Credibility

[. . .]

"This great man came to our country to talk about how he's risking his life for a free Iraq, which helps America, and Senator Kerry held a press conference and questioned Prime Minister Allawi's credibility,'' Mr. Bush said at a speech in the southern Wisconsin town of Janesville. "You can't lead this country if your ally in Iraq feels like you question his credibility. The message ought to be to the Iraqi people: 'We support you.' The message ought to be loud and clear: 'We'll stand with you if you do the hard work.' ''

The president was referring to Mr. Kerry's remarks on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, where the senator said Dr. Allawi was contradicting himself by asserting that terrorists in Iraq were on the defensive, after saying foreign fighters were coming into his country from across the border. (From NYT) [my emphasis]

[. . .]

"Our ally in Iraq"? What about all of the 'long-time' allies we've dissed over this mess in Iraq? What about the people who have stood with us and fought with us over the years? Fuck them, right? But heaven forbid we undermine Iraq's creds. As if that puppet government had any credibility to begin with.

From Josh Marshall:

[. . .]

Every so often you just have to sit back and marvel at the Twilight Zone we're living in at the moment.

Here we have a US-installed foreign head of state, whose travel schedule is determined by the US State Department, visiting the US to buoy the president's election campaign and spouting demonstrable lies in order to support a retrospective rationale for war that the White House wants Americans to believe but lacks the gall to state explicitly.

So where's the sovereignty, where's the credibility? Iraq is a joke, Osama's been forgotten, and Bush is Al Qaeda's best recruiter. And, worst of all, our nation is a laughing stock. Do you think anyone outside the U.S. believes what we're telling them? Do you think anyone will show up at our side should we have another terror attack on U.S. soil? America is a paraiah in the international community and we owe it all to President Go It Alone. Fucking rat bastid.