So Bush made the supreme sacrifice, returning from his vacation in Texas to Washington to inform Americans of his latest victories in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
His comments at the State Department yesterday came close to breaking his previous personal best in both the delusions and drivel categories.<\/p>\n
Bush began by declaring that Hezbollah was fully liable for every bomb that the IDF dropped, regardless of many farm workers were killed and how far the victims were from any military-related target: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153America recognizes that civilians in Lebanon and Israel have suffered from the current violence. And we recognize that responsibility for this suffering lies with Hezbollah. It was an unprovoked attack by Hezbollah on Israel that started this conflict.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
According to Bush\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s logic, if Israel had exterminated every living thing in Lebanon, it would still be faultless.<\/p>\n
For Bush, the latest Mideast conflict is another example of how America is bringing freedom to the world. Bush declared: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions have never been guided by territorial ambition<\/strong>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n This would be news to the Mexicans, some of whom have not forgotten 1846. Or to the Filipinos, or the Puerto Ricans, or the Cubans (who lived under America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thumb prior to 1959, after which they lived under Castro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fist). By Bush\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standards, Thomas Jefferson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon was spurred by a desire for spiffing up his botany collection.<\/p>\n But Bush\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s declaration is as credible as when Stalin proclaimed that the Soviet Union wanted only peace. Yet, people in Washington – people at editorial pages – swallow this crap as if being the president of the United States automatically turned a man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mouth into the Temple of Delphi.<\/p>\n Now, some people may look at the title of this blog and assume that I have been too harsh on America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Commander-in-Chief. I rest my case with the following excerpt from Bush\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments on the Israel-Hezbollah clash:<\/p>\n The world got to see what it means to confront terrorism. I mean, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a <\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u201cit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the challenge of the 21st century, the fight against terror.\u00c2\u00a0 A group of ideologues, by the way, who use terror to achieve an objective \u00e2\u20ac\u201d this is the challenge.<\/p>\n And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why in my remarks I spoke about the need for those of us who understand the blessings of liberty to help liberty prevail in the Middle East. And the fundamental question is: Can it? And my answer is: Absolutely, it can. I believe that freedom is a universal value. And by that, I mean I believe people want to be free. One way to put it is, I believe mothers around the world want to raise their children in a peaceful world. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I believe. And I believe that people want to be free to express themselves and free to worship the way they want to. And if you believe that, then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to have hope that ultimately freedom will prevail.<\/p>\n But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredibly hard work, because there are terrorists who kill innocent people to stop the advance of liberty. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the challenge of the 21st century.<\/em><\/p>\n