With WWIII reference, Bush was only ‘making a point’

October 18, 2007

Asked at a White House press conference yesterday whether he believes Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon, the president was unusually careless in his choice of words.

“We got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I’ve told people that if you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously.”

Naturally, hearing the president of the United States reference “World War III” while discussing foreign policy, particularly in regards to a county at whom Bush has rattled his saber, raised a few eyebrows.

This morning, the White House tried to walk the comments back a bit.

President Bush was simply “making a point” when he stated at his press conference this week that anyone who wants to avert World War III wants to keep nuclear weapons out of Iran’s hands, the White House said today.

“The president was not making any war plans,” White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said today. “He was not making any declaration. He was making a point.”

Oh, the president was making a point. In that case, Bush’s remarks made perfect sense.

The problem, of course, is that it’s not at all clear what this “point” might have been. It certainly sounded as if the president said World War III would happen if Iran acquired “the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.”

What, pray tell, was the “point” Bush hoped to get across?

The right seems to have taken, and embraced, the president’s words at face value.

I’m not sure why this is supposed to be noteworthy, but Drudge put a red headline on it: Video: Bush warns of World War III if Iran gets the bomb.

I guess it’s shocking if you really, really want to convince yourself that a nuclear Iran would be no threat to the world. To those who aren’t willfully blind, however, it’s a straightforward statement of fact.

See? Bush’s supporters seem to have understood the “point” just fine.

Remember, as Matt Yglesias noted yesterday, the president not only suggested we’d launch World War III over Iran, but also suggested that the trigger is Iran having the “knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” not just the weapon itself.

The White House can try and argue today that the president’s comments were no big deal, but in this climate, random references to World War III are taken a little more seriously than that.

I wish someone would walk back the myth that Iran has pledged to attack Israel. They have said no such thing, and it would be suicidal if they ever did try something that stupid. All the Cool Kids know it, and yet we have them repeating the myth all the time. It’s like the WMDs in Iraq. If they had ever found some (or recent vintage) then Bush would have been “vindicated”, and that would be a totally bogus vindication because even if Saddam had WMD he never would have given them to his enemies the terrorists.

These stupid myths are going to kill a lot more people all if we’re not careful.

  • Bush was actually making one of his “two-pronged” points. Prong A—intended for those who are insane enough to embrace WWIII—are allowed to take him at face value. Prong B—intended for those who are sane enough to realize that “Irrelevant George” is, indeed, ramping up toward his GWOTH (Global War On The Universe)—are told “pay no attention the the man behind the curtain—and don’t even think about looking at that little red button he’s got his finger on. The Great and Powerful OZ has spoken!

    Perino needs to be thrown from atop a very, very high place. I’m sure she’ll be tossed from the pearly gates one day—and it’s one “hell” of a long way down, to be sure—but would it be too much for some psychotic patriarchal fiend from the farther-than-far Far Right to just sort of “help things on their way” a wee bit?

  • Clauswitz, in On War, is famous for the phrase, war is a continuation of politics. This does not mean that war is no big deal, just something countries do. I think he meant that war is fought at three levels:

    1. the political level — why are we fighting, and what is the ultimate goal

    2. the strategic level — who are we fighting, where are we fighting, and what are the military goals

    3. the tactical level — what ground are we trying to occupy, and what weapons and people are we using.

    If the political level is confused or non-existant (as is it in Iraq and Iran), and there is no ultimate goal which can be elucidated, the conduct of the war devolves to the strategic level.

    If, at the strategic level, we do not know who we are fighting, or even what the military goals are (as it is in Iraq), the conduct of the war devolves to the tactical level.

    At the tactical level, the only decisions which can be made are attack or defend, advance or retreat ON A LOCAL LEVEL. This is exactly what has happened in Iraq.

    Because the Bush administration has no idea what it is doing in Iraq at the political or strategic level, the decisions on the conduct of the war are being made by Majors and Colonels, who are ill-equipped to deal with strategy. The American effort in Iraq is adrift.

    We are seeing the same thing regarding Iran: at the political level, the administration is attempting to sell a rationale regarding attacking Iran. “Iran Has Nuclear Weapons.” “Iran is Attempting to Build Nuclear Weapons.” “Iran is Supplying Our Enemies in Iraq.” “Iran is Trying to Obtain the Knowledge to Build Atomic Bombs.” What’s next, “Iran is Funding Mexican Illegals?” Seriously, if a country does not have a political and strategic plan and purpose, a military can only drift in the wind tactically.

    Is Bush Really This Stupid?

  • I watched our unbeloved president yesterday, and unhinged came to mind. Our nation is right now in a bad way largely because our executive leadership is nuts. Mr. Bush reflected a very fragmented intellect yesterday which should be disturbing to any sentient creature on the face of our planet. -Kevo

  • …”well, we might as well just announce George is King…” Thanks Pelosi. Believe that sums it right up.
    Bush has got a big mouth. So much for diplomacy. He just blurts it right out without a thought to it’s effect. Still speaks like he’s in the bar. This is an American president?

