By Dick Morris
Would that be the Dick Morris? The say anything, end justifies the means Dick Morris that we all love so much. Well let's see what ole tricky Dick is up to now.
Point-by-point
• Iranian students pour by the hundreds of thousands into the streets of Tehran to demand reform and freedom, casting off the illusion that the Khatami government can deliver them from Islamic control. The students and the whole country seem to realize that the façade of democratic choice in Iran is about the same as in student government where the kids vote but the principal runs the school.
Weren't the Iranian students exhibiting anti-government behavior long before Bush rolled into Iraq? Have many Iranians have been exhibiting their displeasure with Mullahs since the 90s? In fact, couldn't a good argument be made that all of the Bush administration's posturing is undercutting the native Iranian opposition?
• Palestinian operatives negotiate seriously with Israel to keep the peace plan moving down the Bush road map, despite obstacles placed in their path by Arafat, Hamas and, sometimes, Sharon’s need to defend his people.
Oh you mean the Peace Plan that was DOA. The neo-con fantasy that didn't work because somehow the Arabs just can't seem to get their role straight in this Pentagon scripted play. Let's set up a puppet, and then have a sham negotiation. When everything falls apart, we'll blame it on the Palestinians, and go on behaving just as before. Maybe, we'll get the Nobel Peace Prize.
• The Saudis fall all over themselves to convince us that they are now taking terrorism seriously, hunting down terrorists in public and, one hopes, curtailing their financing in private.
When terrorists struck Saudi targets, the Saudi's arrested those specific terrorists. They have not suddenly become overly cooperative. They are still opposed to us having troops in the Middle East. The Wahabi clerics still preach their anti-American hatred at home, and export their fiery brand of anti-American bile throughout the world using Saudi petrodollars. Little, if any, change can be observed.
• Sharon, emboldened by a robust American military presence in Iraq, actually begins dismantling settlements in the West Bank, a step once as unlikely as the Irish Republican Army’s throwing away its machine guns.
This would be the handful of largely abandoned settlements where Sharon "staged" a well publicized “withdrawal”. A “withdrawal” that ceased immediately, as the sham peace unraveled.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency actually stands up to Iran and, this time with Russian assistance and American troops over the border, demands the opening of nuclear plants to international scrutiny.
So far only the tension has increased. Any “demands” have been completely rebuffed. Contrary to the expectations of the neo-cons, the Mullahs are “thumbing their noses” at the “American troops over the border”.
• China cuts the flow of oil to North Korea for three days, giving it a taste of freezing and starving in the dark. The catalyst moves Pyongyang to the negotiating table and opens North Korea to the prospect of multilateral pressure from Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
I suspect China’s behavior had little to do with Iraq, and everything to do with the fact that they don’t want a mad man starting a nuclear war on their doorstep. China’s behavior in this matter is completely consistent with their long-term behavior, and shows no sudden change caused by Iraq. But you wouldn’t be above throwing in something that’s unrelated, if it suited your purpose, would you Dick?
That covers your pathetic set of bulleted points, Dick, but you go on to say that Democrats
lament that our intelligence was faulty in Iraq (it wasn’t) or that we will never find weapons of mass destruction there (we will) are but reminders of their irrelevance as the tide of peace surges forward. While the Democrats argue about history, Bush is making it.
I agree that our intelligence wasn’t faulty. It was the forgeries and lies that were used instead of our intelligence, that is upsetting. As for Bush “making” history, I also agree, but it’s not a history to be proud of.
Dick, a little piece of advice. Keep your appearances to live interviews on Fox. Don’t put anything down in print. The problem with print, is it gives people time to think about what you’re saying. When all you’re mouthing is untruths, half-truths and obfuscations, you don’t want much scrutiny. And no scrutiny, that’s Fox. You gotta home.
JMO
lurqer |
