Counterbias: The Deserter Puts On His War Face

The Deserter Puts On His War Face
Mr. Bush goes to Baghdad to honor the courage he never possessed

June 22 2006
Counterbias.com
STEVE HOROWITZ

The most powerful man on the planet went to the most dangerous place on earth on June 12th to show us his war face.

You know his war face. You saw it three years ago, on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Wistful, eyes misty, brows pointed upward at the center, almost too overwhelmed with gratitude to speak.

Mission accomplished, boys! Way to take your Commander-In-Chief's word for it when he says you need to die! And see how much I appreciate it? Just check out this poignant expression! Now excuse me while I return to Washington and cut veterans' benefits. Got to pay for those tax cuts somehow!

It takes some balls for a Vietnam-era reservist who specifically declined overseas service, and who ultimately walked out on his military obligation, to even show up in a crowd of honorably serving soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

And it takes some good advance work to round up hundreds of blindly trusting saps -- suckers who'll happily cheer the deserter who sent them to die for a lie, as they did on the Lincoln, as they did during Bush's surprise Monday photo op.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-military. I served five years' active duty myself, and I know it's the serviceman's job -- under penalty of court martial -- to unquestioningly follow lawful orders.

No, it's the fact that I have so much appreciation for the job our military people do that I become so powerfully nauseated when I see the fake sincerity on Bush's empathizing war face.

He feels their pain. Because he caused it.

When Clinton was president it was conventional wisdom that the military didn't like him, owing to his own efforts to avoid Vietnam, and for his early effort to allow gays to serve.

But he never tried to prove how manly he was by manufacturing a case for, and then completely bungling, an illegal, unnecessary war. He did it by sticking a cigar up an intern's twat.

Not so good for his historical legacy, maybe, but at least 2,500 service members didn't die pulling it out.