  • I fear November 8, 2008. It still seems possible that jocular, jeering George, big Dick, and the rest of the far-right will have their fantasies realized with a strike on Iranian facilities. Of course, like the rest of the mess they’ve created in the Middle East, the world, and here, it will become the problem of future generations—as we have oft been smugly told.

  • By the same logic, Bush could have said, “anybody who’s not a fucking retard should vote with me”. He’s not against the mentally challenged, nor is he politically partisan in his perspective – he’s just making a point. This president is all about freedom, including his personal freedom to toss ominous non sequiturs into his foreign policy statements that might lead observers to infer he is biased in favour of war.

  • I thought Bush was calling out Putin.

    Tuesday: Putin hints that war on Iran isn’t the brightest idea.
    Wednesday: Bush to Putin: You willing to go to war over Iran? Huh, are you, or are you a pussy? Huh? Wanna take it outside? Huh?

    I don’t think Putin is bullied as easily as Democratic Senators.

  • If you go out to buy a gun, I’m going to shoot you on the way because someone like you could shoot someone. Bush diplomacy.

  • I am sick to death of hearing the fake opposition Dems in Congress moan about not having enough votes to end the war in Iraq. They give lip service to the myth that the only way to end the war is to write a bill saying “the war is now over” and send it to Bush for a prompt veto, then override the veto. They then throw up their hands, saying “Well, as you can see, we don’t have the votes to override any veto, so there’s no way to end the war. Sorry folks.”

    This is disingenious and vividly illustrates who the Dems are really serving: the establishment, not their constituents.

    Here’s how to end the war: No bill specifically ending the war is even necessary. Remember those supplemental funding bills the Cheney regime has to constantly ask for, to continue funding the Iraq war piecemeal instead of in yearly lump sums attached to the actual defense budget? That’s the achilles’ heel of their war effort. The next time Bush asks for another $80 billion or whatever to keep the Iraq bloodbath going, all the Democrats have to do to end the war is to say: NO. To say “We won’t allocate one more penny for your illegal war”. Last I checked the Dems have a wafer-thin majority in both houses. With no Dems voting for the next spending bill it won’t be passed and thus it won’t make it to Bush’s desk for signing. Bush (and especially his puppetmaster Cheney) may have concentrated an inordinate amount of power in the hands of the executive branch, but even they can’t send spending bills to their own desk. That necessarily has to come from Congress. If it never reaches his desk he can’t sign it, and will have 2 choices: 1.pull the troops out while there is still enough money left in the pipeline so to speak to allow an orderly withdrawl (and anyone who has five or more brain cells knows that the money isn’t going to run out the next day, that’s a non-issue that the right wing tries to use as a scare tactic but it is ridiculously dumbed down and simply not true; they don’t wait until they have $5 left before asking for another supplemental OK?); or 2.don’t pull them out right away, and leave them to wither on the vine in Iraq until the money DOES completely run out and they have to withdraw from Iraq chaotically, burning their supplies and vehicles. Either way the war will end pretty soon if the Dems refuse to vote on supplementals. They don’t have to write a bill saying they are cutting off funding; this is only a fig leaf so they can pretend to be doing something to end the war when all they are doing is purposely spinning their wheels. All they have to do is to NOT VOTE ON SUPPLEMENTALS. Pretty effing simple. The people NOW need to DEMAND in so many words that if the Democrats are a genuine opposition party that they will carry out the will of the people and NOT VOTE on supplementals. If they are a fake opposition party as I feel they are, and are acting not in the people’s interest but playing for the same team as the Republicans, then continue with more of the same hand-wringing and impotent nonbinding resolutions that resolve nothing. Decision time Democrats. Which are you? Genuine? Or fake opposition? I think I already know the answer to that one but why don’t you surprise me?

  • Dems need to play the Reskunk game. Pull a “secret hold” in the Senate. All it takes is for one Senator—just 1 out of the 50; I won’t even contemplte calling Darth Lieberman a Senator, since he’s just a reusable condom for the Dubya/Dick power-orgasm machine.

    Just ONE with the courage to say that the war is wrong—and put his Senate-ness to the test. Hell; would even 1 of the 50 be willing to stand up and publicly declare “I OBJECT!” to this war?

    Hapless Harry complains about not getting 60 votes to override Reskunklican obstructionism. The damned fool doesn’t even realize that he only needs ONE to get the job done?

    Incompetent. Lazy. Coward.

  • Quote: “…the president not only suggested we’d launch World War III over Iran, but also suggested that the trigger is Iran having the “knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” not just the weapon itself.”

    According to Ron Suskind (in his book “The 1% Doctrine”), Iranians already have the knowledge to build a nuclear weapon, because the CIA handed them the blueprints for our W-88 nuclear warhead! In it’s infinite wisdom, CIA thought we could set back Iran’s nuclear program by letting one of their spies obtain design plans in which fatal flaws had been deliberately introduced. But Iranian nuclear scientists had no problem spotting the errors and eliminating them from the blueprints. Thanks to some very stupid spooks, Iran now has everything it needs except the enriched uranium, which they are working on. So WE gave Iran the nuclear knowledge that Bush now says will initiate WWIII. What insanity!!!

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