Condi Rice Gives Bush Credit For All Manner Of Dubious Accomplishments

As we saw on this past Sunday's iteration of Meet The Press, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has emerged as the foremost message force multiplier in the advancement of President George W. Bush's presidential legacy. She brings the gloss to this Agence France Press article in vast vats, but one should special attention to a section that Spencer Ackerman expertly targeted:

The war on terror has failed to eliminate Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden, but the US-led coalition and Iraq are close to defeating the group's Iraq branch, she said.

Critics charge that the fall of Saddam Hussein, a secular Sunni Arab leader, opened the way for Al-Qaeda to launch operations there.

First, why not groove on that passive take on world affairs there in that second graph. Actually, "critics charge" that it was the invasion and occupation of Iraq that opened the way for "Al-Qaeda to launch operations there." Let's remember that it was, in fact, President Bush that saw to the opening of al-Qaeda's "Iraq branch." So, he's come close to closing it? Wow. Good for him. To me, the folding of Bush's Iraq branch of al-Qaeda is more or less just another end-of-2008 media layoffs story.