June 11, 2008
No fucking WAY:
President Bush regrets his legacy as man who wanted war
President Bush has admitted to The Times that his gun-slinging rhetoric made the world believe that he was a "guy really anxious for war" in Iraq. He said that his aim now was to leave his successor a legacy of international diplomacy for tackling Iran.
In an exclusive interview, he expressed regret at the bitter divisions over the war and said that he was troubled about how his country had been misunderstood. "I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric."
Phrases such as "bring them on" or "dead or alive", he said, "indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace". He said that he found it very painful "to put youngsters in harm's way". He added: "I try to meet with as many of the families as I can. And I have an obligation to comfort and console as best as I possibly can. I also have an obligation to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain."
(Thanks to him for the link.)
Posted by Faustus, MD at 02:38 AM
Comments
1) anne marie in philly said (on 06/11/08 at 06:14 AM):
NOW he tells us! assweasel!
GWB doesn't give a fuck about ANYTHING but his own sorry ass. iraq, katrina, recession, etc. - this country is down the crapper.
and he worries about his place in history? see 'nixon, richard m.'; GWB's name will be right next to it as the worst president EVER!
2) Faustus, M.D. said (on 06/11/08 at 08:08 AM):
Oh, I think the only other president who's a serious contender is Andrew Johnson.
Nomvuyo and cataline: Thank you for your insight. You will understand, I hope, why I cannot leave any evidence behind.
3) Andy said (on 06/11/08 at 10:19 AM):
Odd...CNN today had a slightly different take on it. Bush: No Regrets Over Iraq Invasion.
4) David said (on 06/12/08 at 03:26 PM):
Kind of like shutting the barn door after the horse has run off.
5) sam said (on 06/13/08 at 11:43 AM):
Of course he tells the British, not us.
6) birdfarm said (on 06/16/08 at 12:04 PM):
Andy, actually it's exactly the same take, if you read the article. The same comments that Joel quotes above are quoted at the end of the CNN article, and the article to which Joel links does not imply that Bush regrets the war, only the "tone" he set.
My favorite quote in the CNN article (to which Andy linked) is: "One of the lessons of Iraq is that in order for a democracy to develop or for an economy to develop there has to be a measure of security, which is now happening." Lesson of Iraq? If the man had been paying attention in school, he might have noticed that that's a lesson of every war, every peace, every dark age, and every golden age in history.
That's like saying (in total seriousness) "one of the things I learned from jumping off the roof is that you are likely to get hurt."
As in, "File under: DUH!" or "Everyone learns by experience: the wise man from that of others; the fool, only from his own."
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