Matthew Dowd: George W. Bush’s ‘Tie to History’ Is ‘the Disastrous Decision’ of the Iraq War

He did zero good things. Katrina was a stupendous disaster of governmental failure. As to his “decision” to go into Iraq, you give him way too much credit. You suggest that he made a mistake or a blunder. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He was an architect of the intentional lies that tried to justify his deliberate deceit of Congress and the American people to justify an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country in order to steal their resources. That was not negligence it was an intentional criminal act.

The disastrous Iraq war decision AND the largest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

The disastrous Iraq war decision AND the largest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

Posted by: Jim | April 28, 2013, 3:14 pm 3:14 pm

True. Both those things did major damage to the country.

History will take decades to decide Bush’s decisions to go to war. The balance of power , once restored will tell fate.

@clintoncrat for whatever…you say the “D” next to someone’s name means “incompetence”? And you claim to have supported Clinton?? I cry hypocrite.

But if you want a very recent example of the big R representing incompetence that spread like a virus, how about Reinhart and Rogoff’s spreadsheet error? EVERY Republican that is screaming for austerity is using this report that was either an incompetent omission or worse, a deliberate omission to frighten the public into a course of action already championed by the Republican majority. This is what happens when sound judgement and thorough research get usurped by sensationalism and hyper-partisanship.

You are a troll, and if you really believe Palin is the answer, then I can promise you right now my vote will cancel yours.

Ha, ha.

Although I am an independent and I’m not Bush fan, I certainly am no Obama fan either.. You can’t do much worse of a job that Obama has done with this nations economics.. No one with half a brain believes this eocnomic farce that they are trying to pull over our eyes.. Welfare / POVERY RATES are at their highest levels EVER.. Nearly 50 Million Americans living in poverrty in the RICHEST NATION in the history of the world.. Our oval office bailed out the auto manufacturers, the banks and everyone else they could, but what has OBAMA done for the working class? NOTHING thats what.. He has lied about everything from Obama care. He ‘s CONSTANTLY putting the hammer to our elderly via social security and Medicare cuts.. The only people he seems to be helping at all are the illegal immigrants and increase welfare benefits for the millions of life longers sucking this nation dry.. WE NEED JOBS , NOT WELFARE.. STOP GIVING WELFARE / FEDERAL TAX REBATES by the thousands of dollars for people who are BARELY working .. How can we keep giving away taxpayer money along with welfare to people in amounts, many times adds up to more than they actually WORK TO EARN? Its the same people.. I know more than several. >They have spent their entire lives using their CHILDREN as welfare tax rebates and ebt cares.. Its the truth.. There’s no reason to wonder why we are broke..Its because the FEDS are creating a welfare state that keeps hard working people broke from extreme taxation to support a WELFARE STATE of peoiple who simply will not work.. CREATE JOBS.. NOT WELFARE…

obamao is a disaster

sadly, Dowd is correct.

Not one word about Obama’s legacy of poisoning our food supply by putting Monsanto in charge of the FDA and USDA. The most anti-consumer President in my lifetime yet not a peep from the liberals who adore him.
Obama is a corporate puppet and an empty suit

This president has never built relationships outside of saying, “I need your vote tomorrow.” He hasn’t — it’s all been photo ops with Congress. He hasn’t reached out. He hasn’t consistently said come to Camp David, sit down with me, let’s talk about this.
Gingrich, like the rest of the GOP, is addicted to the cronyism and being treated like a prima donna. But the more they are treated like that, the more they think their overrated hot air is worth, and the more they demand of the same. Exactly the same way that they love being ‘wooed’ by corporate America, at which point they trade their conscience and any semblance of scruples for high treatment and financial favors. The problem with Obama ‘sucking up’ to them is that he can’t offer them those big financial perks, so corporate America will always win out, and the tax payer has just foolishly paid for a trip to Camp David and a fancy meal for nothing.

@clintoncrat for whatever…

EVERY Republican that is screaming for austerity is using this report that was either an incompetent omission or worse, a deliberate omission to frighten the public into a course of action already championed by the Republican majority.

Posted by: Obvious | April 28, 2013, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm

I can’t speak for Republicans, because I’m not one. I used to be a Democrat, I really was, until the Democratic Party left me; I didn’t leave the Democratic Party.

But to the point: so, what’s the point? It was an inconsequential typographical error. So the tipping-point isn’t 90%, and it doesn’t tip as hard as they thought. Is there no tipping point? Is there no consequence to high debt? 90% debt-to-GDP is okay? How about 900% debt-to-GDP? 9,000%? All no worries; we’re over-reacting? Debt does matter! If you think debt doesn’t matter. If you think debt is good. If you think the more debt the better. Well, there is a party for you; it’s called the Democratic Party. They love debt, as long as it’s your debt and not theirs; PUMA!

p.s. in their defense. Theirs, not ours: theirs. Republicans aren’t calling for austerity. Austerity means spending cuts and tax-hikes. Republicans are calling for spending cuts and tax-cuts. One should ask what Democrats are calling for: spending cuts and tax-hikes? Or spending hikes and tax-hikes? Or spending cuts and tax-cuts? Or spending hikes and tax-cuts?

