On October 22nd George Bush told George Stephanopoulos from ABC that his administration has “never been stay the course.” Immediately dozens of video clips showed Bush constantly has constantly been stating that he will “stay the course.” To some he appears to be blatantly lying to George Stephanopoulos and the American public. To others it seems as though Bush is finally considering pulling out of Iraq. More likely, though, he just goofed up what he was trying to say. What he was trying to say was that his administration and the military have always been adapting their strategy and tactics to win in Iraq.

Not only did Bush slip and appear to go back on his standard statement that he would stay the course, but on a closer look he has admitted that he and his administration do not have a functioning strategy in Iraq. He say that he and the military are “constantly changing tactics.” This means things are not working. It seems Bush and the military commanders do not know what their doing.

Just listen to his answer to George Stephanopoulos’ question asking Bush if a change of strategy shouldn’t come before the elections. Bush answers, “The strategy — rememeber, the goal is, like I defined, a government that can defend, sustain and govern itself. The strategy is a political strategy, a security strategy, and a rebuilding the country strategy.”

What? Goal, strategy? What is he trying to say? How can Bush be allowed to lead a country to war, if he can’t even get the difference between strategy and goals straight? He can’t even put together a coherent sentence.
The mid-term elections need to bring about a change. Unfortunately Bush is not on the ballot. His party is, though. Those who blindly support him. It is time for them to go. It is time to start a new course.

Tags: Bush, Mid-Term

Popularity: 46% [?]

The polls indicating a landslide victory for the Democrats in the upcoming mid-term elections reflect the complete failure of the Bush Administration and the Republican lead Congress in Iraq. This is not just a consequence of the Republican deception and failures it is a necessity. Only a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President can correct the U.S. strategy in Iraq. The Democrats must strike a new course and return to a multinational solution.

The majority of Americans no longer trust Bush and the Republicans to successfully conduct the war in Iraq. The events in the last few week and months reflect the inability of the Bush Administration to bring peace and stability to Iraq. It clearly underestimated the volatility of the country. It is now time for them to be held responsible for their actions.

The war against Iraq and in Iraq was aggressively pursued by the Bush Administration. They fabricated arguments against Iraq to win the support of the American public and the international community. Almost all of these arguments have been proven false. No considerable weapons of mass destruction have been found. Links between the Hussain regime and Al Qaida did not exist. The final argument put forth, that Hussain was a brutal dictator was in fact true but as sole argument for an invasion insufficient. Otherwise, the U.S. would be compelled to invade numerous countries around the world starting with North Korea (which also just conducted a test of a nuclear bomb, which proves it has weapons of mass destruction). When the Bush Administration was unable to convince the international community, it committed an act of aggression against a sovereign nation without explicit approval of the UN security council.

Still if we are to accept the last argument put forth by the Bush Administration – that they sought to free the Iraq people from the suppressive Hussain regime and bring peace, democracy and freedom to the country, we must acknowledge the fact that they have been unable to achieve this. It actually appears, though, that this was never the true goal pursued by the Bush Administration. The fact that corporations such as Haliburton have received government contracts for millions if not billions of dollar gives us an insight into a more probable intention for the war. This is probably the best explanation for Bush’s failure to achieve peace, stability and freedom for the Iraqis.

Even if we assume that the intention to bring a stable democracy to the Iraqi people was sincere, it is obvious that the invasion as well as the occupation of Iraq have not achieved this. Bush, the Pentagon and the military commanders have not even been able to equip the troops deployed to secure Iraq with adequate means to protect themselves. The creation of an Iraqi military and police force to secure the country and provide its citizens with the protection they need has been a disaster. More Iraqis have died in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion and occupation than under the suppressive rule of Saddam Hussain. There are simply no signs of stability, even in the long term, for Iraq.

The Bush Administration and the Republican Congress have failed in Iraq. The first and immediate consequence must be for the Democrats to regain control of Congress in the upcoming mid-term elections. This will give the Democrats control of Congress. The Democrats must then initiate comprehensive investigations into the deception of the American people to achieve the necessary approval for the invasion as well as an investigation into the endowment of contracts to selective corporations and finally the conduct of the military during the occupation of Iraq. The Democrats then need to work out a way to truly bring peace and stability to Iraq. This may even mean creating 3 independent countries with homogeneous religious and ethnic populations. Decisive is the withdrawal of U.S. troops replacing them with a effective multinational UN peacekeeping force.

Tags: Bush, mid-term, Iraq

Popularity: 34% [?]

Here is a typical example of tactics Republicans may use to win elections. Ted Strickland running for Governor in Ohio has been accused of living in a different district than where he is registered to vote. If hearings confirm this he may be forced to give up his candidacy. Although the accusations have come from a constituent, it is, according to the Dayton Daily News, the Ohio Secretary of State that has ordered the hearing. As it turns out this Secretary of State, J. Kenneth Blackwell, is Strickland’s opponent and is trailing by over 30 percentage points. Should the elections bord deadlocks in their decision, the Secretary of State’s office will be asked to break the decide.

Blackwell was the one who came under fire in the 2004 Election. According to the Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff Blackwell was responsible for disenfranchising hundreds of thousands Ohio citizens. Blackwell decided to reject voter registrations due to paper weight and restrict provisional ballots. These are just a few of several actions undertaken by Blackwell, the Republican Party and election officials listed in the report. In addition the report cites several irregularities counting and recounting the votes. The report’s conclusion is that “there were massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio. In many cases these irregularities were caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio.”

These allegations may or may not be true. They are serious accusations to be taken seriously, though. Blackwell’s office may not have the opportunity or choose to intervene in the accusations against Strickland. If however they do, and Strickland is forced to give up his candidacy, and Blackwell becomes Governor, it will be more than suspicious. Moreover, if the Democrats do not win back at least on house of Congress, it will harden the evidence that elections are being manipulated in the U.S.

Technorati Profile, Blackwell,Ohio, manipulation, Strickland

Popularity: 22% [?]

Today at a press conference White House press secretary Tony Snow was asked whether he believed that Bush’s campaigning in what were considered to be safe districts means that the Republican Party was in trouble. The Question was why should Bush campaign in districts thought to be sure Republican wins. The races in these districts have become very close since both Republican candidates became wrapped up in personal controversies. Republican Rep. Don Sherwood, R-Pennsylvania has admitted to an extramarital affaire and has been accused of trying to choke his mistress. Republican Sen. George Allen has been accused of racial insensitivity since he used the term “Macaca” for those of Indian decent.

Snow’s answer was interesting. Not only does he deny that the Republicans were down in the polls. His exact words: “This is a close election contest.” He tried to make Bush’s appearance in these districts as completely normal. He’s just out helping. Bill Clinton is doing the same. He seemed to ignore the fact that these were expected to be safe Republican victories and that one of the reasons the Republicans are down in the poll is because of the many scandal their candidates have been involved in.

In spite of the implied troubles for the Republican Party, he appeared confident that the Republicans would not lose control of both houses. It was Interesting that one of the main reasons for his confidence was that “Ken Mehlman says he’s got 55 million bucks more than the Democrats”. This is a crucial advantage for the Republicans. They can use this money for televised ad attacking their democratic opponents. If you don’t have the money , your not going to get your message across.

Even though it look like the elections will be won by the Democrats and that they will gain control of both houses, they will need to fight to the very end and be aware of possible Republican attempts to turn the election to their favor.

Mid-Term Elections, Bush

Popularity: 19% [?]