NO RUSH: Say what you will about the morality and/or likelihood of a war to drive Saddam Hussein from power (I'm in favor, but that's not my point), I'm getting more than a little sick of people from the anti-war camp railing about the "rush to war."
A few facts: the people around Bush have wanted to drive Saddam from power since right after 9/11, and some may even say before 9/11. Just as the "rushing to war" America waited more than two months after September 11 to invade Afghanistan, had there really been a "rush to war" with Iraq, that war would've begun the week after Afghanistan fell. Even more absurdly, the same people complaining now about a "rush to war" were complaining eight months ago about a "rush to war." When was the last time you were "rushing" to do something and it took almost a year?
The "rush" brigade accused "cowboy" President Bush of unilaterally deciding to invade Iraq- so he created a coalition with Britain's liberal Prime Minister Tony Blair, who favors Hussein's elimination as well. Bush was accused of bypassing Congress, so he got the permission of Congress. And when they accused the president of ignoring world opinion, he went to the United Nations and came out with a unanimous, 15-0 Security Council resolution in favor of disarming Saddam.
GOOD BUSHISMS: Even if you hate Dubya, you have to love some of the vocubulary he and his speechwriters have contributed to the lexicon. Bush 41's Gulf War-era catchphrases ("we must combat aggression") were spoofed memorably in "The Big Lebowski," but the Son has done one better. Already my friends and I have started referring to our roster of ex-girlfriends as the "Axis of Evil." Someone getting on your nerves in traffic or on the subway? Evildoers! And if you break up with one woman and start immediately dating another? Two words: regime change.
Posted by Stephen Silver at November 13, 2002 08:43 PM