And Obama has doubled down on the Bush foreign policy.

Bush’s history: “if I find out that anyone in the White House was involved in outing CIA operative V. Plame, I will fire him”. A few weeks later: “I gave VP Cheney permission to out V Plame.”

Bush was a much better President than Obama could ever be. He inherited the economic depression fallout of the Clinton/Gore “Tech Bubble” bust and the economic fallout of 9/11 without complaint. And his economy was doing fine until the Democrats took control in 2006. He was constantly warning about the need for tighter regulation in the housing and mortgage industries, while the Dems (lead by sleazeball Barney Franks, who along with his lover, were eyeball deep in it) were saying, no, no, everything’s fine. This constant bashing of a good man who saw what he did as public service and not self aggrandizement is depressing and lame.

There is no defense for the economic and military disaster Bush left this country in. Over 2,000 Americans died on American soil under his presidency and the horrible loss of life and response after Katrina will echo through the centuries. Any mental defect that defends George W is not worth talking to There is no comparison. George W. Bush was the worst president in history and he nearly destroyed America. His library is an attempt to continue to lie and mislead gullible Americans that believe a drunk cowboy and administration that NEVER should have been allowed to be president by Supreme Court decision nor actually elected in 2004.

Anyone who supports Bush is a moron. Pure fact.

Bush should have NEVER listened to Clinton on Iraq. Of course, Obama voted in favor of it on every vote but one.

The best part of this past election was watching far right Republicans begin to distance themselves from the Tea Party and George W. Bush (if not his failed policies).

Republicans never took responsibility for the economic mess Obama inherited. Yes, he inherited it. Republicans had hoped to deflect blame for the disaster onto Obama, but our memories are not THAT short. “But it’s been two years!” Or “three years” or “four years,” they would whine (as though the passage of time somehow excused the administration responsible for the mess (starting with Bush bribing the public with tax rebates in return for votes during the 2000 debates–a move that Gore explained would cripple the economy, create record drops on Wall Street, and record unemployment, and the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Bush just smirked, “That’s your fuzzy math.” Doesn’t seem so fuzzy now, does it?). Are we supposed to stop assigning bin Laden responsibility for orchestrating the 9/11 attacks because time has passed? By Republican logic, we apparently are (Maybe that’s why Bush said he didn’t care about pursuing bin Laden.)

Bush sent thousands of young Americans to die in a made-up war so that (Dick Cheney’s) Halliburton could get control of oil wells that didn’t belong to them. And every truly patriotic American knows that Bush AND Cheney should have been impeached. Republicans need to get their priorities straight.

Democrats that began the Iraq WMD/Conflict before Bush took Office:

“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.”
–President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”
–President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

“Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.”
–Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

“He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983.”
–Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

“[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”
–Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”
–Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

“Hussein has … chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and
palaces for his cronies.”
–Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

“But the fact of the matter is, we’re not gonna have an immigration bill that doesn’t have a pathway to citizenship.” – Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, Los Angeles, California

Well, I guess we’re not gonna have an immigration bill then, will we. This is logic, folks. It’s like Barack Hussein saying, “We’re not going to have spending-cuts without tax-hikes.” Well, we’re not going to have a hike in the debt-level without spending-cuts, and we’re not going to have tax-hikes, so I guess we’re not going to have a hike in the debt-level then. I’m okay with that; I hope you are, too, Barack Hussein. Why would anyone vote for giving away citizenship to illegals in this bill? The last time we gave away citizenship to illegals, we were promised there would be no more illegals. Well, guess what? There’s been tens of millions of illegals since! We don’t even know how many tens of millions, actually. Barack Hussein keeps on saying, “Don’t worry, there’s only 11 million of them. 11 million of them!” Well, according to my calculations, there are anywhere between 30 million and 60 million illegals in this country, right now, and Barack Hussein plans on giving all of them, every last one of them except for a few, citizenship, right now, in this bill. Why don’t we wait until we find out how many of them there really are? Why don’t we wait until the border is actually secure? Once we know these things, we will make the better decision, instead of taking a blind guess right now. Let’s see Barack Hussein and his Democratic sock-puppets veto that: a comprehensive immigration bill that gives everyone everything everyone agrees on: secure borders, permanent renewable work visas, expanded legal immigration. Let’s see Barack Hussein’s Democrats hold all these things for the illegal community hostage for their citizenship pipe-dream. PUMA!

