Stranger than Fiction (excerpt from Woodward's "State of Denial"

[shereads]

Some of this stuff is such perfect satire, I have to keep reminding myself that (a) it's not from The Onion and (b) tens of thousands of people are dead or damaged because of meetings like this one, so it can't be as funny as it seems.

In 2003, the president issues a national security directive to begin planning for post-war Iraq. Rumsfeld appoints a retired general and defense industry executive, Jay Garner, to head the post-war office. Garner has six weeks to deliver a detailed report.

Woodward describes the meeting where Garner meets the president for the first time and delivers his presentation.

In the Situation Room, Garner passed around copies of an 11-point presentation and dove right in. He said four of the nine tasks his small team were supposed to be in charge of in Iraq under Bush's NSPD-24 {the directive} were plainly beyond their capabilities, including dismantling weapons of mass destruction, defeating terrorists, reshaping the Iraqi military and reshaping the other internal Iraqi security institutions.

The president nodded. No one else intervened, though Garner had just told them he couldn't be responsible for crucial postwar tasks - the ones that had the most to do with the stated reasons for going to war in the first place - because his team couldn't do them.

The import of what he had said seemed to sail over everyone's heads. {This is where I begin to see Will Farrell playing the president. Jerry Lewis is too old. ~ sr}

Garner next described how he intended to divide the country into regional groups, and moved on to the interagency plans.

"Just a minute," the president interrupted. "Where are you from?"

"Florida, sir."

"Why do you talk like that?"

"Because I was born and raised on a ranch in Florida. My daddy was a rancher."

"You're in," the first rancher said approvingly.

One of Garner's talking points was, "Postwar Use of Iraqi Regular Army." He said, "We're going to need the army. They have the proper skill sets."

Someone asked, "How many from the army?"

"I'm going to give you a big range," Garner answered. "It'll be between 200,000 and 300,000."

Garner looked around the room. All the heads were bobbing north to south. Nobody challenged. Nobody had any questions about this plan.

"Thank you very much," Bush said when Garner was done. National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice started talking about something else, so Garner figured he was dismissed. As he started to walk out of the room, the president caught his eye."

"Kick ass, Jay," Bush said.

Garner waited for Rumsfeld outside. Soon, Bush and Rice came out and walked three or four steps past Garner. Suddenly, Bush turned back.

"Hey, if you have any problem with that governor down in Florida, just let me know," he said.

 

[wazhazhe]

Some of this stuff is such perfect satire, I have to keep reminding myself that (a) it's not from The Onion and (b) tens of thousands of people are dead or damaged because of meetings like this one, so it can't be as funny as it seems.

In 2003, the president issues a national security directive to begin planning for post-war Iraq. Rumsfeld appoints a retired general and defense industry executive, Jay Garner, to head the post-war office. Garner has six weeks to deliver a detailed report.

Woodward describes the meeting where Garner meets the president for the first time and delivers his presentation.

After listening to a presentation on how to carry out one of his own directives, the burning questions the president of our country has on his mind are the following.

"Where are you from?"

"Why do you talk like that?"

If this came from a skit on Saturday Night Live (Is that program still on?) we’d all laugh. The fact that this person actually holds the office he does and has no more interest in the seriousness of the issues he’s dealing with is both disgusting and scary. I don't understand how any intelligent (or even semi-intelligent) individual can continue to support this president

 

[rgraham666]

Garner was fired after serving only a month.

He started making noises about the Iraqis having an election as soon as possible. And not letting the people close to the administration not getting their fair share of the loot.

 

[Pure]

i don't see Bush as the bad guy, here. his handlers and advisors decided how to wage the war; Rummy in particular. Rummy has contempt for most generals (the ones that don't kiss his butt).

UNfortunately, these people, while not in denial exactly, are of 'crusader' mentality.

All of them, Bush in cluded, see the political advantage of a continued war; this allows all dissent to be characterized as 'cut and run.'

 

[shereads]

i don't see Bush as the bad guy, here. his handlers and advisors decided how to wage the war; Rummy in particular. Rummy has contempt for most generals (the ones that don't kiss his butt).

UNfortunately, these people, while not in denial exactly, are of 'crusader' mentality.

All of them, Bush in cluded, see the political advantage of a continued war; this allows all dissent to be characterized as 'cut and run.'

Kick ass, Jay. Heck of a job, Brownie.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

i don't see Bush as the bad guy, here. his handlers and advisors decided how to wage the war; Rummy in particular. Rummy has contempt for most generals (the ones that don't kiss his butt).

UNfortunately, these people, while not in denial exactly, are of 'crusader' mentality.

All of them, Bush in cluded, see the political advantage of a continued war; this allows all dissent to be characterized as 'cut and run.'

If you look back to 2002 when Bush began the war, it wasn't 'cut and run'. It was 'Real Americans'. It was 'Traitors to the American Flag'. These doctrinal slogans tipped him over the edge of public opinion among the unlettered and unwashed far enough to get the war started. I never trusted Bush from the time he announced he would run for President. On hearing those slogans, I knew I was write and he was out to Change America in the direction of the only book he and his cronies ever struggled through to the end- 1984.

Welcome to the new world where you will be censured, march to his drum or be turned over to Homeland Security for "interrogation".