The Nossiter Net
The net that shall enmesh them all
Edited, Written, and Published by J.C. Nossiter
The Morning Mendacity
Friday, August 13th, 2004
The Nossiter Net is cast  to snare some of  the riper rascalities of the day.  Comments?  editor@nossiter.net
An Everglades National Park guide once derisorily informed a boat load of summer tourists that “even the birds have enough brains to get out of Florida in August”, which perhaps explains why President Bush was in the sunshine state on August 10th.  His business there was derision too, telling a hand-picked crowd of supporters that Senator Kerry “now agrees it was the right decision to go into Iraq.”  But Mr. Bush was mistaken;   Senator Kerry said no such thing.

Mr. Kerry this week affirmed that, even in light of the absence of WMD and Al Qaeda connections, he would have voted in favor of the Senate Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq, S.J. 45, approved by a 77 to 23 vote in October of 2002.  The language of the resolution, which can be read at the Library of Congress web site, thomas.loc.gov, is worth noting.  The text gives the lie to Mr. Bush’s mockery.

After a series of “Whereas” clauses enumerating the iniquities of the Iraqi government and the dangers it posed, the meat of S.J. 45 is in the “Now therefore be it resolved” conclusion:  “The President is authorized to use all means that he determines to be appropriate, including force, in order to enforce the United Nations Security Council Resolutions referenced above, defend the national security interests of the United States against the threat posed by Iraq, and restore international peace and security in the region.”

Mr. Kerry and 76 of his Senate colleagues voted for granting authority to President Bush to proceed against Iraq as he saw fit.  This wasn’t a declaration of war, but rather a
carte blanche for the President during what he himself identified as a crisis to act according to his best judgement.  Mr. Kerry and his fellows should certainly be faulted for putting their faith in a reckless and foolhardy President who proved to have no judgement at all, but they can’t be accused of agreeing “that it was the right decision to go into Iraq.”

The Afternoon Affront

NPR on Thursday asked N.Y. Times columnist Paul Krugman about his debate earlier this week with Bill O’Reilly of Fox.  Mr. Krugman reports that during their heated discussion on the Iraq war, Mr. O’Reilly cited what U.N. weapons inspection chief Hans Blix told him on his television program, The O’Reilly Factor, before the Iraq war commenced.  A later fact check revealed that Mr. Blix never appeared on The O’Reilly Factor before the Iraq war.  As Mr. Krugman noted, it’s difficult to debate people who just make things up.

©J.C. Nossiter 2004
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