More blues for Bush

Clarke reveals that prior to 9-11, the Bush administration, in contrast to its predecessor, paid little attention to the terrorist threat, that immediately after 9-11, the Bush administration wanted to bomb Iraq and not Afghanistan, and that the Iraq war has been counterproductive to the war on terror.

The last point was already fairly apparent, but the first two revelations are highly damaging to Bush. Bush is running for reelection this year as a leader in the war on terror and has been trying to convince the rest of the world to follow the US lead internationally.

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Now Richard Clarke's disclosures suggest that Bush has provided extremely poor leadership in the war on terror. We also find more evidence of the administration's mendacity -- for instance in its constant refrain that the Clinton administration had left the US unprepared for a terrorist attack. Now we find out that the Clinton administration was very focused on terrorism, and that it was the Bush administration that ignored the issue. Now we see why the administration has been so desperate to stonewall the commission looking into how 9-11 could have occurred.

The Bush administration's response has, so far, been unpersuasive, and, in some cases, patently dishonest. In continuing to mislead and deny, the administration reveals its most dangerous fault. The Bush administration never admits that it was wrong about anything and refuses to learn from its mistakes. This is why the administration's credibility is now close to zero. If they do not admit where they have gone wrong, how can they ask anyone to follow them? The Bush administration is incapable of providing the leadership the world needs right now.