George W. Bush's magic calendar returns

[ProSense]

George W. Bush's magic calendar returns

by Jon Perr



In the run-up to Thursday's celebration at the George W. Bush Presidential Library, America's 43rd president declared that "history will ultimately judge" his tenure in the White House. And that is precisely the problem for the custodians of Bush's legacy. After all, the slaughter of 3,000 people on 9/11, the catastrophic and unnecessary war in Iraq, illicit domestic surveillance and illegal detainee torture, the worst eight-year economic performance since Herbert Hoover, a near-doubling of the national debt (thanks in large part to tax cuts that will continue to drain the U.S. Treasury for years to come), the implosion of Wall Street and the disastrously bungled response to Hurricane Katrina all occurred on George W. Bush's watch.

Unless, that is, you don't just rewrite history but redefine time itself. According to the Republicans' Magic Calendar, George W. Bush somehow "kept us safe" despite the carnage on Sept. 11, 2001. Miraculously, it was President Bush who killed Osama Bin Laden, despite his opposition to the very kind of raid ordered by Barack Obama two years after Dubya left office. As for W's dismal economic record, his fabulists complain, Bush is wrongly getting a bad rap for recessions which should instead be blamed on Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

As you'll see below, creating the magical Bush timeline has been a team effort.

In December 2009, former Cheney adviser Mary Matalin spoke for all of Team Bush when she blamed all of 43's failures on someone else:

"I was there, we inherited a recession from President Clinton, and we inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history."

The September 11 Attacks

As a look back at the actual record shows, Matalin's finger-pointing was wrong on both counts. Beginning with her 9/11 fiction, the story starts but certainly doesn't end with two quotes from President Bush and his National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice:

"I believe the title was 'Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S.'"

"All right. You've covered your ass, now."

Writing in the New York Times last year, 500 Days author Kurt Eichenwald documented the Bush administration's near-total deafness to the rapidly growing threat from Osama Bin Laden in the summer of 2001. While Americans learned three years later of the famous Aug. 6, 2001 PDB ("Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S&quot , Eichenwald's findings show the Bush White House pre-occupied with Saddam Hussein at best and, at worst, asleep at the wheel:

The direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that "a group presently in the United States" was planning a terrorist operation. Weeks later, on June 22, the daily brief reported that Qaeda strikes could be "imminent," although intelligence suggested the time frame was flexible...

"The U.S. is not the target of a disinformation campaign by Usama Bin Laden," the daily brief of June 29 read...And the C.I.A. repeated the warnings in the briefs that followed. Operatives connected to Bin Laden, one reported on June 29, expected the planned near-term attacks to have "dramatic consequences," including major casualties. On July 1, the brief stated that the operation had been delayed, but "will occur soon." Some of the briefs again reminded Mr. Bush that the attack timing was flexible, and that, despite any perceived delay, the planned assault was on track.

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/25/1204812/-George-W-Bush-s-magic-calendar-returns

WATCH: Condoleezza Rice Defends Torture Program and Confirms Bush's Role in It
http://www.aclu.org/blog/human-rights-national-security/watch-condoleezza-rice-defends-torture-program-and-confirms

"Safe" = destroying lives via an illegal war, torture and economic devastation.

Iraqi Security Forces (post-Saddam) Killed: 16,623
Coalition Forces Killed: 4,805 (4,487 U.S.)
Coalition Forces Wounded: 32,753+ (32,226 U.S.)
Contractors Killed: 1,554
Awakening Councils Killed: 1,002+
Iraqi combatant dead (invasion period): 7,600–11,000
Insurgents (post-Saddam) Killed: 21,221–26,405 (2003-2011)
Civilian casualties: up to about 1 million

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War


Pressure Mounts On Obama To Investigate Torture
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022752702

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[Blue Owl]

2. History v8.3

Or wait, which version were we on again?