Top 5 Worst moments of the Bush administration
5. Election theft. George Bush lost the popular vote to Al Gore by more than 540,000. There is no denying that. But the chaos in Florida that ensued was just the first step in what is, no doubt, the worst presidency in American history – and some would argue, the worst
leadership under a democratic country.
On November 27, Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris officially certified Bush as the "winner" in Florida by 537 votes.
Since then independent investigations by the media have revealed that many illegal votes were counted and many legal votes were not.
Unfortunately, Bush, his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and a partisan Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court were too much weighing against Gore to make a stand.
The real tragedy is that the Democrats lost this race, as they did in 2004 when Bush had a wretched approval rating and the country was mired in two unpopular wars. Hand it to the Republicans, they know how to win.
4. Claim of Weapons of Mass Destruction. In February 2003, Secretary of Defense Colin Powell gave a presentation before the U.N. Security Council that was instrumental in convincing both
the American public and large swaths of the international community that Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that posed an immediate threat to global security. During his speech, Powell told scary tales of mobile biological weapons labs, chemical weapons stockpiles and aluminum tubes that could be used in a nuclear weapons program. All of these claims turned out not only to be wrong, but as Powell later acknowledged was "deliberately misleading."
3. Hurricane Karina. Bush and Vice President Dick Chaney were on vacation when numerous detailed reports of the Level 5 Hurricane hit the desks of our national leaders. Both stayed on vacation when the storm hit, despite numerous warnings and pleads for help from FEMA, as well as several southern coast state representatives.
The Associated Press reported March 1, 2006, that film footage it had obtained, "along with seven days of transcripts of briefings ... show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.” Bush sat on his hands, playing golf, hunting, and living in the lap of luxury while the nation’s worst natural disaster bore its terrible jaws down on the Gulf Coast, taking thousands of lives and leaving a region in ruin.
Bush made a flyby of the wreckage Aug. 31. This was "the perfect metaphor for his entire presidency," Arianna Huffington, of The Huffington Post wrote August 31, 2005, "detached, disconnected, and disengaged. Preferring to take in America's suffering -- whether caused by the war in Iraq or Hurricane Katrina -- from a distance. In this case, 2,500 feet.”
2. Abu Ghraib. In the beginning of 2004, reports of sodomy, rape, physical and psychological torture began to emerge from Abu Ghraib Prison, in Iraq. Several prisoners also died due to torture and effects of malnourishment. Prisoners were put through the ringer – being bloodily beaten, while soldiers mugged for the camera. Soldiers forced prisoners to disrobe and masturbate on camera, pile on top of one another in naked pyramids, and one Iraqi teenage boy was raped by a male soldier as another took photos.
Bush denied any knowledge of torture, however, many -- including this writer -- believe the administration looked the other way. There was a culture of abusing prisoners, calling it “enhanced interrogation techniques.” However, Bush approved memos on torture that have been released. Bush even admits now that he approved of torture and has no regrets.
The United States Department of Defense removed seventeen soldiers and officers from duty, and eleven soldiers were charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault, and battery. Between May 2004 and March 2006, eleven soldiers were convicted in courts martial, sentenced to military prison, and dishonorably discharged from service. Two soldiers, Specialist Charkes Graner, and his former fiancée, Specialist Lynndie England, were sentenced to ten years and three years in prison, respectively.
It’s hard to believe that soldiers are rotting in jail just because they followed the orders of the commander in chief. Why isn’t Bush in jail?
1. The invasion of Iraq. There has been no bigger folly than the invasion of Iraq, from there being no WMDs, to claiming victory under a “Mission Accomplished” banner, to its pointless drag-out. There was no threat from Hussein, who I will never defend as a person. He was a rotten human being who tortured and murdered innocent people. To date, more than 30,000 soldiers have been wounded or killed in battle, but none of us are quite sure what they’re dying for. There have been even more civilians killed, from bombing raids to accidental deaths of men, women and children caught in the cross fire and suicide bombings.
The entire situation is maddening. The invasion was built on lies, and has continued to line the pockets of private companies. The total number of private contractors now outnumbers soldiers in both Afghanistan and Iraq – a first in American history.
A positive was the capture of Hussein, and I give credit to the hard-working soldiers who captured him. But we are wondering as a collective public how the country will be better. We’ve left them with a poorly prepared security force, torn down their economy, left their cities and landscapes scabbed with the wounds of war, and made more enemies along the way.
The entire war reeks of profiteering, bad intelligence, lost life, and a foul taste left in the mouths of the American people who look for meaning in the war.
