bush will be regarded as a lucky son of a bitch .[/quote]
there is nothing lucky about it. the adults in my country have sat back and allowed to happen. we have enabled it.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:34 am
I’ll have to duck the tomatoes after this, maybe.
Just wondering if it shouldn’t be “Thanksgiving Day” instead, for Dubya and crew.
After all, they must be thankful for the opportunity to screw over their own people with umpty-hundreds of billions of dollars of spending on poorly rationalised wars. Not to forget the chance to throw said nice, shiny war up to distract said people from noticing that the architect of that day’s tragedies has conveniently slipped into the background, uncontested.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:35 am
[quote comment="25878"]Perhaps in 20 years we’ll still be trying to figure out HOW he managed to get away with it.
OT: I wanted to comment on one of your flickr pictures (e.g. the recent one of your cute dog - wanted to know what kind it is) but I see no place for comments. I’m fairly new to flickr - am I missing a link to comment or something?[/quote]
You have to add him as a friend before you can comment on his pics : )
September 11th, 2007 at 11:38 am
[quote comment="25875"]I HAVE to believe that he WON’T get away with it.
At some point in time he is going to answer for it ALL ![/quote]
One can believe… but I don’t think anything will be done…
September 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
No doubt in my mind he, and all his puppet masters, will have gotten away with it…and really, they all ready have.
There will always be the spin doctors in place who will twist the facts to point reason and blame elsewhere. Man, talk about dishonouring those lives that were lost in the attack and any other conflict that has resulted from it!
PS:
Oh Matt,
If you can make 20 plus ‘36′ = 49 I’m gonna get you to do my taxes next year!
heheh…nice try,Slick!
September 11th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
[quote comment="25881"]
You have to add him as a friend before you can comment on his pics : )[/quote]
Just call me Supergenius. ;)
Thanks.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
And the typical George Bush hating remarks begin; all too predictable from you guys…..
September 11th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
What makes you think Canada will exist 20 years fron now?
September 11th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
[quote comment="25889"][quote comment="25887"]And the typical George Bush hating remarks begin; all too predictable from you guys…..[/quote]
Please do provide some points that are positive if you’re able.[/quote]
Amen.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
[quote comment="25886"]PS:
Oh Matt,
If you can make 20 plus ‘36′ = 49 I’m gonna get you to do my taxes next year!
heheh…nice try,Slick!
hahahaha, I was actually adding something to do with bills and totally put in a number stuck in my head. ha[/quote]
I noticed that… but I was being nice!! : P I was gonna let you feel 49 in 20 years!!! : )
September 11th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
We, on orders from above, paused for a minute at work to remember the victims. (6:04AM The time the first plane hit)
My thoughts ran from those killed outright to those who still suffer without compensation because the EPA said everything was okay and that big cloud of disintigrated glass, metal, drywall, carpet, office machinery, etc, etc, etc, had no ill effect on lung tissue.
Then to the mastermind who remains quite comfortable and whose every word regarding “the invader” rings more true each day.
Then to the paranoia that tries to control all my actions while at work, telling me that people who had nothing to do with terrorism or the attack, are to be suspected for praying to the same god as me, but who for them, has a different name.
I was taken aback by your title for this post. With all that the 4th of July means to me as an American. But it did sink in after a short time as being dead on.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
[quote comment="25891"][quote comment="25886"]PS:
Oh Matt,
If you can make 20 plus ‘36′ = 49 I’m gonna get you to do my taxes next year!
heheh…nice try,Slick!
hahahaha, I was actually adding something to do with bills and totally put in a number stuck in my head. ha[/quote]
Thanks for clarifying that Kanji … I was starting to feel WAY TO OLD ! lol
forgive me if I have messed that quote up : p
September 11th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Take pride in the predictability guys. I guess we don’t waiver on our beliefs.
For me today should be about mourning the lives of those lost in the games played by governments and the elites. Those who died on this day were all victims, as those who have died in Iraq are, of powerful men with grand ambitions who care not for the repercussions of their actions. Today we should mourn our powerlessness. That is what I mourn on remembrance day, and that is what I will mourn today. There is no honour in taking lives, no matter what side you are on, and that is something I firmly believe.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I should add, my theme song for the day:
http://gallery.mac.com/irisdoe#100016
September 11th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
All too predictable remarks?
Okay - On this most solemn of days I fantasize of giving George nice hot stone massage….
What better a way to honor those lost?
Unpredictable…that’s much more appropriate….
September 11th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
[quote comment="25887"]And the typical George Bush hating remarks begin; all too predictable from you guys…..[/quote]
That has to be one of the strangest statements I’ve ever seen on this site. Who cares if posts are predictable as long as they are rational?
