Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues The Trump Administration The Impeachment of Donald trump

I think you can count on us to give it to you straight here at the Rant, at least compared to other places.
My take on Mr. Bush "I didn't like him" and I am putting the generic on that all the way up until 9/11.
In the aftermnath of 9/11 I felt compelled to put my political views aside, and to focus on our issue, the attacks.
Going into AfPak as did initially was A-OK by me, we believed we were on the right track and I supported the move and believed it was absolutely necessary.

I was annoyed at the slow pace and introspection re the Saudis but I bargained with myself that their hold on oil made things much more difficult.
It wasn't until Bush dropped the focus off bin Laden and pivoted to Iraq that I felt we were being intentionally misled.
And CP, as it turns out, we were. Sorry. We were.

Then came the wives and mothers holding bake sales to buy body armor that they should have been supplied with all along, then Rumsfeld's "You go to war with the army you have" speech, which was bullshit, because Iraq was an ELECTIVE.

Then came cascading disasters courtesy of Paul Bremer...you know, at some point the whole thing began to stink to high heaven and I take issue with the whole "decent" tag.
If Bush was still decent at that point, if you really believe that, then you are forced to admit that he was thoroughly manipulated by Cheney, Rummy and the rest of the neocon cabal, who were only focused on the fortune they were making profiteering off the War on Terror.

If we can win a two-front overseas war against one of the most powerful fascist armies on the planet in less than four years with a woefully prepared military, and then proceed to win the hearts and minds of all of Europe in the aftermath, then the only reason we've enmired ourselves as we have repeatedly in Vietnam and the Middle East can only be because we do not allow ourselves to design war plans in the name of victory anymore.
Victory costs too much, victory doesn't bring in profits.

In fact, actual congressionally declared wars CANNOT bring in excess profits, so we don't even declare wars anymore. They are "managed conflicts" starring the very monstrosity Eisenhower warned us about.

Decent. What is decent anymore...
But I guarantee you I did not demonize, I decried the obvious.

That's not demonization. Because if it is, that would have to mean my DoD physicist father lied to me my entire life about values, and it would mean my mother was a fool to marry him and have me.

I spoke truth to the values I'd been taught since childhood by an immigrant patriot war hero father.

In some ways he was a man much like you, he had voted back and forth over the years, sometimes Dem, sometimes GOP. He voted Ike in the 50's but he voted JFK in 1960 and LBJ in 64. He voted Reagan in 80...I do not know if he voted for Jimmy Carter.

Don't say everyone demonized the Bushes if we just didn't like them.
It's just not true.
Reagan, on the other hand....but that is another thread altogether.