Who’s a Danger to Our National Security?
From the NY Times today comes this news— the federal government at the direction of the Bush administration and at the urging of the Republican Congress put up a website which reveals nuclear bomb-making secrets. The NYT headline sums it up thus:
So what happened?
<!-more->
And what was published?
But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.
And how long has this information been available?
Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. […] Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials.
And who plays politics with our National Security?
The director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, had resisted setting up the Web site, which some intelligence officials felt implicitly raised questions about the competence and judgment of government analysts. But President Bush approved the site’s creation after Congressional Republicans proposed legislation to force the documents’ release.
Now we ask you – who’s the real danger in maintaining our national security and combating terrorism?
40 Comments
New comments for this entry are closed.
The real danger is the incompetence that comes from misplaced priorities—away from the people and their needs, hopes, desires, and interdependence, and towards profiteering, cronyism, and back-covering. In other words, really really bad values.
I am filled today with a longing and hope—remembering the hope of 2004 (thanks to javelin and Pamela for the audio clips Murad did in 2003—really started the flow of memory for me!) and a tingle in the spine for Tuesday.
Can it be true? Have we all, collectively, changed the world?
The horrors of the past five years: war, death, torture, indifference, cynicism will not disappear, but perhaps, maybe, can you believe it?
We can begin anew.
Thanks to Mark at thepremise.com for the earliest stirrings of this hope.
Onward, all. We still have work to do.
So, Mr Bush released a primer on how to build a nuke on the internet to attempt to cover his butt politically.
I feel safer.
Is there nothing the Bush admin and Republicans in Congress won’t do to try to justify their failed policies and immoral war?
Shame on them.
Kristin Breitweiser has a great post that it is the Bush administration that needs to apologize not John Kerry. I think she is wrong in saying that Kerry spoke words that offended the troops - because it was actually the distortion of Kerry’s words by the RW that offended them. But her point is welll taken - that Bush’s grievences are what need an apology.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-breitweiser/because-its-not-that-har_b_33164.html
A great opinion control in the Healthentinel.com on how Bush should apologize, not Kerry.
http://www.healthsentinel.com/org_news.php?id=110&title=I+want+an+apology+for…&event=org_news_print_list_item
And this is incredible. Where are the democrats on that!
Senator Kerry,
You are once again on the front line for all of us. You have been unafraid to address every issue of lies and failures of this Presidency that threatens the Republic. Your fearlessness is what makes them afraid. Afraid of the truth. Afraid of the Democrats. Afraid of a real accounting of the people’s wishes.
Thank you for all of us. I don’t know if you will get another Purple Heart for this wound, as the Republicans once again lied and distorted your words and tried to bring you down. But I know that you are strong enough to brush this one off as well and keep on coming!
There is no room for retreat on this. Signing statements, torture, rendition, Katrina, 9/11, Iraq, Tora Bora, Abramoff, Libbey, habeas corpus, and FISA Courts are terms I wish I never had heard about or understood. Our children and our children’s children’s future will depend on what we do today. We cannot relent in our protection of our nation. We cannot relax our vigilence against those who seek to usurp power and distort our Constitution.
I am sorry I can only offer my political support. We are all there with you on this one!
But we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Robert Freedland
John Kerry for President 2008
Well! it certainly is reassuring to know that the right people are in charge of the world’s nuclear secrets, and that Repolitburu apparatchiks are the ones who are keeping us safe from terrorists and global thermonuclear holocaust—because, of course, the Reposeurs in power would never, *ever* let anyone manipulate critical national security issues for craven political gain.
oh thank you elephants we all feel ever so much safer now than we did six years ago,
Otter
Polling evidence is coming in the the Republicans did not get even a measuarable bump from the kery fiasco, and why? Because the Republican noise machine does not fool the voters any longer and news oulets like Fox have lost crediblility with the viewing public. In short, Americans are wiser now and have smartened up.
Theis election cycle is more about throwing the Republicans out not putting Democrats in. Apparently, the bar has been set pretty low for the Dems, but that is where America’s hope now lies. The fact that most Dems sat timidly by while John Kerry was swiftboated for all to see gives us reason to pause, and worry, that the Dems are not up to the task. The fact that even some Dems piled on casts the party as the party of timid weaklings.