What’s everyone gonna do, talk about what a great job Georgie has done with bringing justice to the hijackers just for the sake of being unpredictable?
September 11th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Yeah, I was/am confused about the 4th of July comment. I wasn’t aware that the day held any significence to Canadians.
September 11th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
[quote comment="25887"]And the typical George Bush hating remarks begin; all too predictable from you guys…..[/quote]
The fact that an opinion on something is reiterated by so many that it becomes “predictable” speaks volumes for me. If something’s being said over and over, with consistency, maybe it’s worth listening to? Because if it was just jibberish, you wouldn’t find so many feeling and expressing the same thing?
For every person speaking their mind about GW and his administration, there’s one like you defending them….so who’s predictable here?
Why don’t you offer some insight instead of this feeble attempt at proving your point?
September 11th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
There always has to be one person who goes against the grain just for the sake of doing so…not that differing opinions shouldn’t be recognized. Sometimes I think people talk just to appease others.
Still, in twenty years, there will be people like us that remember what happened, and know the truth. (It bothers me to think how much misinformation is written in the history books when I think about it). Anyway, in twenty years, if this ball of crap we call earth is still spinning, I think there will be a fair number of people who will not sit idly to the notion of writing Bush as a hero or liberator.
Even still, I think about the atrocities that have occurred with other presidents. The bombing of Kosovo during Clinton’s administration….I know a girl who is a refugee from there who has lived in Canada since the age of 6 and she tears up thinking about how unfair it is that people don’t recognize the innocent lives lost and regard Clinton as a good president. It really gets me upset to see her cry when she recalls her experience there and just how ignorant most of us are to such problems.
So many lives die in vain. My father passed away not more than two years ago and I have to travel with that pain every single day. Yet it wasn’t some kind of oppression that killed him, it was heart that gave out after a hard life as a construction worker (he was a workaholic, always trying to provide as much as he could for myself and the rest of my family). I hate the disequilibrium our society puts to those who have used their hands to build the very foundations we live in. I go to university now in order to free myself from the life he tried so hard for me to avoid and yet I can’t help but feel miserable that I didn’t get to free him from such a hard life. I feel like he himself died in vain by working so much and then having his entire business liquidated after he passed. I bring this up because I sometimes wonder if it is selfish for me to grieve the way I do for my loss when plenty of people out there aren’t even given the chance to live a “free life” and have had their entire families taken away by the will of another human being.
Went on a little longer than I wanted and probably convoluted my point entirely, but I think I needed to get that off my chest to anyone out there who might know what I’m talking about. Thanks
September 11th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Bush is the assclown behind the attacks remember the first name for his iraq operation said it all
OPERATION IRAQI LIBERATION or O.I.L. for short
September 11th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Today on my way home from school I saw banners attached to bridges saying “9/11 was an inside job, wake up sheep”. I’d completely forgotten what day it was until then.
September 11th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
George Bush looks like a monkey…haha!!!
Has anyone tried that thing on Google yet where you type FAILURE in the search bar, then click the “I’m feeling lucky” button? I’m sure most have, but for those who haven’t, please do give it a try…:)
See ya October 26th, Matt (Massey Hall in Toronto)!!!
September 11th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
[quote comment="25915"]
Has anyone tried that thing on Google yet where you type FAILURE in the search bar, then click the “I’m feeling lucky” button? I’m sure most have, but for those who haven’t, please do give it a try…:)
[/quote]
It’s actually “miserable failure” and, sadly, the deal is up
September 11th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
[quote comment="25879"][quote comment="25871"]in twenty years, bush will be regarded as a lucky son of a bitch .[/quote]
there is nothing lucky about it. the adults in my country have sat back and allowed to happen. we have enabled it.[/quote]
true enough. Others totally enable him and should be accountable for their own mistakes by throwing their backs out by kicking their own asses. amen!!
And true to matt’s word, keep the negativity out by judging others in the comment section.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
honestly…i find it hard to joke about anything concerning bush and his administration….ok ya he looks as dumb as he is, but when i see all the american talk shows living off this guy it almost makes me sick!…the fact that he got voted back in to power is also mindboggling, although i guess you can never be sure who is counting ballots!
i cant fucking believe its been 6 yrs and not a thing has changed for the better! its like we are digging the worlds biggest whole…maybe when we get to the center of the earth we can find safety from the nukes!
i hate that canada is now red ‘blue’ and white….we need to stop talking about this shit and vote the liberals back in! anways,
one week till i finally see this jerk play his guitar…cant wait!…peace out people!
September 11th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
[quote comment="25871"]in twenty years, bush will be regarded as a lucky son of a bitch having gotten away with what he did, with the amount of bridges he burnt, and everything else will be irrelevent, unfortunately. The lives he cost will be but a number, but the fact that he will remain a legacy in US history, let alone the effect he had on the world, is truly disturbing.
