WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush in an interview with an Arabic-language television network Wednesday said that abuse of Iraqis at a U.S.-run prison were “abhorrent” and don’t represent “the America that I know.”
______________________________________
“It might, however, represent the America that I don’t know,” Bush then conceded. “You know, the one that was created when my entire administration spent a year telling our public about the deep connections between Iraq and the 9/11 atrocities and the now demonstrably false evidence of the presence of Al Qaeda there and that thing about the Iraqis’ continued development of weapons of mass destruction which they planned to give away to people for the purpose of killing Americans…”
“…I suppose that that America might be represented fairly accurately by the actions of those soldiers.”
“Yeah,” the President continued, “I suppose that pumping out that propaganda and shouting down anyone who tried to point out that there might be differences between Islamists, Baathists, civilian Iraqis, and other Muslims… well, that might’ve had some sort of dehumanizing effect and helped create an America that I don’t recognize. It’s possible…”
After a quick consultation with his advisors, however, the President shifted his tone as he continued the interview. “Um, that thing I just said? Forget it. The fact is that these abuses were carried out by a handful of misguided soldiers, freaks and exceptions, and they’ll be punished. They’re just hangers-on, actually, elements of the old regime or something. Mission accomplished.”
Fanny Roborat
33 comments
amazilia2
May 5, 2004 at 12:41 pm
1Adam, you’ve nailed it again, but we’re getting past the point at which we could grit our teeth and laugh at this tragedy. What the hell happened?
Chris B
May 5, 2004 at 1:22 pm
2I read that blurb and hoped you’d write this. Thanks, Adam.
Steve
May 5, 2004 at 2:43 pm
3It’s a cliche, I know, but the old Pogo strip keeps running around in my head like a hamster on a wheel — “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
tim
May 5, 2004 at 3:17 pm
4It’s not like the America I know, either. The America I know, if it’s into photos of sexual humiliation at all, strictly confines it to women.
Ian
May 5, 2004 at 4:29 pm
5The America I know is Canada.
Dee
May 5, 2004 at 5:12 pm
6I can’t remember who said this during the war in Vietnam, but it still seems to characterize Pentagon thinking today:
“When you got ‘em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
overland
May 5, 2004 at 5:48 pm
7Dee quoted:
“When you got ‘em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow”
As in that conflict, the Pentagon may think that but reality is a little different…I don’t know that there’s guys in caves thinking this same thought right now. Everything this administration has done has been a gift to their cause. And the latest, $25 Billion more so we can produce even more recruiting posters for Al Queda in the form of prisoner abuse, carefully documented in photos for easy use.
Bob
May 5, 2004 at 6:34 pm
8The America I Know
by George W. Bush
Dear Iraqi-ites:
The mistreatifying of prisoners by some–and I’m talking a very, very few–American soldiers and contractors is a sad thing. It makes me sad. It makes Laura sad. Even the dog is looking a bit peaked.
Many Iraqians seem to think that this proves America is bad. And since most of you have never been to America, and some of you haven’t even been able to watch Fox News, it’s understandable why you’d believe it. You just don’t know America. We are a good and kind people, and you’d think the world would know that, because we say it often enough. But if you still think America is evil, let me tell you about the America I know.
The America I know is humble. We know our limits. For example, we’d never topple the government of a country like Iraq without first having some prominentary Americans point out what a next-to-impossible task it would be to clean up afterward. Then the government would discredit those people, and we’d do it anyway. This is what we call Checks and Balances.
The America I know is generous. I can’t count the number of Americans who have given me $2000 for a rubbery chicken dinner. And these good people expect nothing in return, except maybe one of those oil depletion allowance tax things, or maybe a law allowing you to buy an Uzi at the 7-Eleven.
The America I know is fair. We have lots of poor people, but, believe me, we don’t treat them any better than we treat you. Some of them we treat worse, although I don’t think we’ve stripped any homeless people naked and put hoods on them. I’d have to check.
The America I know is honest. We always admit mistakes. Last week alone, my administration admitted about two dozen mistakes made by John Kerry, who, by the way, plans to pave over Iraq and put up a YMHA if he gets elected. Just something to think about.
I hope you can find it in your hearts to overlook–or better yet, completely ignore–what we’ve done to the prisoners, assuming that we actually did something. And even if we did do something, you can bet the American people will forget about it very soon. Take my word for it, Iraqerinos, a short attention span will put you one step farther down the road to good ol’ USA-style democracy.
historyenne
May 5, 2004 at 7:02 pm
9Damn, Bob, you should have your own blog.
Anonymous
May 5, 2004 at 9:31 pm
10“The America that I know.” Adam, I think you’ve discovered the “It depends on what your definition of ‘is’ is” of the Bush administration!
The fact that W is out of touch with America (and the world) is completely beyond his comprehension.
