Back in 1981, when President Reagan had been shot and Vice President Bush was "out of the Beltway", Secretary of State Al Haig stepped up to the microphone and announced "I'm in charge here."It has been over a year since "mission accomplished". Last week, American troops retreated from Fallujah while one of Saddam Hussein's top generals was greeted with cheers and, for all we know, flowers strewn in his path. The same man who helped select the Afghan "leader" who has no power outside of the capital city is apparently supposed to find someone in Iraq to turn the keys over to on June 30. And the President, fresh from having his hand held by Dick Cheney, was bitch-slapped on national radio by a Lieutenant back from ten months in Iraq.
Who's in charge here?
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says we're not pulling back in Fallujah, when clearly we are. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is saying ... well, nobody can make any sense out of what he's saying. And National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice doesn't appear to be saying anything at all.
And President Bush is saying that he didn't exactly say what he said a year ago.
Say what?
Meanwhile, pictures of flag-draped coffins at Dover are overshadowed by pictures of Iraqi prisoners being tormented and humiliated while their American captors point and giggle, and all anyone can say is "I haven't read the report." And Americans are dying in Iraq at the rate of four per day.
Somebody, please, take charge!
The Republicans are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The head chicken is offering an "apology" that isn't an apology (to the King of Jordan, of all people!). Behind the scenes, the Republican political makers and shapers are scrambling to find ways for their bosses to take responsibility while actually avoiding responsibility.
The control-freak administration is spiraling out of control.
When you cheat your way into power and create policy based on lies, you pay the price. When you make decisions based on fantasy, reality eventually bites you in the butt. And reality is biting George W. Bush and his advisors' butts all over the place.
It's time to put someone else in charge.
Copyright 2004, Dan Jacoby
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