Personally I think he should be the joke of the century, you know, people will be telling it twenty years from now, and it’ll still be funny. But he’s already done an excellent job of that himself. Maybe that’ll be the punchline- that he was “clever” enough to turn himself into the longest running joke in US politics.
But I digress….[/quote]
a joke? yes, one that millons died over.
its not funny when lives are being thrown away for what seems like a fucking pointless point
September 12th, 2007 at 12:28 am
…I sometimes wonder if it is selfish for me to grieve the way I do for my loss… (quoting DaveBags)
You can only live your own life. And please consider this, that grieving is not selfish - it’s a testament to the person who has passed away.
September 12th, 2007 at 6:10 am
“One wonders if Iraqis mark the invasion of their country with the same somber reflection that we afford September 11th? ” M.Good
What also sickens me is wondering how al-Qaeda mark/celebrate the day.
September 12th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
[quote comment="25918"][quote comment="25915"]
Has anyone tried that thing on Google yet where you type FAILURE in the search bar, then click the “I’m feeling lucky” button? I’m sure most have, but for those who haven’t, please do give it a try…:)
[/quote]
It’s actually “miserable failure” and, sadly, the deal is up[/quote]
bummer…(before, I was actually able to get it with just “Failure”)
September 12th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Wow, didnt think I’d spark that kind of feedback. All I was trying to do was merely point out how most of you guys are content to bash and belittle George Bush and everything he has done. I’m not saying the man is without faults; I’m not saying he hasnt made mistakes; what I am saying is that way to many things are blamed on the guy. Remarks like “September 11th was George Bush’s fourth of July” are just insane. I find it very hard to believe George was just waiting for some disaster to strike so that he could implement some kind of scheme that he has been cooking since he became President. I find it very hard to believe that on Sept. 11th he was fist pumping going “great, now I can invade Iraq!” Thats absolute garbage. I’m not trying to stick up for him, I’m just trying to inject some sanity into this. Yeah, they arent going after Osama; they definitely mucked up and lost focus with the Iraq thing. I agree 100% with that. However, I find it insane that some of you guys would buy into a statement like that. Maybe you all have watched Faranheit 9/11 too much. The predictable comment was merely pointing out how someone states something negative about current world issues or the US and everyone jumps onboard with the “George Bush is stupid” and “George Bush is the devil” remarks.
September 13th, 2007 at 9:48 am
[quote comment="26058"]I find it very hard to believe George was just waiting for some disaster to strike so that he could implement some kind of scheme that he has been cooking since he became President. I find it very hard to believe that on Sept. 11th he was fist pumping going “great, now I can invade Iraq!” Thats absolute garbage. I’m not trying to stick up for him, I’m just trying to inject some sanity into this. Yeah, they arent going after Osama; they definitely mucked up and lost focus with the Iraq thing. I agree 100% with that. However, I find it insane that some of you guys would buy into a statement like that. Maybe you all have watched Faranheit 9/11 too much. The predictable comment was merely pointing out how someone states something negative about current world issues or the US and everyone jumps onboard with the “George Bush is stupid” and “George Bush is the devil” remarks.[/quote]
-I’ve never watched Farenheit 9/11, but I still think he uses this date as an excuse.
-George Bush is not the devil…the devil is smart!!!
September 14th, 2007 at 11:11 am
[quote comment="26058"]. I find it very hard to believe George was just waiting for some disaster to strike so that he could implement some kind of scheme that he has been cooking since he became President.[/quote]
You find it hard to believe because you don’t like to do your research. You can find neoconservative blueprints for Iraq by Wolfowitz dating back to the 1980’s (Read “A Pretext For War” by James Bamford.) Is it just a miracle that he was chosen by Bush? What about Condi Rice? She’d been urging President Clinton since 1998 to go back into Iraq to challenge Saddam’s tyranny. Yep, she ended up there too. On August 6th 2001, when he was given a briefing about imminent attacks on the United States why didn’t my president speak with CIA leader George Tenet? Britain and the U.S. had been performing aerial campaigns in Iraq as recently as Febuary of 2001. But it all just happened to fall together right? Like the 2 years of soundbytes that followed 9/11 by almost any White House official, you know the ones tying Saddam Hussein to September 11th.
Yawn.
September 14th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
So because Wolfowitz and Condi Rice wanted to go into Iraq for some time this somehow means that Bush as well wanted to jump into Iraq as soon as the opportunity presented itself? Thats real sound logic. So if I happen to employ someone who is a communist, do I become a communist by association? Thats the kind of logic Joseph McCarthy employed…worked out really well for him…..
September 17th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Something funny about the permalink. Is that a typographer’s apostrophe in “administration’s”? It’s causing me grief when I try to link