1 Boring Old Man

BUSH: Saddam Husein will not change and will continue playing. The moment has arrived for removing him. I will try to use more subtle rhetoric while we await the approval of the resolution… Saddam Hussein is not being disarmed. We must take to him right now. We have shown an incredible degree of patience so far. They have two weeks. In two weeks our Army will be ready. I believe that we will obtain the second resolution… We will be in Bagdad at the end of March. There’s a 15% possibility that Saddam Hussein is dead or has gone away… We would like to act with the mandate of the United Nations. If we acted militarily we will do it accuratly, focusing onh our objectives. We will decimate the loyal troops and the regular army quickly… We are developing a package of humanitarian aid. We can win without destruction. We are preparing for a post Sadam Iraq, and I believe that there is a good basis for a better future. Iraq has had a good bureaucracy and a civil society. It would be possible to organized a federation. Meanwhile we are doing everything possible to take care of the political necessities of our friends and allies.

AZNAR: It is very important to count on a resolution… The next Wednesday [February 16th] I see myself with Chirac. The resolution already will have begun to circulate.

BUSH: It seems fine to me. Chirac knows the reality perfectly. Their intelligence services have explained it. The Arabs are transmitting to Chirac a very clear message: Sadam Hussein must go away. The problem is that Chirac is invested in Mister Arab, and that is becoming impossible. But I do not want to have any rivalry with Chirac… This is the Chinese water torture. We must end it.

AZNAR: I agree, but it would be good to count on the maximum number of possible people. Then a little patience.

BUSH: My patience is exhausted. I do not plan to go beyond the middle of March. [Saddam] is a thief, a terrorist, a military criminal. Compared with Saddam, Milosevic would be a Mother Teresa. When we enter we are going to discover many more crimes and we will take them to the Court the International of Justice. Saddam Hussein thinks that already it has escaped, that France and Germany have abrogated their responsibilities…

…

BUSH: When History judges us I do not want people to ask themselves, "Did Bush, or Aznar, or Blair fail to face their responsibilities?" In the end, what people want is to enjoy freedom…

AZNAR: The only thing that worries me about you is your optimism.

BUSH: I am optimistic because I believe I am right. I am at peace with myself.

^{my attempted clean-up of the Editor and Publishers [Google] Translation}

George W. Bush

George H.W. Bush

I can’t seem to easily let go of this recently released transcript. Even back then [February 22, 2003], a month before the invasion of Iraq, Bush is focused on how history would judge him. But it is only a Talking Point. He queries, "Did Bush, or Aznar, or Blair fail to face their responsibilities?" And he talks of France and Germany in terms of "reponsibilities." It’s hard to actually figure out what mind-set leads him to say those things, other than to postulate some idea that he thinks it is his responsibility to liberate the world. Somehow, he has the notion that he will be seen as a hero. That sounds a lot like something he’s been told, or needed to be told – that he’d be seen as a hero for invading Iraq. Within a couple of months, he literally flew onto an Aircraft Carrier announcing "Mission Accomplished!" dressed like a Combat Pilot, in one of the most bizarre scenes in American history. Lieutenant George W. Bush, a Reservist Pilot who went A.W.O.L. from his assignment, one that was a way for the son of a rich guy Congressman to avoid the Viet Nam War, dresses up like a Military hero and swaggers to the podium. But it must’ve represented how he saw himself – a hero fly-boy just like his father. Finishing up "Dad’s War."

But the reason I posted this again is something I remember from back in the winter of 2002-2003 – his impatience. Once he started talking about Iraq, he talked of little else. He kept saying Saddam Hussein had to disarm immediately. It was like he was doing people a favor to even consult with the U.N. Here, in his conversation with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, he’s filled with urgency. Aznar says, "… but it would be good to count on the maximum number of possible people. Then a little patience." Bush replies, "My patience is exhausted. I do not plan to go beyond the middle of March." What was the urgency? I wondered then. I still wonder. Now, we’re hearing the same thing about Iran. What is the urgency now? Why do we have to act now? Now that I think about it, why did he have to go to Alabams before his Military committment was completed? Every time he makes an appointment, he makes a speech about needing a rapid confirmation. Everything is hurried. Why?

The American agenda is not something that needs to be hurried – certainly not right now. President Bush has hurried us into a pretty deep hole, in his quest to be remembered as a hero who didn’t shirk his responsibilities. No matter, George. All the history books are going to be explorations about what was wrong with you, about how you got to be an impulsive, anti-hero. Forget your place in history. It’s already guaranteed…