Saturday, May 17, 2008

Pres. Bush continues to be shallow and misleading


Here is a photo of Russian troops marching into Poland in 1939. Now read my rant:

The latest "framing" from Bush is that anyone who doesn't agree with his invasion of Iraq is appeasing terrorists. he continues to include the invasion of iraq with the war on terror, with 911 and the attacks on NYC. If we appease, he argues, they will strike again. Not agreeing with his policies means we are inviting more airplane attacks i guess. Then he mentioned the late Sen. Borah of Idaho who was an isolationist during the "peaceful" years between WWI and WWII - we might think of them as peaceful years, but they weren't very peaceful in Germany where the German people thought the politicians sold them out over the armistice and Versailles treaty. Borah expressed regret at not having been able to "talk" to Hitler before his invasion of Poland.

Ok, Sen. Borah didn't get it: Germany's position was that German territory was given up for the creation of Poland, that German citizens in those areas were now Polish citizens, and Hitler's initial goal was the reunification of greater Germany - which meant Austria, the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, Alsace Lorraine (France), and western Poland. Bush talked of how Hitler invaded Poland to expand his Empire: actually, he invaded to create what he and the German people considered greater Germany, that all Germans would be geographically in Germany. When he invaded Greece,Eastern Europe, and then USSR, THAT was his beginning of the empire he talks about in Mein Kampf (the book that outlines his campaign against jews, his intentions to invade Russia...its all there before any war broke out, I guess no one took him seriously). Historical analogies are always poor: no events occur exactly the same way twice. Hitler's position was that Poland was harassing Germans living in Poland, that he wanted to "protect" the freedoms of these Germans, and that Poland had been provacative militarily: Hitler "framed" his invasion as a pre emption invasion of an enemy of the German state. "REMIND YOU OF ANYONE?" as Craig Ferguson says in his monologue.

I could "frame" Bush's invasion of Iraq as similar to Hilter's invasion of Poland.

And don't forget, Russian invaded Poland simultaneously with Germany, and Russia became our ally in WWII. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, what did George 41 say about it? He compared it to German invasion of Poland. Now his son George 43 is using the same example - recycling "political spin" - doesn't he have his own advisors to come up with something new? he has to recycle the crap his Dad said?

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