Putting aside the obvious point that the Vice President presides over the impeachment trial in the Senate, shooting this down point by point is almost so easy to be unsporting! but here goes:
McGovern claims that the removal of Saddam Hussein by military force was done in defiance of the US Congress and the UN charter and is a violation of law. This is not correct. While not a Declaration of War per se, the US Congress did authorize military action against Iraq and has not removed such authorization. Furthermore, while there is debate on the issue, UN resolutions post the Iraq invasion of Kuwait do authorize military action in case of a failure by Iraq to live up to the terms of its cease fire. UN Security Resolution 1441, while not providing a new and separate authorization to invade, clearly states that Iraq has not lived up to its cease fire obligations. UN Security Council Resolutions 660 and 678 allow military action by member states in such a case.
McGovern claims that the Bush administration purposely deceived Congress, the press, and the public relating to Iraq's possession of WMD. There is no evidence to suggest that US intelligence services or other national intelligence services did not at the time believe that Iraq was working to create WMDs and indeed had them. Furthermore, the fact that WMDs were not found after the war, while damning, is not in itself proof the such weapons programs did not indeed exist. A transcript of a secret meeting between Bush and government of Spain, leaked last year, provides further interest that Bush was acting only on the basis of the best available evidence and that military action was a last resort.
McGovern claims the Bush administration is creating a climate of fear post 9/11 2001. Well guess what George: there are Islamofacist terrorists out there who do indeed want to kill us. This line of thinking goes back from Bin Laden to the Muslim Brotherhood to early Wahabbism, to Islamic leaders in the 18th century and before who continue to quote (i.e. distort) the Koran to justify the slaughter of "infidels", namely us. Bush did not create a climate of fear. Islamofacist terrorism is the cause. The assassination of Bhutto in Pakistan is further proof. See my earlier post quoting an article by William Shawcross in the Spectator on this very topic.
McGovern also blames bush for the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Putting aside for the moment the responsibility of the governments of Louisiana and New Orleans, as well as the substantial misreporting of events that have now been thoroughly debunked, and this is certainly a stretch. It's as if Bush directed Katrina to hit New Orleans.
[Update 1/15/2008 10:15am - Here is a strongly-worded post on what's wrong with New Orleans and why it doesn't deserve another dime! ]
McGovern also touches on Guantanamo and FISA, which I won't even bother with. The courts and congress are well equipped to deal with those, and so far have not required a significant change in behaviour by the administration.
But here's the fundamental misunderstanding that undermines everything McGovern says. He writes, "[t]heir conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world."
Really? On what basis is it true that our country has been reduced to a historic low in the eyes of the world? That opinion doesn't appeared to be shared by the newly elected governments of Germany and France, or even where I live in Japan. That opinion is not shared by the millions of immigrants risking everything to come illegally to the US. And by the way, since when should US policy be determined based on the opinions of the rest of the world?
If we really want to start laying blame, then lets look at what administration let Iran fall into the hands of religious fanatics, who are now bent on developing nuclear weapons, the destruction of Israel, and have been up to no good in terms of stabilizing Iraq. Remember who that was? It was Carter/McGovern. . .if Reagan hadn't followed, we might still be fighting the Cold War with the Soviet Union (who by now might be allied with a resurgent China)!
