Well, I was just reviewing the transcript from President Bush’s presser and his exchange with Helen Thomas….. It seems the prez lacked a bit of clarity about the differences of Afghanistan and Iraq — let alone, answering the question.
Thomas asked the president why he ordered the invasion of Iraq. He preferred justifying Afghanistan as a stand in for Iraq:
THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it’s just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We — when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I’m never going to forget it. And I’m never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.
Part of that meant to make sure that we didn’t allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that’s why I went into Iraq — hold on for a second —
HELEN THOMAS: They didn’t do anything to you, or to our country.
THE PRESIDENT: Look — excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That’s where al Qaeda trained —
TPMcafe slices and dices the exchange in much more painful detail — including the caveat that the White House immediately began talking about attacking Iraq after 9/11 — even before Afghanistan.
