Why the Bush Years Just Won’t Go Away
The biggest criticisms of Obama from the left have been about his policies regarding continuation of some of the Bush state secrets policies. He seems to be going back on a campaign promise to be open and accountable to the American people. Although I strongly disagree with many of his decisions, I think I understand why he’s making them. Obama is in a really unfortunate situation of inheriting Bush’s really f’ed up everything – Bush’s FUBARed econcomy, FUBARed foreign policy and FUBARed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama really wants to get positive things done like fixing the economy, improving the U.S.’s standing in the world and getting healthcare for all Americans and he feels like a long, drawn-out fight about actions of the Bush adminstration will lead to gridlock and distract from the real work that needs to be done.
Cheney, Porter Goss and others have already been firing warning shots across the bow, with leaks about Jane Harman’s wiretap and Pelosi’s briefings. Cheney et al. are warning Democrats that they will take them down with them if necessary. Republicans have put themselves in the position of arguing two mutually exclusive ideas, that torture is necessary and that Nancy Pelosi is bad for not objecting to it. What the Republicans are perhaps failing to realize is that the steady drip of revelations makes investigations more likely, not less. Pelosi is now calling for investigations, perhaps thinking that investigations will clear her name or that worse revelations will distract people from her actions.
The latest non-Pelosi revelations are even more damning and will just increase the pressure to conduct investigations. McClatchy has reported that Dick Cheney ordered torture to get evidence for the non-existent Iraq-al Qaida link:
“There was constant pressure on the intelligence agencies and the interrogators to do whatever it took to get that information out of the detainees, especially the few high-value ones we had, and when people kept coming up empty, they were told by Cheney’s and Rumsfeld’s people to push harder,” he continued.
“Cheney’s and Rumsfeld’s people were told repeatedly, by CIA . . . and by others, that there wasn’t any reliable intelligence that pointed to operational ties between bin Laden and Saddam, and that no such ties were likely because the two were fundamentally enemies, not allies.”
Senior administration officials, however, “blew that off and kept insisting that we’d overlooked something, that the interrogators weren’t pushing hard enough, that there had to be something more we could do to get that information,” he said.
Buh bye ticking time bomb scenario.
GQ is now reporting about how Rumsfeld sent Iraq war reports to Bush with religious imagery and Biblical quotations. [Slideshow
here]
The briefing’s cover sheet generally featured triumphant, color images from the previous days’ war efforts: On this particular morning, it showed the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down in Firdos Square, a grateful Iraqi child kissing an American soldier, and jubilant crowds thronging the streets of newly liberated Baghdad. And above these images, and just below the headline secretary of defense, was a quote that may have raised some eyebrows. It came from the Bible, from the book of Psalms: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him…To deliver their soul from death.”
Below is an example of a report cover:
This is what our government was doing in our names, under the guise of protecting us. And we’re only scratching the surface. We must find out what happened so we can make sure it never happens again. I don’t want a repeat of the mistakes of Watergate and Iran/Contra, which was just move on. Meanwhile, people who were doing things wrong sit in positions of respect and come back into power eventually. Cheney and Rumsfeld both came from the Nixon era.
To move forward, we’re going to have to look backwards. I hope Obama is trying to follow the Roosevelt model of “make me do it.” If so, it is smart politics to let the pressure for investigation build from the American people so that the eventual investigation does not look like a partisan witch-hunt.
I’ve been leaning towards the “make me do it” model as well. I see nothing to be gained by Obama being point man on these issues. I do, however, see a lot to lose – like health care reform, etc.
Whenever I stop and think of the absolute mess Bush and Co. left I become extremely angry. It’s become so tiring to clean up after Republicans, and I’m through listening to them wail about what things cost after they’re out of office.
Funny how every Republican administration since Nixon has been tainted by scandals that should have led to impeachment (I include Bush I because he pardoned the Iran-contra team). Eisenhower was the last one who was reasonably clean, clean enough to warn us of the military-industrial complex.
Forget the “party of no.” This is the “party of up to no good.”
I said this in another thread recently, but I do think that Pelosi and Hoyer (Hoyer!) standing up for more information is about upping the ante on what Dick Cheney and his minions apparently did here — order torture to get their dramatic reason to go to Iraq.
