More Lileks
One day I'll be so good I'll feel no need to quote him:
I’ve been reading reactions to the President’s UN speech, and I’m amused at how people don’t seem to get it. Oh, now he’s being a multilateralist? Now he believes in the UN? No. That speech was the equivalent of that fabled kung-fu move that removes your opponent's heart and shows it to you, just before you crumple. It’s of a piece with the administration’s behavior since 9/11: Let all the carpers and obstructionists gather on the tip of the thinnest branch, then show up with a saw and announce they have five minutes to come hug the trunk, which incidentally is covered with sap and stinging ants. It was sheer malicious brilliance to cast the entire case in terms of UN resolutions, because it mean the UN had to chose: either those resolutions mean something, or the UN means nothing. Why, it's almost as if the UN painted itself into a corner - and woke up to find this rude simple cowboy holding the brush. How the hell did he do that?
Yep.
I was impressed too. At least I got my comments in first. %-)
I was not invigorated by Bush's speech. I felt unmoved. You know why?
Because he wasn't speaking to ME. He was speaking to the slugs at the UN.
The United Nations. A body that, historically, has acted in a manner that is beneath contempt.
Bush's speech was an uncomfortable necessity, kind of like going to the dentist to get a root canal. You have to do it; you know the pain will stop; but when you're done, you're just back where you started.
Please don't get me wrong -- I am not slamming POTUS. I give him credit for doing it, really. I know what he was trying to do. He was trying to be a team player. I think he did a good job, given the mission. He achieved the objective.
If anything pisses me off it is that the speech sounded a bit too much like it was written by Colin Powell. And nothing sets my teach on edge MORE than listening to Colin Powell address the situation in the Middle East.
Sorry for the rant. It's just my opinion; I could be wrong.
I'd just like to be the guy who turns the screw while Saddam's head is in the vise.
Sorry I forgot to ask one more question:
In view of Bush's gambit with the (ugh) UN, what will Congress do now?
In the run up to the Gulf War, Congress didn't act until the UN had checked in.
Will they insist on the same sequence?
If not, how will they justify bucking the precedent (no, uh, pun intended)
I think Bush has pretty effectively backed Congress against the wall. They're going to be forced to take a stand, soon.