Friday, August 04, 2006

(sound of palm slapping forehead)

According to former Croatian Ambassador Peter Galbraith, as closely as two months before the invasion of Iraq, Bush was unaware of the existance of the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam:

A year after his “Axis of Evil” speech before the U.S. Congress, President Bush met with three Iraqi Americans, one of whom became postwar Iraq’s first representative to the United States. The three described what they thought would be the political situation after the fall of Saddam Hussein. During their conversation with the President, Galbraith claims, it became apparent to them that Bush was unfamiliar with the distinction between Sunnis and Shiites.

Galbraith reports that the three of them spent some time explaining to Bush that there are two different sects in Islam--to which the President allegedly responded, “I thought the Iraqis were Muslims!”

In an interview with RAW STORY, Ambassador Galbraith recounted this anecdote from his book to exemplify “a culture of arrogance that pervaded the whole administration.”

“From the president and the vice president down through the neoconservatives at the Pentagon, there was a belief that Iraq was a blank slate on which the United States could impose its vision of a pluralistic democratic society,” said Galbraith. “The arrogance came in the form of a belief that this could be accomplished with minimal effort and planning by the United States and that it was not important to know something about Iraq.”



(Raw Story via HuffPost)

5 comments:

Cisco said...

When are the majority of "smart" republicans going to wake up and smell the coffee?...
Of course just now they are admiting to the possibility of "civil war" in Irak, Have they just now opened their eyes?..
I am also quite sure that Bush will continue with his "Democracy is growing in irak..." regardless of who's dying..
Hello!

Megan said...

There's a "pluralistic democratic society" in the US? The kind where all views are respected and represented? How did I miss that?

Anonymous said...

I can remember my thoughts just before the start of the Iragi War. I asked, "after Saddam is defeated, how will this nation be able to become united, given the divisons of Sunni, Shite, and Kurds". I thought to myself, Bush can't be thinking of going to war unless he has no idea of what he is getting into. Bush was the governor of Texas and executive to several failed oil companies. The Republicans created Bush on the issue to restore the integrity of the nation and soon as the impeachment trial was over. Bush is not very smart, who lacks intellectual curiosity, and never had to accept responsibility for his failure. Is it any wonder that he is arrogant?

vikkitikkitavi said...

CK: I think their stategy is to deny the obvious until it becomes laughable.

Megan: We don't have one, we have a "vision" of one.

Dad: Nope.

Anonymous said...

Gahhhh I hate the thought that when I travel internationally now I'm tempted to claim I'm Canadian. "I thought they were muslims", Look I don't mind that the average American can't find Iraq on a map but for the love of God could we please elect a leader of the so called free world that can.