Murray
May 5, 2004 at 9:33 pm
11Some thing has been bothering me for a while.
In school I was told that one of the real benefits of a democracy is that they are not likely to go on an offensive war. Dictatorships and monarchies will try to advance their own position at the expense of the people who have to do the fighting. But in a democracy the people who fight will prevent a war that has no good reason. You could look at Viet Nam and say we went in there for no good reason, but we were’t aware of the deception until much later and the Communism hysteria was still fresh and strong.
Now we have a war were every justification has been proven a lie. It is costing us lives every day and now we have kicked open a hornet’s nest with the humiliation and torture of Iraqi prisoners, many of whom are just civilians, swept up when an insurrection happen near by.
We have spent $135 Billion and they need another $25 B just to finish out the year. Bush answered a question in Ohio yesterday about the cutting of federal funds for education and he said they needed to do it to hold the deficit in check.
Yet despite all of this, our country is not only at war, but for the most part, still proud and happy to be there.
I know, I know, Americans are idiots. But still this just goes against my beliefs that democracy is a good thing and that war is a horror that needs to be wielded only as a last resort to prevent genocide or in our own defense.
I don’t know, Canada seems to have it right. Maybe I should move back there.
mothis
May 5, 2004 at 10:41 pm
12A few comments about Canada, war and the Whole General Mish Mash: First off, an odd theory about why America is insensitive about war, it might have something to do with the fact that our own national anthem is about war and gives the idea that it is patriotic. Secondly, again with the national anthems, Canada might have things figured out because their national anthem talks about nature and how beutiful it is. Of course im probally totally wrong and this is just and odd coincidence but ya never really know.
Don
May 5, 2004 at 11:50 pm
13I have always thought that the sign on the aircraft carrier should have read “Omission Accomplished”.
But that’s just me, I know.
Jaye
May 6, 2004 at 2:08 am
14“When you got ‘em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow”
Sign over special assistant and White House counsel to Nixon Charles Colson’s desk.
Jerry
May 6, 2004 at 2:44 am
15War, war, war. That’s all I hear about! Don’t you know this country hasn’t been in a war since 1945?! For us to be at war, Congress has to declare it! Why all this “war” talk? You’re all just being silly!
And Bob, you say “…, we’d never topple the government of a country like Iraq without first having some prominentary Americans point out what a next-to-impossible task it would be to clean up afterward. Then the government would discredit those people, and we’d do it anyway.” A scurilous attack on our Executive branch. George H.W. Bush and Brent Scocroft wrote just that in Time Magazine, and NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE BY HIS SON TO DISCREDIT THEM! So there!
john kierig
May 6, 2004 at 11:22 am
16“elements of the old regime or something.”
the old regime being, of course, the Clinton administration. Yeah, that’s it: THIS IS ALL BILL CLINTON’S FAULT! I knew we’d get to the bottom of this fairly quickly.
in all seriousness. has anyone else noted that most of the sorrow expressed by the boy king and his minions seems to be about how pictures of the abuse exist. and not the actual abuse itself?
Pat R.
May 6, 2004 at 2:53 pm
17In the interest of injecting just a smidgen of balance re: our image of Canada (a country I admire in many, many ways) — who needs to go to war when you can vent a whole lot of collecive angst and primitive impulses on two or three hundred thousand vicious baby seals every now and then?
Landis
May 6, 2004 at 4:07 pm
18You are joking, right Jerry? You really should use the smily emoticon when pulling our legs…
Jerry
May 6, 2004 at 8:06 pm
19Landis—on THIS site I should be careful to announce when I’m being facetious?!
OK…just for you
Landis
May 6, 2004 at 8:58 pm
20:)
I don’t know - that actually sounds like something that “Jerry the Conserva-troll” might say. I’m just checking is all….
Ras_Nesta
May 6, 2004 at 9:05 pm
21Here’s the letter the incomparable Jesus’ General sent to Fox News honcho Roger Ailes on this issue:
Dear Mr. Ailes,
Sean Hannity’s interview of former School of the Americas interrogation instructor Tony Robinson was great. I’m worried, however, that the public isn’t embracing his description of the treatment of Iraqi POWs as being less harsh than a frat hazing. The American people don’t understand this because they can’t identify with Iraqi POWs. They need to see Americans they know and respect undergoing the same kind of hazing. Then, they’ll see it for the harmless fun it is.
I think you can make this happen. You can do so by reenacting the Abu Ghraib POW hazing on Hannity & Colmes or a Fox News Special. I’ll gladly volunteer to masturbate into Sean Hannity’s mouth. I’d consider it my contribution to the war effort. Afterwards, we could all go to my house for a night of pizza, beer, and gladiator movies.
Heterosexually yours,
Gen. JC Christian, patriot
Jerry
May 6, 2004 at 9:39 pm
22Yeesss, but the conservatroll wouldn’t know he was being absurd!