It appalls me to see how the media trashes the Bush but then hypes up the current failure in the Office of the president since January 2009. All obama is accomplishing is to destroy our nation! He will never succeed in filling the shoes of a true President! We all know obama was elected and re-elected on his merits because there are none – he was elected solely because of his skin color and he gives more handouts to the undeserving!

I’m SHOCKED that a liberal commentator opined that Bush’s tie to history was the Iraq War. Just like all the liberals remember Kennedy and Johnson for getting us into Vietnam and escalating the war… Right??? Right??? Bush’s “tie to history” was his response to the 9/11 attacks. Get real liberals.

Simple…Iraq war was a cover too send oil too China….their is a reason for that, so they did not invade and take ours….Now as in a legacy…look at Bill Clinton sitting in the Oval Office and not doing anything about the Terrorist AND THERE plans too attack…why you ask simple, he was paid too do nothing there is a good point that since leaving office he has made just shy of 1 Billion dollars!?

Now Ol GW. off course is a crook but just as Obama and the Clintons…wake up people, remember when you messiah toke office and put a moratorium on the foreclosures…well 23 million people lost there homes because after the 3 months moratorium then forsclosure’s just started right back up, only because the Obaminator help too completely unemploy the men and Woman who pay the BIlls in the Country WHITE middle class so please do research and shut your mouths about anyone but your selves…oh all those homes were bought up by none other than Chinese and Arab investors!

W:WMD’s and Waterboarding

It seems to me that there was lots of support at the time, based on the best available information! Hindsight is 20/20! Senator Obama was one of the few who opposed the invasion this appeared to demonstrate unusual insight. (The jury is out if it was insight or an aversion to commitment)

DOWD and ABC and most of the disrespectful comments about President George W Bush are ungrateful and lack the ability to be fair. The country turned on Lincoln due to civil war but now he is a legend. Left liberals will always hate people that are not of their party. Don’t forget that he didn’t make the decision to go to war alone. It is the responsibility of all who decided to go to war, to get the FACTs, not just go on what the President decides, thats why we have congressmen and senators we elected to represent our wishes too. They failed to get the FACTs, President Bush is one man he can’t be everywhere, he was told there were weapons of mass destruction, he wanted to protect you ungrateful haters. Congress/senate could have seeked further info, like McCain does Obama. Watch old film of the people after 9/11, a lot of Americans were wanting to go to war. But you all keep praising Obama your healthcare going to suck, you will be working 2 jobs because employers will cut out as many fulltime jobs as they can to keep businesses from shutting down.He sneaking taxes on everything he can and you don’t see it.I was injuryed last year so I didn’t work 1/4 what I normally work, made under 15,000, I had to pay taxes,when I normally get refund. Why we got countries wanting to hurt us is because,they know we Got weak Leaders, so they want to use this time to bully American’s because we were rich and free and strong they are laughing at our President that uses being President like he made the elite VIP club,like a teenager that went off to college for 1st time no parental control partying the white house up! He don’t care about the American people,he is milking the status of being President to reap the rewards.Never seen a President that is always wining and dining hollywood,Never seen a serious,sincere concern for the American people.He don’t have his heart in his job.He wants to be a celebrity and he fools a lot of yall and he ain’t even good at acting like he cares.About the economy, the 1st years of President Bush’s term we had conservative congress,we were doing well.Its when the Democrats were the majority when we started going down hill.You all will get what you want, handouts,lazy Americans just letting our Freedom go.We will end up being a 3rd world country.When you have freedom all your life given to you by the blood of other Americans that dedicated their life for the future generations to be free,you take it for Granted.The people that want to hurt us (that some of you want to protect the terroist)they would/will kill you and not even think twice before your blood is spilled by their hands of hatred.These people have always hated Americans before President Bush was even born.I wish you who want to protect the terroist go live with them on their land and America would be a better place for the rest of us.Sad thing is when you have lost your freedoms you all be will be too stupid to realize it.Im not saying President Bush was perfect but he cared about this country.I wouldn’t have posted disrepectful comments towards Obama,but after reading rude disrespectful comments about President Bush I decided to stoop to the low level of the people that post rude comments.I don’t agree with Obama but being an American, I try to support our Leaders and not bash our President.Because other countries love to see us devided,weak and laugh at us fighting each other.But I’m tired of the blaming and whining,What have you that throw stones done so Great with your life or for your country?Instead of blaming get off your butts and do it better.So if you all going to run President Bush down then I can run you all down.But ABC will delete my post because they only want negative post about President Bush,I should have not even listen to Dowd speak when I saw it was an ABC news feed.I’m thankful for cable growing up we only had 3 channels til cable was available.ABC is a joke, soon they may go bankrupt.I wont click another ABC newsfeed.”Fool me once shame on you(ABC),Fool me twice shame on me.”