The media abetted noise machine was successful in painting Deanas a maniac in the concocted “The Scream” scene, and Clarke as an uber-liberal because of Micheal Moore, but when they tried to characterize Clinton as a screaming mimie, no one bought it. In fact, Clinton’s outburst was a shot in the arm for the Dems at a critical time.
Kerry’s retort was harped upon as shrill, but again no one bought it.
If anything is to be learned from this is that all these wishy-washy Dems should take off the gloves and call it like it is. That’s not being reckless, that’s being smart. It will garner more votes.
Karl Rove has been doing the thinking for too many Democrats for too long.
We had a captured soldier abandoned in Iraq when the cordon was lifted under the direction of Maliki, who is joined at the hip to al-Sadr, and we know that it was the Mahdi Army that abducted him. But for Bush, it is politically expedient to abandon him rather than risk pre mid-term fallout from taking action.
The pathetic Dems have not come to the rescue of this soldier, just as they have abandoned Kerry when he was swiftboated. Instead, they sit in silence, aiding and abetting Bush and al-Sadr.
Peter,
The question is an important one: once we get these guys into office, will they support the right policies? Will they even support each other? The fundamentalist Christians needed to ask themselves that in 2002 and we all know what they had to engage in to keep their guys even relatively congruent.
And it is all falling apart on the right wing side anyway, because it turns out they are bad judges of character.
We can be smarter than that. We already see the tendency toward timidity and we know about the intense pressures the right wing can bring to bear on freshmen in Congress. We will have to be vigilant, loving, and clear. Our work will not end in January, but begin.
Hope you are onboard, Peter.
This proves that this is absolutely the DUMBEST president ever. The American people have finally woken up from Bush’s incompetence. Can’t wait to see the GOP as the minority party again.
Despite Kerry’s gaffe, Democrats are still in the lead to take over Congress:
IN YOUR FACE, PRESIDENT BUSH!!
Peter,
Kerry is not a candidate and it is no surprise that this episode is not affecting those who are running.
My one concern is that some reports still mischaracterize this as a comment on the troops, as opposed to being a comment about Bush being stuck in Iraq. Hopefully over time more will get the real story. The polls you mention are encouraging—do you have links?
My bet is that, with increased scrutiny of candidates and the ability to place any gaffe on line, voters will get bored with such tactics after this type of episode keeps coming up. Nobody can be out campaigning as much as Kerry without some type of gaffe. After all, there are entire books of Bush gaffes.
Hopefully after enough of this type of nonsense, voters will look more closely at what Kerry has really been saying, rather than the misinformation spread by Republicans.
Posted by Peter Baldwin | November 3, 2006 9:26 AM
You are right on the money. I can’t describe how steamed I was at the Democratic Party for letting the swiftboating occur and then allowing Kerry to get steam rolled. I too question whether they will stand true and with forethought and integrity towards the things they promise us they’ll do if elected.
It makes me wish there were 100 more John Kerry’s out there.
Ron, This comes from Jim Carville’s polling outfit but it still seems real:
http://www.democracycorps.com/reports/analyses/Democracy_Corps_November_2_2006_Memo.pdf
In a related story, Richared Perle (yes, I said Richard Perle) recently attacked the Bush administration as dysfunctional in terms of preventing terrorists from bringing in nuclear material into the United States. Post about this here.
Has anyone seen Pelosy or any of the other leaders of the democratic party? Why are they not taking a stand? They should be able to voice their opinion and try to save this election. I really hope that the botched joke that JK did not even laugh about when he said it does not come back to haunt the election. Does anyone think that something as simple as calling the troops stupid can hurt other democrats in the upcoming election??
Doug,
It was all they had, and it wasn’t much, was it?
Karendc,
I am on board. I remember the Dems crowing about getting 8 months of unemployment in exchange for billions in tax breaks for the super wealthy, and pandering to the credit card lobby during Clinton’s tenure.
If the Dems sweep both houses, it is an auspicious start to a long slog. If they can get Congress locked up and then the presidency in 08, then its payback time for 98% of the population. Two years of gridlock looks mighty appealing.
Posted by Peter Baldwin | November 3, 2006 10:50 AM
zacly. Ok, keep coming back, as they say…we need you!
