The Unkindness of History

I am pleased that Arianna Huffington has so succinctly summarized (here) this week's startling-yet-not-unexpected revelation from inside the Bush administration, complete with a perceptive remark from John Ashcroft of all people that indicated they really did realize they were doing bad things:

This week, being sent to the Principal's office took on a whole new meaning when we learned that the National Security Council's Principals Committee – which included Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, Don Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, George Tenet, and John Ashcroft – discussed and approved very specific details of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" the CIA could use against al Qaeda suspects, down to the number of times they could be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or waterboarded. Talk about hands-on management! The money quote on this sordid episode was delivered by Ashcroft who, after one meeting, said: "Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly." And with that, Bush's Principals took a hatchet to America's principles.

We can now vividly see George W. Bush as a tragic figure of Blanche DuBois proportions: "I have always relied on the unkindness of history."

I have known many people to accuse me, an atheist, of having no morals because I have no god, but it would appear that having no brain–or a heart?–might be a bigger impediment. But I'd better be careful here lest I get into one of those Hollywood-pitch-style "Streetcar Named Desire"-meets-"The Wizard of Oz" moments.

Posted on April 13, 2008 at 15.42 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Laughing Matters, Snake Oil--Cheap!

One Response

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  1. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Monday, 14 April 2008 at 01.39
    Permalink

    I try to imagine those clods holding those discussions, and it breaks down into a "Saturday Night Live" skit every time. For example, I can just see Rumsfeld breathing on his glasses and wiping them with a cloth, while rhetorically asking no one in particular, "Gee, we don't know how many gut punches are too many until we have somebody gut punched too many times and he goes into a coma, or maybe even dies, do we?"

    And Bush says, laconically, "Oh, I don't know; I try not to think about it too much. Just so it's a lot of gut punches. Now, are we about through? I'm ready for lunch, or something."

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