But I don’t want to accidentally get into a non-argument with anyone today…I’m in too good a mood! AirAmerica has arrived locally!! Talk radio with Al Franken, Garafalo,Mark Riley, Marty Kaplan and even the left’s own slightly crazed diatriber Randi Rhodes! And the station dumped Hannity, Savage, et al. to do it. Could life be better. I can still get my blood pressure up without the anger!
jody
May 7, 2004 at 9:42 am
23Gee, Adam, I’d almost think you were right, except that I’ve never heard GW speak that articulately. In fact, he is so inarticulate, even when (almost always, right?) scripted, that I can’t bear to listen to him. It embarasses me that people all over the world hear this guy as our leader. His defense of Rumsfeld yesterday was to my mind a damning with faint praise. If I had been Runmsfeld - and if I was, things would be pretty different aorund here let me tell you - and I heard my boss talk aobut me like that, I’d KNOW I’d be looking for a new job.
Johnnyboy
May 7, 2004 at 12:17 pm
24Since Shrub doesn’t read the papers and doesn’t get out much, the america he knows consists of his cabinet, his country club friends, and his family - unlikely that any of these would stoop to humiliating others in such graphic fashion. Rather, they would hire others to do it for them.
As for Canada, our anthem does mention warring (there’s a quaint reference to a sword or something), but more as an obligatory, check-the-box kind of thing, some requirement in order to be considered a country. Kinda like the canadian army. We don’t really mean anything by it.
Sam Le Dily
May 7, 2004 at 5:53 pm
25Well, the French national anthem is very violent too. The last stanza translates to:
To arms, citizens! / Form up your battalions / Let us march, let us march! / That their impure blood / Should water our fields
and you don’t see them doing crazy, balls over ass shit like we are nowadays, so I dont think that the whole national anthems thing is really relevant.
jerry
May 7, 2004 at 6:18 pm
26Ladies and gentlemen,
Excuse me for just a moment.
If you’re going to take jabs at me least have the decency to get my nom de plume correct. It is “jerry, the conserva-troll”.
Jerry and I came to an agreement quite a while back about that.
Thank you for cooperation.
Please, feel free to go back to your discussion.
jerry
the conserva-troll
Jerry
May 7, 2004 at 6:40 pm
27jerry, the conserva-troll,
my apologies. especially since i initiated the agreement, i ought to honor it. i promise that when i take jabs at you in the future (as i did above, a pathetic girly jab of which i am now almost ashamed) i will respect your “nom de debat.”
Jerry
May 7, 2004 at 6:58 pm
28Gee, it’s just easier to live up to an anthem that celebrates rockets and bombs than one like ‘America the Beautiful’ which calls on us to:
“Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.”
That stuff is hard, and you can’t send someone else’s sons and daughters off to do it.
BTW, no sword in ‘O Canada’, not even in earlier versions. A LOT of standing guard, but no weapons.
Murray
May 7, 2004 at 10:31 pm
29As a child, I was living in Canada when the nation anthem changed from “God save the Queen” to “Oh Canada” and the original version had everyone standing on guard without end. Let’s see if I can remember it.
Oh Canada, our home and native land,
True patriot’s love, in all our sons command,
with glowing heart, we see thee rise,
The true north strong and free,
Oh Canada, Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Oh Canada, Glorious and free, we stand on guard we stand on Guard for thee. Oh Canada we stand on Guard, for thee.
Anyways, that’s how I remember it.
If there are other verses they would be as obscure as any other verses to the “Star Spangled Banner”. Hell, you can hide anything you want in those later verses. How many people know that the last verse of Woody Guthrie’s “This land is Your land” decries private ownership of land?
jerry
May 10, 2004 at 11:34 am
30Thank you for your cooperation.
jerry
the conserva-troll
Johnnyboy
May 11, 2004 at 11:03 am
31>BTW, no sword in ‘O Canada’, not even in earlier >versions. A LOT of standing guard, but no >weapons.
Well, it’s obviously another case of improper translation. I was thinking of the french language version of the anthem (which was written by a french canadian), which at one point states (rather fancifully, since there was no historical basis for it): “Car ton bras sait porter l’epee, il sait porter la croix” (your arm knows how to bear the sword, it knows how to bear the cross). Sounds like a call to crusade to me, at least in french. The fact that us frenchies had to be forced into going to war in WWII is proof that anthems mean squat.
Anonymous
May 13, 2004 at 2:32 pm
32dd
Anonymous
May 13, 2004 at 2:36 pm
33Bush is getting his revenge. Saddam tried to kill his father. Bush’s father as president caused the economy to fall while he reigned. Now Bush is causing the economy to fall. Hmmmmmm… Like father like son. Lets re-elect him. Come’on now. He should be held for charges not campaigns. God better come soon cause who knows whats next if its left to humans to decide.