Doug,
Senator Kerry did not call the troops stupid. The comment was directed at Bush and was not saying he was stupid, but that he didn’t do the planning which has resulted in the nightmare that is Iraq. You need to look at the context of the statement - Kerry was commenting on Bush.
The media at the event had the prepared comments - so there never should have been any question as to the Senator’s intention. Also, though Senator Kerry has often criticized Bush, he has always praised the soldiers and understood the dangers they were in. In 2004, Kerry’s comments about “our kids” being killled by ieds made from ammo that was not guarded months after the invasion registered to me as incredibly heartfelt - the outrage was absolutely authentic.
Senator Kerry has been an advocate for veterans since he returned to the US in 1969, while he was still in the Navy. Read the Q&A part of his Senate testimony - Senator Kerry was as strong that the needs of the veterans were not being met and had to be as he was that the war should end.
The people making these charges know that and they know that he has had a very strong record on veterans in the Senate. There are also many stories of Senator Kerry meeting with veterans and soldiers - including a cute story where he took a young Iraqi vet to see the Red Sox after meeting him on a plane going back to Boston.
First and foremost, as always Senator we have your back. Find me one GOP’er who is honest enough to have people back him through something like this week (IE- their people have no loyalty to anyone but their own selfish interests and would have “jetted”).
Hindsight 20/20, now that the party is starting to be very competitive in elections and has some serious cash flow, I think it would be a good idea in future elections to have a bunch of really creative people (like those you see making the youtube ads) hired and sitting idle for the last two weeks. They should have some prime time air bought yet not planned. When things like this broke, a creative team would kick it into high gear and fire out an ad that could be aired within 24 hrs. of the story breaking.
As an example, today you might see an ad that points the above out, and during the next break you would see an ad showing what the Dems have tried to do about it in the past and intend to do about it “If the voters give us the chance”. The best part is that the GOP would know the air time would bought, but they wouldn’t know what was coming ( namely because it would be done “on the fly”). Meanwhile THEY would be having to react the next day to this ad, while they’re get slammed by another one, etc.
I know that all sounds very “Rovian”, but this would be MUCH different :
A) we’d be using the truth
B) our candidates would actually follow through with the promise to fix it.
As always, IMHO.
As a footnote to the above we have a saying in my hobby : Speed is LIFE. I think that can be projected onto campaigns now more than ever… The candidate who can move the quickest in this ever quickening media-driven world has a huge advantage.
This commercial demonstrates what I am talking about in a funny way, and BTW the guy on the recieving end looks a lot like Dumbya too. I’d love to see some graphically gifted person improve on this ad by adding labels (“This is for Katrina, this one’s for no WMD”, etc. with some superimposed faces of, say, Kieth Olberman laying it to the president).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4vNINn1uMk
Ron,
If “it is no surprise that this episode is not affecting those who are running” then why are they distancing themselves from Kerry and sending him into exile.
Will this be the convenient excuse that the Dems come up with - just say it doesn’t matter in local races, when in reality they are just letting Rove do their thinking for them? In fact, because Kerry fired back with both barrels, they may get a little mini-ride on his coattails.
The Seattle editorial says it all.
The Dems have been listening the the wrong advisors for too long.
Posted by Peter Baldwin | November 3, 2006 9:26 AM & November 3, 2006 10:22 AM
Peter
I wrote about the Democracy Corps poll and the Dems turning their backs last night:
Wake Up Dems!
November 2nd, 2006 @ 9:47 pm
Wake up Dems, because the numbers show that John Kerry was helping the party. But now some spineless want to cut him loose because he had the audacity and the courage to stand up and tell the truth. Well, that’s just the problem isn’t it? No one is supposed to stand up and tell the truth. And now members of the GOP-lite faction of the Democratic Party want to continue to cower and bow down to the Bush regime rather than grow a friggin spine and say like John Kerry has, “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.”
MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4628
Here’s a link to the contribution page at DSCC… These senate races are coming down to the wire and if you contribute today, Senate members will fully match your contribution making it double.
https://secure.democratsenators.org/dia/organizations/dscc/shop/20061103_clinton_CL.jsp
This is the homestretch, everyone. I ponied up $50 today, but whatever you’ve got to give, you’ll get twice the bang for your buck if you give it before Sunday.
