Does it strike anyone else that Bush hasn’t actually read this report?

I had one of those moments today when Bush announced that he would declassify the National Intelligence Estimate leaked intelligence report that suggests the Iraq war is now fuelling and creating terrorism rather than fighting it. It is a remarkable report that is the final nail in the coffin for any justification of the war in Iraq as a fight against terrorism because it carries all the weight of the American Intelligence community. So when Bush announced he would declassify the lot as a way to show everyone that the quotes lifted by Democrats didn’t show the full picture I had that moment of doubt, “Shit, does Bush have something else to add, have I jumped to the wrong conclusion, maybe Big Bush Bear was right all along”. Well, after just watching Bush on CNN and BBC today and seeing where he is focusing his argument, all he has extra to offer is the statement from the NIE that al Qaeda has been disrupted and are less effective.

Less effective? After a couple of years war and over $300 billion spent, I would want a hell of a lot more than ‘Less Effective’. I almost wonder if Bush actually read the bloody thing because there is nothing in this NIE report that holds up his side of the debate other than the claim that al Qaeda is less effective – which in terms of a counter argument, is as weak as piss.

The reality is that the war in Iraq is NOT about terrorism it is about taking control of an area in the middle east that is of global strategic importance to America. But asking Mom and Pop to hand over the fruits of their loins to get killed for cheap oil isn’t much of a rallying cry, so Bush needs to create the terrorist bogeyman. This is all making for a fascinating mid-term election.