What would be really useful, would be a media which actually puts together the threads on this story and stops with the What Did Pelosi Know and When Did She Know It bullshit. Nonstop reporting on the process avoids any discussion of what the orchestrated mau-mauing of Pelosi is meant to distract from. And every last one of you media people know that this is how it happens. Stop following the shiny and look at what they don’t want you to know. Besides, the best way to get to the bottom of what she knew is to follow the threads. He say she say and the nonstop process crap illuminates nothing.
Cassandra
don’t hold your breath waiting for the press to do their job right now they have been taken in on what and when did Nancy know. in stead of who commited and approved these war Crimes.
Even Woodward won’t touch this.
The point for us who want to know the facts, is to select the press that chips away to uncover them, the Lehrer News Hour and the Diane Rehm Show are two that come to mind. The Ed Show is also showing promise with an interesting approach to the dig for facts, with a lot of editorializing thrown in.
UI, I really like the context in which you placed the issues — it makes a lot of sense, in a very well written piece.
As I have been concerned about a number of Obama’s policy decisions, the push back or “make me do it” approach seems to be the only way to go now. Obama seems confused about principles, which dominated his campaign, and pragmatic governance which dominates his current decisions. He seems to be losing his courage and confidence.
I can’t help but wonder if he is allowing himself to be intimidated by the party of “no” and by Cheney and the like, in that his political pragmatism now is inhibiting him from acting on the principles he once espoused. The more Bush-like he allows himself to become, against his principles, the more vulnerable he will ultimately be in 2010 and 2012, assuming that there will be insignificant resolution by then of the economy and the wars.
I’m beginning to think that he is moving into a no-win position, in which the best way out is to gamble, meaning to act on principle and let the political chips fall where they may.
Thanks Perry, for the feedback. I appreciate it.
Yes, I do think there are journalists and bloggers investigating the Bush years. Marcy Wheeler comes to mind as someone who has done a lot of digging, even scooping the NYT on the KSM waterboarding.
Yes, I do think people behind the scenes are influencing his decisions. Look at what’s happening with DADT. Why is he backing away from that? I assume it’s because there is some military pushback.
About DADT and other decisions re the military (Afghanistan escalation), and torture issues (renditions, military commisions), yes, someone seems to be influencing his decisions. Why else such significant changes?
The responsibilities of being CiC must be daunting, leaving little room for error, which may be another factor — play it ultra-safely.
Obama needs to explain not just the reasoning behind his policy decisions, but also the reasons for the changes, otherwise I fear that he will lose some of his support, from me at least.
The problem then arises, if not Obama, then who? I hope it does not get to that, as I still have the highest opinion of his character and leadership skills. I just don’t wish to see them submerged out of fear of political repercussions brought on by Darth Vader and the like!
I think the right things will happen, but it will be slower than we think. If I may go deep into Obama’s brain, I think he is going to force the courts to make decisions. One thing Bush would do would be to withdraw right before decisions that would go against him, so that limits on his power weren’t written into law, or were left ambiguous. I think short term the people who want to hide things think they have won, but the information will be forced out by FOIA requests in the long run. Obama’s a Constitutional lawyer, I think he knows what he’s doing.
At what point between 20 January 2009 and 20 January 2013 will y’all decide that the actions of the administration are the responsibility of President Obama, and not the previous president?
News Flash- the FUBAR Economy is clearly Obama’s economy.
Every action taken since his inauguration will make the economy worse not better.
Mike Protack
I noticed that even Protack won’t even touch the FUBARed foreign policy or Iraq War.
I love Republican logic. 9/11 wasn’t Bush’s fault because he had only been president for 8 months (despite ignoring warnings “bin Laden determined to strike in the U.S.”) but on January 21, 2009 the economy is all Obama’s fault.
Republican logic
oxymoron
@Dana — you know that the recession that we are in started in December 2007, right? And you know that there are serious organizations out there that determine the official beginning and ends of recessions, right? You also know that he is still trying to fix what you guys broke so thoroughly starting in December 2007, right? If you were delighted to live with a crashing economy for a full year, why are you looking for a magic recovery now?
Dana,
In your case, keep score like this:
Everything good that happens = Obama
Everything bad that happens = Bush
Kinda like the wingnuts and President Clinton from 2001 to 2009.