Still Not Getting It Department

I have serious issues with the Bush Administration. Patriot Acts I, II, and — I pray not, but proabably other bad sequels. John Ashcroft’s Justice Department. Unrealistic budgeting. The list goes on. One problem I don’t have is difficulty believing the President says what he means about the Terror War.

Bush presented an ultimatum to the Taliban. They balked, and now they’re gone from power.

He told us he’d go to the UN before going to war against Saddam. He did.

We were promised a “good plan” for the war, and we got one.

Bush claimed he’d do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. By any historical standard, civilian casualties were way off the scale — on the low end.

The world heard from Bush that the Iraqis would choose their own government, and already — with fighting still going on in the north — locals are taking on some of their own governance.

Bush said that Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqi people. And the editors of the New York Times say:

Iraq is no longer a republic of fear, but it is still a republic of oil. Some 112 billion barrels lie beneath its soil, more than a tenth of the world’s known reserves. How the Bush administration handles the management of that resource as it gains control of the country will go a long way toward determining not just the future of Iraq but also America’s worldwide reputation. Any effort to manipulate Iraq’s oil for the benefit of the United States and American oil companies rather than the benefit of the Iraqi people will squander whatever political gains Washington has won in the war.

I say, “It’s all about OILLLLLLL.” Sigh.