Four days left… do all that you can, cuz if we don’t win, god help this country.
Hey:
Forget the so-called non-existent “bump” from the kerry non-fiasco. Check out this great article on the Haggard Evangelical scandal hitting the headlines yesterday:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2006/11/a_november_surp_1.html#more
Good job on that one!
Oh, man! Among other things(!!!) doesn’t this reveal the voracious appetite of the right to control every possible media outlet?
Give it up, Congressional Republicans - all your internets are belong to us.
I gave a c-note to: http://www.votevets.org/ for the senate races.
CBS is saying a Dem takeover in the Senate is “unlikely”.
CNN reporting 11 guys killed in Iraq on Thursday - that 5.5 per day, surpassing the Nov stats.
“Does anyone think that something as simple as calling the troops stupid can hurt other democrats in the upcoming election??”
~~Posted by Doug | November 3, 2006 10:44 AM
Doug, I don’t know where you hail from, but the answer to your question, not from me, but based on the reality of where I live, is YES.
Until a person has spent part of their daily lives in Rural Red I don’t think an understanding of what passes for “fact” here can be explained. I know I tried to describe what it was like back in the 2004 election and I tried to explain yesterday why someone like a Claire McCaskill or a Harold Ford (both in Senate races to close to call) might possibily have asked for an apology from John Kerry, as unnecessary as that apology might be to someone in a less red part of the country.
But that’s okay. Those of us here in battleground states (and there are areas of those states where blue voters represent far less than 50% of the vote), know what’s in front of us. Thanks to John Kerry for getting why McCaskill and Ford needed that cover, and providing what they needed, whether or not anyone else understands exactly why they needed it or what would have been at stake had they not received it.
Ya gotta be here in these trenches to believe what goes on. Thank heavens John Kerry has been around enough to know people like Claire and Harold need help, not condemnation, for putting themselves out there in these seas of red.
I ain’t talking about Hillary now, I’m taking about Harold and Claire. Without Claire McCaskill in the Senate, well, I shudder to think what will happen. Her loss of the governorship two years ago did a world of hurt to Medicare recipients in this state.
We’re in an uphill battle, have been for a long time.
kj,
Good point. We have to be realistic and pragmatic.
The Michael J. Fox ad, in support of stem cell research, ran also in Missouri specifically in support of Claire McCaskill’s stand on stem cell research, which is a ballet issue here this election.
John Kerry’s joke flub, and subsequent apology, vs. Rush Limbaugh’s vicious attack on MJ Fox and following lame “apology,” is an issue that is being highlighted compared here in the Show Me state.
So yeah, right or wrong, it’s an issue. Again, thank you, John Kerry, for doing the thing that is helping us Dems here in the (so-called) heartland. The apology was a huge boost.
Peter, we do. It isn’t about being right, or being tough, it’s about setting the record straight. And in a state where “setting the record straight” can cost you your job, we need all the help we can get when a national gaffe occurs, no matter who said it or in what context.
Kerry apologizing for blowing a joke is about the classest thing he could have done. Who apologizes for blowing a joke? A person with integrity and—as they say here—real good horse sense. A man like John Kerry. :-)
WaPo headline: http://www.washingtonpost.com
Bush Blasts Democrats During Missouri Visit
By DEB RIECHMANN, The Associated Press
Friday, November 3, 2006; 12:31 PM
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—President Bush, working a southwest Missouri campaign crowd like a yell leader, blasted Democrats on Friday, saying they have no plan to keep Americans safe from terrorists.
I’m clean out of outrage about this administration. Somebody said recently: with the Bush administration, there is no bottom. Every day proves they’re more right than ever.
When talking about the botched joke, I always say the “botched joke about Bush” or the “botched Bush joke”. Unfortunately, my newspaper did not word their headline correctly yesterday. Hopefully, we can get the truth out after the election. Many pundits have figured it out already, and came to the reality of how low, low, low Bush can go. Kerry did not in any shape or form say the troops were stupid—he was talking about Bush, and that is the beginning and end of the whole thing.
