Bush Bedtime Stories
by Peggy McCann
www.dissidentvoice.org
June 21, 2006



 

Hi boys and girls! I've come to see if you've brushed your teeth and gotten into bed. I've also been thinking about the Bush administration and it's unending and amazing capacity to reach new heights of hypocrisy and incompetence. It's almost more unbelievable than a Harry Potter book, though at least the villains in those have the redeeming quality of at least being semi interesting. These guys are utterly predictable.

Though I have to admit, if it weren't so disgusting, it would almost be admirable. It's nearly impossible to believe that they could do it by accident. We are supposed to believe they are so incredibly shrewd after all. It must be then there is some nefarious plot behind all of this, like maybe our Commander In Chief is really some sort of Al Qaeda Candidate that is out to destroy the U.S. by making everyone hate us.

Let me tell you a couple of fairy tales kids:

The Somalians that Truthfully Cried Wolf.

Once upon a time, there was a country named Somalia, well, it's actually still there, marginally anyway. Islamists have now taken over Mogadishu. What you might not know about the situation is that the Bush administration was funding the warlords that had been in control before. You know, the ones that dragged the bodies of some of our servicemen through the streets. At any rate, those warlords bought lots and lots of shiny new weapons with it, and killed lots and lots of people.

When the Islamists came into town, these warlords fled, or gave up, and the new regime with ties to Al Qaeda and a couple of senior Al Qaeda members as close friends got control of about 15 million dollars worth of those weapons. They are probably planning to advance to the city that holds the internationally recognized, if fairly powerless government of Somalia.

The really interesting part of this story is that before the Islamist Courts took over, nine Somali community leaders flew to a neighboring country to beg U.S. military officials to stop funding the warlords because they feared that this was exactly what would happen. Evidently being smarter than the administration, they realized that when people get tired enough of criminals, even Islamic extremists start to look good to them. But these poor fellows were ignored. In fact, two of the departing warlords were escorted to a U.S. navy ship so that they could escape. Again I remind you, these are the same people that cheered the dragging of U.S. military bodies through the streets.

The End? Probably not. We are probably going to posture and macho around talking about how horrible the Islamists are, all the while failing to mention that it's our policies that made it possible.

Didn't like that one? I have another. I call it:

The White House and the Darfurians.

Once upon a time, there was a new peace agreement involving Darfur. The administration wanted us to think that it was almost like a good fairy had come down and cast a magic spell. Well there's a little tiny problem. The rebel leader we are backing is one of the worst abusers of human rights in Sudan. Minni Arcua Minnawi, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Army, took the Sudanese humanitarian coordinator who had been responsible for enabling reporters to document the suffering in Darfur, Suliman Gamous, and imprisoned him. When members of their common tribe complained about his treatment, they were stripped, bound, pistol-whipped, and burned with cigarettes. Mr. Minnawi tried to blame this action on neighboring Chad, but African Union officials verified what had taken place. He would also like to take a lot of land away from the people that it really belongs to and keep it for himself and his friends.

You would have thought Mr. Bush's response would have been one of horror and anger. But no, not a word. Probably Mr. Minnawi promised to be our bestest friend. And you know when that happens this administration's righteousness gets amnesia. The fates of people that aren't rich and powerful suddenly become very unimportant. So much for the White House pretending to care about Darfur.

The End? Well sort of. For a lot more innocent people in Darfur, an ending of sorts anyway. Just not one that means they get to stay alive.

So boys and girls, are you sleepy yet? I didn't think so. Does the White House really think that these examples endear us to the rest of the world? In the case of Somalia, for instance, it must be awfully easy for Muslims to think that it's not a war just against terrorism, but against Islam. I'm not trying to tell you that I think it's a great thing that folks with ties to Al Qaeda would be in charge, but look at it from the viewpoint of the world of Islam. The Bush administration literally would rather fund people that steal, murder, and defile the bodies of the dead than have Islamists running things. Good Grief, there were no other options? Mr. Bush created this insanity the moment those warlords got some taxpayer money.

How could anyone think that we are serious about spreading human rights and freedom when we make cozy little deals with brutal and bloody men like Mr. Minnawi? And it's not like he's alone. Look at the records of the Saudis and the Egyptians, for example. Both of them are our good buddies. Then get back to me about how much this administration cares about common human civility, let alone decency.

Before I shut the light, do you want to know if everybody lives happily ever after? Well the politicians probably will. They get to move into underground bunkers or something, or maybe Dick Cheney's undisclosed location, and we get to face the heat. The Bush administration didn't create the wellspring of hatred aimed at the United States but they turned it into a raging torrent. The Little Red Riding Hoods of the Middle East and elsewhere are starting to think that the Big, Bad Wolf of militant Islam is looking a heckava lot more like a good guy than the Woodsman of the White House. And when the Wolf comes to eat some of us, and he will, there probably won't be any Handsome Prince to rescue anyone. Certainly the Bush administration hasn't been doing the things that really would help make us safer, like checking all cargo in planes, or ships. They haven't even given any attention to emergency health system. Well, I take that back, they did pass some rules that made it easier for hospitals not to treat the indigent.

Better say your prayers twice.

Nite Nite, don't let Bin Laden bite!

Peggy McCann is a mother and blogger living in Greensboro NC.

HOME