Faith-based Intelligence

Even while the White House admits to misrepresenting the facts regarding Iraq and nuclear weapons, Bush was off-message in Africa. Flying around the African continent seems to have complicated the effort of preparing Bush on how to answer properly when pressed on issues. When asked by a reporter about the bogus claims of links between Niger and Iraq regarding nuclear weapons, Bush tried to sidestep the issue:

Bush, in South Africa on the second leg of an African tour, faced reporters for the first time since the White House admitted early Tuesday that he had overstated Iraq's alleged efforts to procure uranium.

But he deflected a question on whether he regretted highlighting the allegation in his State of the Union address in January.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world peace and there is no doubt in my mind the United States along with our allies and friends did the right thing in removing him from power,” Bush said at a joint appearance with South African President Thabo Mbeki.

“I am absolutely confident in the decision I made. I'm confident that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”

What does he base his confidence on, considering the weakness of intelligence both in the United States and Britain? There will be no WMDs found in Iraq, and both sides of the Atlantic are now trying to spin the situation into a quest for WMD programs, which is nonsense. Bush and Blair took us to war over an imminent threat of weapons being used, not over some scientists researching how to make weapons. And certainly not over old stuff buried in the desert for five or more years.

It seems that the White House are now in full damage control mode over this issue, although Bush himself seems unable to admit he was wrong. He apparently believes his orders come from God. While meeting with the Palestinian Prime Minister Bush is quoted as saying:

God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you can help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them.

kherr @ 23:53 CDT | link | war