IS BUSH SURRENDERING?

andrewsullivan.com ^ | Friday, May 24, 2002 | Andrew Sullivan

[rmmcdaniell]

And Bush has said Saddam WILL be dealt with.

I'm sorry, but I can't trust Bush's words anymore. He sold out Isreal and signed CFR after promising not to.

[ThePythonicCow]

I don't see why this should be laid at Bush's door when his top Generals ...

I agree - the liberals entrenced in our government, including now the military, make it difficult if not impossible to do much of what we'd like, or need. One of the things every President learns the hard way is the real limits on how much they can affect things, at least right away.

[tsomer]

"...Someone from State was sitting in on it and got the gist of the conference to Powell, and Powell decided to leak again... The Pentagon didn't leak this. State did."

Thanks for your reply. I'm surprised you think Powell is leaking, or directing someone underneath him to leak and undermine the president. That's damn near treasonous, seems to me. For this reason I'm finding it hard to swallow. My take on Powell is that, while he has been at odds often enough, he's always gone along. Could he be one leg of a "good cop bad cop" style approach?

My concerns about Iran, desires among Kurds for an autonomous state, and Islamist inroads to the more remote areas in question are still pestering me. These are the wild cards that need to be understood a little better, imho. Also, where are the Saudis in this? Seems we've gone to great pains to avoid the appearance of colonialist intentions over the last 10 years; we're not going to go in there without some sort of diplomatic fig leaf.