Bush's moral high ground slipping away

[radfringe]

Bush's moral high ground slipping away
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040506/IRAQANAL06/TPInternational/Africa
By PAUL KORING
Thursday, May 6, 2004 - Page A18

WASHINGTON -- For the most part, George W. Bush has been making up the rules of the war on terrorism as he goes along ever since Sept. 11, 2001, when he told a still-stunned nation he would lead it to victory.

In a new type of war against a class of crime -- an open-ended conflict against an enemy with no single nationality -- the old rules didn't apply. So the world's only superpower began improvising.

Al-Qaeda suspects didn't deserve Geneva Conventions' protections because they weren't soldiers of any nation, the Bush administration claimed.

----snip---

Mr. Bush's more Draconian anti-terrorist measures were challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will rule next month on their legitimacy.

Key international allies began falling away when he decided a United Nations Security Council resolution wasn't needed to invade Iraq.

Now, with fresh revelations of prisoner abuse, the outrage at U.S. tactics that has long been present in the Arab world is spreading to the U.S. Congress.

It may start to erode Mr. Bush's bedrock support among mainstream U.S. voters.

And in Washington, people are already speculating on whether he will slaughter a sacrificial lamb -- a step he avoided in previous embarrassments, including the failure to turn up weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Some are calling for Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's head. But a more probable candidate is General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who tried to talk the CBS television network into scrapping plans to broadcast photographs of prisoner abuse.

"My guess is that the general is the most likely candidate," said Ted Galen Carpenter, vice-president of defence and foreign-policy studies at Cato Institute in Washington.

[Direckshun]

1. Is this something Bush actually said:

"Al-Qaeda suspects didn't deserve Geneva Conventions' protections because they weren't soldiers of any nation, the Bush administration claimed."

...because I missed this if he did.

[No Mandate Here.]

2. It still baffles me that he EVER had a "Moral" high ground.

The level of their cynicism and "with them or a terra-ist" and contempt for most of the population has been well documented since day one.

The re-education of the 'merican people is well on its way.

We WILL take our country back!

[amber dog democrat]

3. I was not impressed with Bush's PR broadcast yesterday.

Not only did he not apologize, but all he could offer in return were bromides and denunciations. This thing is systemic starting with a failure of leadership.

We are no better than SADAM. Its too bad Iraq is sitting on so much oil.