5. Election theft. George Bush lost the popular vote to Al Gore by more than 540,000. There is no denying that. But the chaos in Florida that ensued was just the first step in what is, no doubt, the worst presidency in American history – and some would argue, the worst
leadership under a democratic country.On November 27, Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris officially certified Bush as the "winner" in Florida by 537 votes.
Since then independent investigations by the media have revealed that many illegal votes were counted and many legal votes were not.
Unfortunately, Bush, his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and a partisan Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court were too much weighing against Gore to make a stand.
The real tragedy is that the Democrats lost this race, as they did in 2004 when Bush had a wretched approval rating and the country was mired in two unpopular wars. Hand it to the Republicans, they know how to win.
4. Claim of Weapons of Mass Destruction. In February 2003, Secretary of Defense Colin Powell gave a presentation before the U.N. Security Council that was instrumental in convincing both
the American public and large swaths of the international community that Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that posed an immediate threat to global security. During his speech, Powell told scary tales of mobile biological weapons labs, chemical weapons stockpiles and aluminum tubes that could be used in a nuclear weapons program. All of these claims turned out not only to be wrong, but as Powell later acknowledged was "deliberately misleading."3. Hurricane Karina. Bush and Vice President Dick Chaney were on vacation when numerous detailed reports of the Level 5 Hurricane hit the desks of our national leaders. Both stayed on vacation when the storm hit, despite numerous warnings and pleads for help from FEMA, as well as several southern coast state representatives.
The Associated Press reported March 1, 2006, that film footage it had obtained, "along with seven days of transcripts of briefings ... show in excruciating detail that while federal officials anticipated the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, they were fatally slow to realize they had not mustered enough resources to deal with the unprecedented disaster.” Bush sat on his hands, playing golf, hunting, and living in the lap of luxury while the nation’s worst natural disaster bore its terrible jaws down on the Gulf Coast, taking thousands of lives and leaving a region in ruin.
Bush made a flyby of the wreckage Aug. 31. This was "the perfect metaphor for his entire presidency," Arianna Huffington, of The Huffington Post wrote August 31, 2005, "detached, disconnected, and disengaged. Preferring to take in America's suffering -- whether caused by the war in Iraq or Hurricane Katrina -- from a distance. In this case, 2,500 feet.”
2. Abu Ghraib. In the beginning of 2004, reports of sodomy, rape, physical and psychological torture began to emerge from Abu Ghraib Prison, in Iraq. Several prisoners also died due to torture and effects of malnourishment. Prisoners were put through the ringer – being bloodily beaten, while soldiers mugged for the camera. Soldiers forced prisoners to disrobe and masturbate on camera, pile on top of one another in naked pyramids, and one Iraqi teenage boy was raped by a male soldier as another took photos.
Bush denied any knowledge of torture, however, many -- including this writer -- believe the administration looked the other way. There was a culture of abusing prisoners, calling it “enhanced interrogation techniques.” However, Bush approved memos on torture that have been released. Bush even admits now that he approved of torture and has no regrets.
The United States Department of Defense removed seventeen soldiers and officers from duty, and eleven soldiers were charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault, and battery. Between May 2004 and March 2006, eleven soldiers were convicted in courts martial, sentenced to military prison, and dishonorably discharged from service. Two soldiers, Specialist Charkes Graner, and his former fiancée, Specialist Lynndie England, were sentenced to ten years and three years in prison, respectively.
It’s hard to believe that soldiers are rotting in jail just because they followed the orders of the commander in chief. Why isn’t Bush in jail?
1. The invasion of Iraq. There has been no bigger folly than the invasion of Iraq, from there being no WMDs, to claiming victory under a “Mission Accomplished” banner, to its pointless drag-out. There was no threat from Hussein, who I will never defend as a person. He was a rotten human being who tortured and murdered innocent people. To date, more than 30,000 soldiers have been wounded or killed in battle, but none of us are quite sure what they’re dying for. There have been even more civilians killed, from bombing raids to accidental deaths of men, women and children caught in the cross fire and suicide bombings.
The entire situation is maddening. The invasion was built on lies, and has continued to line the pockets of private companies. The total number of private contractors now outnumbers soldiers in both Afghanistan and Iraq – a first in American history.
A positive was the capture of Hussein, and I give credit to the hard-working soldiers who captured him. But we are wondering as a collective public how the country will be better. We’ve left them with a poorly prepared security force, torn down their economy, left their cities and landscapes scabbed with the wounds of war, and made more enemies along the way.
The entire war reeks of profiteering, bad intelligence, lost life, and a foul taste left in the mouths of the American people who look for meaning in the war.
Bush denies torture
Cheney admits torture - though stands by it
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