Don’t forget that he didn’t make the decision to go to war alone.

Posted by: willa | April 28, 2013, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm

Actually, yes. Bush did make the decision to attack Iraq. He was also the person who scared the county by pretending Iraq had a nuclear weapons program. “The smoking gun could be a mushroom-shaped cloud”.

The resolution in Congress “supported” and “encouraged” diplomatic efforts by President George W. Bush to “strictly enforce through the U.N. Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq” and “obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion, and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.”

The resolution authorized President Bush to use the Armed Forces of the United States “as he determines to be necessary and appropriate” in order to “defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.”

The Congress vote was NOT a vote to attack Iraq.

That decision was George W. Bush’s alone. And his neo-con cabal of course.

Saddam Hussein. It was worth it to take this guy out and this idiot doesn’t care that he was attacking us on a daily basis and supporting terrorism around the world.

Posted by: Mattwm | April 28, 2013, 9:27 pm 9:27 pm

Saddam Hussein was ‘attacking us on a daily basis’? Please provide the evidence you’ve researched on this.

Where were all these nay sayers when it was it was first decided to go to Iraq? Most all of the democrats were in favor of it then.

“DOWD: And I think the president, reflecting back…” i love it when these highly educate folks make statements like this…can he please tell us how we can reflect forward???

tells you more about the intelligence of these charlatans than any thing else.

@wayne you are correct.its embarressing to have fellow americans so mislead.

Dowd’s opinion is about as relevant as Donald Duck’s. No one gives a rodent’s rectum what this hack thinks – he’s a loony leftie like 99% of them.

Posted by: Dave | April 28, 2013, 10:51 pm 10:51 pm

Dowd got one thing wrong. Bush’s presidency will be defined by his disastrous Iraq war decision AND the largest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

@Dave,I agree DOWD is a loonie tune.

Posted by: willa | April 28, 2013, 11:04 pm 11:04 pm

Matthew Dowd is an American political consultant who was the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney ’04 presidential campaign.

Transcript: President Clinton explains Iraq strike

1998 Clinton bombs Baghdad for 70 straight hours.

CLINTON: Good evening.

Earlier today, I ordered America’s armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.

Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons.

So, who lied first?

Posted by: dusty70 | April 28, 2013, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm

Much of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were destroyed after the first Gulf War by U.N. inspectors. Most of the remainder was taken out by Clinton in 1998. U.N. weapons inspectors were finding no weapons of mass destruction leading up to the Bush attack.

Clinton didn’t kill over 4000 American soldiers, nor maim tens of thousand, nor did he indebt the country over a trillion dollars and leave the entire country destabalized.

The Iraq war was not “disastrous”, the decision to invade was just plain unjustified.
Afghanistan could be called disastrous because we didn’t leave within six months, but the mission kept changing until it was unknown, so we stayed far too long.

@Randy:
I would suggest you read the book “Reckless Endangerment” or watch the PBS FRONTLINE production of “The Warning” to see the policies put in place by the Clinton Administration.

I say both parties and stand by it. Can you name any Democrats who did not push for home ownership? There actually were a few Republicans, but few.

Hope you watched the youtube of Treasury Sec. Snow almost begging Congress for oversight on the risky loans (1993). He was mocked.

As for Clinton destroying the WMDs in Iraq in 1998, he would disagree with you. On Larry King’s show he said we bombed from 60,000 feet. Who knows what we hit? You can hide chemical weapons in a small lab.

I did not support the Iraq War or Obama’s escalation of the Afpak War. We have lost over 72% of the lives and over 70% loss of limb in Afpak since Obama became President. (McCain would have been as bad). We have spent $8B per month.

The ouster of Gadaffi has set the entire MENA on fire.

And now Hillary, who supported and voted for these Wars, is high on the Dem list for President in 2016.

At least Bush went to Congress.

Does anyone even remember the real reason we went to war with Iraq? they were a sponsor of terror,that had been known in the past to use wmd’s,on Iran and their own people(the kurds).
All G.W. did was to finish what he and the UN should have done to begin with…

Matthew Dowd??? Isn’t he a big time liberal??? Hmmmm

KEN KARISH: “Does anyone even remember the real reason we went to war with Iraq? they were a sponsor of terror,that had been known in the past to use wmd’s,on Iran and their own people(the kurds). All G.W. did was to finish what he and the UN should have done to begin with…” – - – Nice job of rewriting history. What fantasy planet were you living on back then? Because you clearly don’t remember the ACTUAL reasons the Bush Administration used to perpetuate a fraud and con the world into supporting our invasion of Iraq.