Memories of Bush - the Iraq Years

I don't expect to read any memoir penned by George Bush himself, I long ago gave up See-and-Say books. Still, there are many memories I will take away from the Bush Years.

Freedom Fries
Back when Republicans wanted war with Iraq more than life itself, France was the best friend the United States had. Like a true friend, France tried everything to stop us from committing a humongous folly. Of course, Republicans hated the French for being rational adults and responded like petulant children. They boycotted French wine and even flushed wine down the toilet to protest French maturity. Certainly the silliest overreaction of the anti-France movement was Freedom Fries. We hated the French because they were trying to stop what we anticipated to be a fun-filled, recreational war so to punish them we changed the common name of strips of deep-fried potatoes. That sure showed them.

Uranium from Africa
"The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." That was Bush's lie told during his 2003 State of the Union Address. That lie had its origins with Britain PM Tony Blair. While France was America's best friend in the run up to war, Great Britain was our alcoholic enabler. They were always telling us to take another drink from the war bar. Make it a double. Hell, set 'em up bartender, let's see how shitfaced we can get. One could argue, correctly, that during the first decade of the 21st century, Tony Blair was America's worst enemy.

The Plame Affair
No one but Dick Cheney should play Lex Luthor in any future remake of Superman. He has the looks, he has the morals, he has the ruthless bloodlust. When Ralph Wilson acted out of a desire for Truth, Justice, and the American Way by revealing that the report Iraq sought uranium from Africa was a lie, Cheney tried to have Wilson's wife killed by outing her as an undercover CIA agent. Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, survived but it is certain that many of her contacts in the Middle East, especially inside Iran, died because of Cheney's leaks. Cheney's leaks naturally set back CIA operations in the Middle East by decades. And Cheney, in true Lex Luthor fashion, doesn't give a damn.

Mission Accomplished
The iconic image from the Iraq War needs no link. We all remember the image of Bush declaring "major combat" over in Iraq infront of that "Mission Accomplished" banner. We all know that over 4,000 American servicemembers, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, have died in the Iraq War after Bush said it was over.

Carrier Landing
What we may have forgotten is that Bush made that statement on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, that Bush landed on that carrier in a plane Bush claimed to have flown. Heroworshipping conservative commentators gushed over the landing and even MSM types bought into the lie that Bush flew and even landed the plane. George Bush was never certified for carrier landings. Bush was never certified to fly an S-3B Viking. Forget the Secret Service, no CAG would allow an uncertified numbskull to land on a carrier flight deck. Too many lives are at risk. As for Bush "flying" at all, he may have been allowed to touch the stick but the actual pilot wanted to return to his family and would not have allowed him to control the plane.

Dead-enders
In June, 2003 Donald Rumsfeld described the ongoing Iraqi resistance as small pockets of 10 to 20 people. Dead-enders from the Ba'ath Party. What the resistance was, instead, was the beginnings of a Shi'ite-Sunni civil war with American troops fighting both sides.

"Bring Them On"
The next month, with the macho bravado available by being thousands of miles from the war zone, Bush challenged the Iraq resistance with those words. The resistance stood up to the challenge and brought it on, in spades.

Abu Ghraib
The American torture camp inside Iraq is unforgettable. While a handful of non-coms were convicted the true architect of the abuse, the civilian and military commanders that urged the jailers on have never been identified or punished. Yes, I'm talking to you, Donald Rumsfeld.

Post-Election Rape of Fallujah
After Iraqi dead-enders defeated the Marines in the first battle of Fallujah, Bush had to wait until after the 2004 election to deliver his vengeance. Just five days after barely defeating John Kerry, Operation Phantom Fury began. Nothing was held back to crush the resistance this time. White phosphorus, "Willy Pete" in the jargon, was used as an anti-personal weapon, a war crime under the chemical weapons treaty. Resistance fighters and innocent women and children were horribly maimed by American chemical weapons. The United States won the battle and left the message that it was willing to be even more cruel than Saddam Hussein.