Rice Links al-Sadr, Bush & Cheney

Has anyone noticed that Condoleeza Rice, speaking in Baghdad on Sunday, unintentionally but tellingly ridiculed President Bush and Vice President Cheney while mocking hardline Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr?

The American Secretary of State branded the Shiite militia leader a coward for threatening to declare war unless the United States and the Iraqi government cease military action against his followers in Basra. She pointed out that al-Sadr issued his threats from the safety of Iran. "I know he's sitting in Iran," Rice said. "I guess it's all-out war for anybody but him. . . . I guess that's the message: his followers can go to their deaths and he's in Iran."

That Ms. Rice could make such a statement and apparently be oblivious to the fact that the same criticism can accurately be applied to those who head the administration in which she serves is indicative of just how far removed that administration is from any serious examination of what it has been doing for the past five years.

Has she forgotten that during Vietnam, a war that both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney enthusiastically supported, the future president and vice president were sitting safely in the United States, Bush with a family-arranged National Guard gig and Cheney marrying and siring a child to gain deferments?

Both Bush and Cheney lied with impunity in order to get their country into a disastrous war into which their followers can go to death while they're in the United States. I guess it's all-out war for anybody but them.

Perhaps Mr. al-Sadr today, like Mr. Cheney in the 1960s, has "other priorities" and so does not want to join in the military actions he urges on others.

If what Ms. Rice said about Muqtada al-Sadr is correct, it merely means that he is, with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, a member of the coalition of the unwilling when it comes to going into war himself, but a leader of the coalition of those all-to-willing to send other people into needless wars.

Robert S. McElvaine teaches history at Millsaps College. His new book, Grand Theft Jesus: The Hijacking of Religion in America, has just been published by Crown.

Comments

[realpolitic]

Rice is just as bad as the rest of the Bush administration. One would have expected her to add some clarity and insight, but she is of the same endless warfare making, unilateralism, stepping outside of legal and moral boundaries, and constitution thrashing. This whole administration belongs in a zoo or in a history museum of bad government!

[bronceye]

If you were to examine the things that the white house says, about 90% could fall under the heading of projection. My all time favorite was the speech a few years back (when they were still pretending to look for UBL) by bush about Osama being raised in wealth and privilege and asking people to die for his (UBL'S)legacy with no direct threat to him. LOL. If you want expensive shoes, you gotta break a few legs.

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

Uh, oh. At this late date, we're getting excited about Bush and Cheney and Associates, not having served and "gone in harm's way", as tens of millions of citizens have? And Rice's remarks remind us Bush pursues his war and American deaths, while he does soft shoe and mugs for photo ops?

When the President speaks from the Rose Garden, what would be the big deal if the secret service fires off a few rounds, in the background? I say, do it fairly regularly. We can afford the ammo. Just have Mr. Bush practice not flinching, so he looks very brave and presidential.

I think this could be very effective on several levels. Please, White House, try it. If it's as positive as I think, we can add Cheney or Rice on scene with the President.

In fact, let's do a photo op in the Rose Garden with the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State, wearing body armour and helmets. Yes! Yes! I'm getting rev'd up!

[winoohno]

Yeah, there are quite a few chicken-hawks out there:

Bush
Cheney
Rice
Rove
Wolfowitz
Pearle
Feith
Tenet
Hannity
Limbaugh

[BBackSoon]

This is a fine post, but your preaching to the choir.