Bush: A legacy diminished by mistakes and arrogance (Kansas City Star)

[struggle4progress]

... His administration advocated spying on U.S. citizens without a judge’s order. It detained people indefinitely without charging them with crimes. It used torture and shipped people to other governments known for their cruelty.

The detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is a shameful symbol of our compromised ideals that must be closed down as quickly as possible.

Bush’s assessment of our military involvements ignores his administration’s many mistakes and miscalculations. The failure to secure critical infrastructure and other errors in Iraq opened the door to the bloody insurgency that has cost the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis. That conflict also drained U.S. resources in Afghanistan, where victory over our 9/11 adversaries remains — at best — a long, long way off ...

Among other things, the new administration must re-establish the predominance of diplomacy, respect constitutional protections, renounce torture and adhere to the rule of law.

http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/986907.html

[Skittles]

1. why the fuck is everyone speaking out NOW?

we've been saying this stuff for EIGHT FUCKING YEARS

[struggle4progress]

2. That's a REALLY good question that deserves an answer. But I dunno

Maybe there's something structural about US media that keeps the columnists and editorial boards quiet except at certain times. Or maybe a lot of the publishers looked at current polls and decidded they'd lose media shares if they didn't move with the public. Or maybe everybody's been afraid the Administration would target them illegally if they didn't speak out

:shrug:

[olegramps]

3. The press in the United States is at the present a failure

The press totally failed the American public to properly inform them. The major news outlets are owned by corporations whose only concern is profits. They don't want to alienate any of their customers including their subscribers and advertisers. As a consequence their coverage of the Bush administration amounted to nothing more than reprinting the White House Press releases. The reporters were hammered by the White House that would black-list them if they were critical and by their bosses if they dared alienate some of their readers.

[mwb970]

4. I was wondering about that too.

There seems to be a veritable blizzard of "bush was no good" editorials now that he's on his way out the door. Where were these people when he was busy being no good, with the country and the world suffering as a result?

[Skittles]

5. I don't know but it is surely making me sick

come, we kick some deadbeat journalist ass :mad:

[Joe Chi Minh]

6. "Diminished" by mistakes? It wasn't a catalogue then?