April 28, 2003

Bush, misadministration lied to go to war
'Some things don't spin very well. Exhibit A would be Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admonishing the media when they ask about the elusive weapons of mass destruction. Before the war, the administration insisted that Iraq had hundreds of tons of chemical weapons and thousands of gallons of biological weapons. Now Rumsfeld says we must be patient, that finding easily concealed weapons takes time. Excuse me, Mr. Secretary, but isn't that just the argument the U.N. Security Council was using when you and I and many others were ridiculing their Inspectors Clouseau?

'But that is background noise to the issue I care most about: the need to hold elected officials accountable for what they say and do. It's not a Democratic or Republican or liberal or conservative proposition. If we could hold Bill Clinton accountable for fooling around with an intern and lying about it - and we did, even if the Senate wimped out at the end - surely we can hold president Bush accountable for his rationale for taking the country to war.

'Bush deliberately misled Americans to gather support for the Iraqi invasion - or unwittingly was misled himself by gung-ho advisers, none of whom wear uniforms. I don't know which of the two is worse, but either should carry a heavy political price.' - Snipped from Don Campbell's editorial in USA Today.



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