lurkitty

We are having an extreme case of dejá vù this week. One of the most memorable post-Katrina statements was made by Barbara Bush, who quipped that refugees in the Astrodome were better off after the hurricane than before because they were "underprivileged." Now we have Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist remarking Tuesday that conditions at Guantanamo are excellent and detainees are getting better medical and dental care than "many Americans".

Apparently it does not matter to Mr. Frist that many of the detainees have never made a move against the US but were turned in because someone wanted reward money. Since they have never had trials or had their cases reviewed by a judge, they have remained in custody for four years with no contact from their families and friends. We challenge Mr. Frist to go live there himself if he thinks their life is so good.

Earlier this month, there was much consternation and rending of garments over a British C4 TV drama in which Bush is assasinated. Why would a Republican promoter then think it okay to set up cardboard images of HIllary Clinton and John Kerry and invite college students to shoot at them with BB guns to get out the vote? Fortunately, plans for the event were scrapped when the media found out.

Finally, visions of the fake Nigerian yellowcake intelligence the Administration used to invade Iraq began dancing in our head today. Maybe that's because of the recent Senate report on prewar intelligence. Tuesday, Bush claimed that the IAEA itself had evidence that Iran is enriching uranium in the following exchange from an interview with Today's Matt Lauer:

LAUER: ... the accuracy of intelligence, especially after Iraq, do you have a smoking gun? Do you have a firm piece of evidence that proves to you, and could prove to the American people, that the Iranians indeed are enriching uranium for weapons purposes, not for peaceful purposes?

BUSH: Well, I think the most compelling evidence was that which is found by the IAEA, was the international inspection body, that there is evidence of an enrichment program going on outside of the protocol that the Iranians agreed to.

Now the IAEA is charging that the recent House report on Iran's nuclear capability is "outrageous and dishonest". The letter from the IAEA directly contradicts what Bush said:
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday outside a 35-nation IAEA board meeting, says the report is false in saying Iran is making weapons-grade uranium at an experimental enrichment site, when it has in fact produced material only in small quantities that is far below the level that can be used in nuclear arms.
President Bush lied when he answered Lauer's question.

The US ignored the objections of the IAEA in the days leading to the invasion of Iraq, saying that the IAEA was wrong and fabricating evidence to support their contentions. It turned out the IAEA was right. Perhaps we ought to believe the people with the better track record. Or believe people who tell the truth.
(crossposted to ljdemocrats)