Harold Pinter acknowledgement speech

[kandrathe]

a] the false forwarded justification for the invasion in Iraq

We've been covering that one. But, again, the polarity of black and white seldom exists in the sphere of intelligence. The mistake made was in presenting hunches as facts, but then that was a political blunder. Bush saying "Saddam has WMD" to me is not equivalent to Clinton saying "I did not have sex with that woman". In the first case, Bush mostly believed that Saddam had or was close to having WMD. Everyone should have understood that there was a qualified "based on the information we have gathered and our analysis of the intelligence." tacked onto the end of the Bush statement. In the case of Clinton, he knew definitavely that he did have sexual relations with that woman.

b] the overriding of the United Nations in the same case

As I remember it they decided to not ask for final permission from the UNSC to go to war against Iraq, since they already had prior authorizaton that they needed and it was clear that if they asked again the answer would be no. If you believe in the law, then you must understand that the US and Britain had the legal means to do so, but lacked the final (and perhaps it would have been better) blessing of the UNSC.

c] the indifferent and dangerous generalisation of certain states to 'the axis of evil'

This was one of Bush's first speeches to the world, and iirc, he was trying to make a Reaganesque statement. Reagan would have pulled it off, but Bush just looked like a bully. Come to think of it, Reagan was viewed by most of the world as a bully as well. I guess if you take a firm stand and are willing to walk your tough talk against nations like N. Korea, Syria, Iran, and other nations supporting WMD proliferation and terrorists then you are a bully.

d] the inhuman treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay

I'm sure there are incidents of prisoner abuse at every prison. Your charge here is a little vague.

e] the undercover transportation of CIA prisoners over foreign airspace

The CIA, MI6, Mossad, KGB, etc, do whatever covert stuff they want to do and mostly we have no clue what they are doing. At least in the US, I know there is an congressional oversight committee. Bush is not in control of the CIA, it reports to congress and the executive branch.

f] the election defraud that lead to his first presidency in the first place

This is the best one. :) If you believe in the rule of law, and understand what happened in this election, then you would know that it was conducted fairly. Sorry it did not turn out the way you, and the army of Gore lawyers wanted it to. The votes in Florida were counted, then recounted, and according to the counts and the election laws of Florida, Bush won the electoral votes of Florida.

Other reasons why I think that he is a thug include his dubious affairs with some companies (oil or not) of his fathers friends, during which he earned money and power, and of course that he works with other thugs as well - Dick Cheney springs to mind (I think his ensnarement in illegal commissioning to his allies is unquestionable). Also the different measurement that is applied to terrorists that help the governments secret ambitions and to terrorists that are contra America is palpable. These reasons are not that wide spread than the ones above, though.

The nature of corporate power in politics goes way, way back. I just viewed "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" recently, and it still rings true every time I see it. There has been a puppet master behind the Presidency, and most of Washington for a long, long time. It bugs me too, but it is not unique to Bush, or this nation.