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January 11, 2004
Go find me a way to do this
Some comments on the new book The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill and the news and reactions surrounding it.
Firstly, contrary to how most news reports are representing it, this is not "Paul O'Neill's book". It is a book by Ron Suskind, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, about Paul O'Neill's experience in the Bush Administration. O'Neill cooperated of course (O'Neill gave Suskind 19,000 internal documents and took no money for his role in the book), was interviewed, and turned over thousands of notes and files, but from what I have been able to find out so far, he WAS NOT COMPENSATED. So this book is not a sell-out or cash-in, sorry to all the President's supporters who wish to paint it as so (although of course you could say a guy like O'Neill doesn't need the money, and he doesn't I'm sure).
O'Neill is doing interviews regarding the book, and has made some very damning comments so far, particularly this one from his 60 Minutes interview:
"From the very beginning, there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go,"
And this excerpt is from the book:
""It was all about finding a way to do it," and "That was the tone of it. The president saying, 'Go find me a way to do this.' "
These comments refer to January 2001, eight months before 9/11. The White House is going to have a lot of defenders (Bill Kristol is one of the first), and the mud has started to fly O'Neill's way already, but you have to ask: who is lying here? Did the President not say those things? Would the former Secretary of The Treasury and head of one of the world's largest multinational companies come out in public and start making things up? Put words in the President's mouth? I don't think so. Scott McClelland's response:
"The fact of the matter is that the international community viewed Saddam Hussein as a threat before Sept. 11 and that threat became even more of a threat after Sept. 11," (editor's note - why?) and "It appears that the world according to Mr. O'Neill is more about trying to justify his own opinions than looking at the reality of the results we are achieving on behalf of the American people," (editor's note - when saying "results" he must be referring to the 150,000 1,000 jobs created in December)
An administration official's response (read Karl Rove):
"No one listened to his wacky ideas when he was in office. Why should we start now?" (editor's note - then why was he hand picked by old pal Dick Cheney for the job?)
Well you know why you should listen? Because a contingency plan for any one state is one thing, but a President looking for an excuse as a pretext to invade another sovereign nation is another. I have yet to find any quotes refuting that the President used this language (and I suspect my quest for them will be about as fruitful as a search for Iraqi WMD).
And then a year later there was this:
""Fuck Saddam. we're taking him out." Those were the words of President George W. Bush, who had poked his head into the office of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. It was March 2002, and Rice was meeting with three U.S. Senators, discussing how to deal with Iraq through the United Nations, or perhaps in a coalition with America's Middle East allies. Bush wasn't interested. He waved his hand dismissively, recalls a participant, and neatly summed up his Iraq policy in that short phrase. The Senators laughed uncomfortably; Rice flashed a knowing smile. The President left the room."
You don't believe that quote? Maybe written by some crazy blogger or left-wing conspiracy theorist? It is from Time Magazine (here is a blog with some more information on the President's colorful language, which is a whole separate topic).
So this is what we have to go on. A President hell-bent on getting rid of one very bad guy. A President who lied about his intentions, at the least a lie of omission, and a President that massaged intelligence (see this article THE STOVEPIPE) and used false pretexts to get what he wanted from Congress and the American people. Sadly none of this is news to some people, but it would probably be news to a large number of Americans - and maybe even dismissed as the rants of a left wing maniac by a few. Well, sorry, but these are just some simple facts about the current President of The United States. I wish he had said, "Go find me a way to do this" about improving eduaction or health care - but I can't find any quotes on that.
Comments
There is an article in the New York Times today about the book:
Bush Sought to Oust Hussein From Start, Ex-Official Says
Most of these articles are going to point out the the removal of Saddam was on the agenda of President Clinton too. This is true, as a long term plan or strategy, but his administration was going about it by funding to the INC and other groups after having been prodded by various think tanks such as PNAC (here is some background). No one ever said President Clinton went around meetings saying, "Find me a way to do this". There is a huge difference.
Posted by: Anthony at January 12, 2004 10:17 AM
Is this man as religious as every one thinks. I don't think so. If he was how can he look in the mirrow an say its ok to kill all mthe people in the mid east.
Posted by: Kenneth Knight at November 4, 2004 03:27 PM
