2008 Woodie Awards
The Extreme Right-Wing Age
Kevin Agnese
Issue date: 2/2/05 Section: Perspectives
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For those of us who suffered through the first four years of the illegitimate presidency of George W. Bush it seems almost impossible to conceive that the agenda over the next four years may be even more conservative. With a new secretary of state who is closely aligned with the president and more conservative than her predecessor, and a new attorney general who like his predecessor doesn't seem to believe that the rules of the Geneva Convention always apply, I wouldn't expect the violence in Iraq or America's popularity in the world to change anytime soon. Not to mention that the liar-in-chief and his vice president don't have to worry about re-election anymore.
As President Bush began his second term 31 Americans were killed in a helicopter crash in Baghdad on Jan. 26, while another six service members were ambushed and killed by insurgents, making it the deadliest day for Americans troops since the war began on March 19, 2003. As the American death toll in Iraq rose above 1,400 and the violence intensified, you might assume that some of the leaders in the administration would be held accountable for the quagmire that we now face in Iraq. Of course you would be wrong to assume this. As we mourn the loss of American service members and innocent Iraqi civilians, the president's national security advisor during his first term, Condoleezza Rice, has been promoted to serve as secretary of state, while Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gets to keep his job. Now that's accountability.
While the Senate easily confirmed Secretary Rice, the 13 votes against her confirmation were the highest number of votes against a nominee for secretary of state since Henry Clay in 1825. President Bush deserves the full blame for misleading America into a preemptive war in Iraq, but those around him, including Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld must also be held accountable for their misleading statements before the war began. Sen. Edward Kennedy, who voted against confirming Rice, said that Rice, as Bush's national security advisor, provided Congress with "false reasons" for going to war. Had she not, Kennedy said in a speech, "it might have changed the course of history." Kennedy also said: "Dr. Rice was a key member of the national security team that developed and justified the rationale for war. And it has been a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire. In these circumstances, she should not be promoted to secretary of state." Kennedy's colleague in Massachusetts, Sen. John Kerry, also voted against the confirmation.
As President Bush began his second term 31 Americans were killed in a helicopter crash in Baghdad on Jan. 26, while another six service members were ambushed and killed by insurgents, making it the deadliest day for Americans troops since the war began on March 19, 2003. As the American death toll in Iraq rose above 1,400 and the violence intensified, you might assume that some of the leaders in the administration would be held accountable for the quagmire that we now face in Iraq. Of course you would be wrong to assume this. As we mourn the loss of American service members and innocent Iraqi civilians, the president's national security advisor during his first term, Condoleezza Rice, has been promoted to serve as secretary of state, while Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gets to keep his job. Now that's accountability.
While the Senate easily confirmed Secretary Rice, the 13 votes against her confirmation were the highest number of votes against a nominee for secretary of state since Henry Clay in 1825. President Bush deserves the full blame for misleading America into a preemptive war in Iraq, but those around him, including Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld must also be held accountable for their misleading statements before the war began. Sen. Edward Kennedy, who voted against confirming Rice, said that Rice, as Bush's national security advisor, provided Congress with "false reasons" for going to war. Had she not, Kennedy said in a speech, "it might have changed the course of history." Kennedy also said: "Dr. Rice was a key member of the national security team that developed and justified the rationale for war. And it has been a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire. In these circumstances, she should not be promoted to secretary of state." Kennedy's colleague in Massachusetts, Sen. John Kerry, also voted against the confirmation.