To whoever said Kerry is good for the Republicans, um, have you seen the latest polls? This whole episode put Iraq back at the top, and reminded people of how the troops are in Iraq in harm’s way, and our government doesn’t even have a plan. Kerry graciously apologizing to troops who got the wrong idea was the right thing to do. Now we’re entering backlash time. Seems to me that Bush is the best thing for the Democratic party this time; he should have gone in hiding these last 2 weeks, but had too big an ego, thinking anybody liked him anymore. Even in my red area, everyone has disavowed him.
Dear Senator Kerry,
I would like to tell you a quick story about my son Frank John…. his dream was to go to High school states in either soccer or track. He worked hard and long hours for many years….he gave his heart and soul to the cause….and finally it paid off..he qualified in several meets. However, one of his team-mates injuried himself and only qualified in one meet and only under the condition that one of the guys gave up his position so he could go. My son was that guy. He didn’t have to do it…he could have said no I worked for it and deserve it…but he didn’t… he was happy to do it too. His only concern was for his teammate that he was there as well.
However, things didn’t turn out for my son the way it should have in spit of his sacrifice. He didn’t place in his events…it rained and the track was wet. The ending was bitter sweet…His team placed third and won the medal. Unfortunately, since he gave up his place my son didn’t receive any medals that day. Watching from the bleachers with tears in my eyes…I saw my son sitting on the sidelines while his team mates received their medals. My heart was breaking for him and as a mom I felt enormous pain for my son but at the same time I could not have been prouder of him.
I was not the only one that realized what had happened… his coach was aware as well…and mentioned it to the newspaper. And an article was done about my son and what he gave up. They called him the “Unsung hereo.” I gave a copy of the newspaper article to my pastor…. after reading it my pastor said…my son received something more than a medal he received a special award of the heart.
I tell this story because you Mr. Kerry have been for many many years now…my unsung hereo. You have chosen the road less traveled. And you may not ever get the recognition you so much have earned and deserve but you have definitely won the hearts of the people who know and see the truth of what you have done and stand for and continue to do for America. Thank you and
God Bless you sir!
@_______________
Botched Joke - Botched War
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4637
Just my two cents about the Republican’s and especially Bushco’s hysrterical twisting of Kerry’s comments:
It helps John Kerry. We can see that in the polls about the current election. There was no significant dip in Democratic support, and most Americans realize now that this whole episode was a Reublican driven media frenzy. I did hear several honest Republicans on the day it became a story, say that they knew Kerry was not insulting anybody in the military However, Bushco and the media let it play out that way. Still, John Kerry’s stature will rise even further because Americans will come to know that the media manipulation was blatant and unbalanced. it will give him a new found credibility even with his most vociferous Democratic opponents.
We all said that after the last (s)election, that the country would get wise to Bush. It has wised up, and it only took less than two years. So, John Kerry can be confident that they will wise up to the fact that we let our best hope for the early 21st century slip away. If you haven’t seen this video from the last thread, you should. Send it to everybody you know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyYmWgXhnRI
Posted by soccermom | November 3, 2006 1:36 PM
Thank you for sharing that story soccermom. I couldn’t agree with you any more.
As today’s post on this week’s smear on John Kerry at Liberal Values is briefer than the others, I’ll copy today’s post here:
The Kerry Smear and Why Republicans Win
The latest right win smears on John Kerry provide a good example of why, with the likely exception of next Tuesday, Republicans have been so successful politically. They stick together and they stay on message, even when their message is a pack of lies.
As everyone knows by now, John Kerry, in the midst of other attacks on George Bush, intended to say, “I can’t overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.” He went off script enough to leave some ambiguity prior to the explanation as to whether he was speaking of Bush or the troops being stuck in Iraq.
The right wing noise machine saw an opportunity to distort Kerry’s meaning and spread false claims that Kerry was attacking the troops. The news media made this easy by reporting the claims, regardless of how absurd.
While some conservatives showed some integrity and acknowledged they realized Kerry was speaking of Bush and not the troops, most repeated their assigned talking points, not caring that this was a lie. Democrats did not show such unity. Every Democrat should have responded in unison that the claims were untrue, that John Kerry was speaking of Bush and not the troops being stuck in Iraq, and that this was yet another despicable smear from the right wing.
Some Democrats defended Kerry. Others tried to distance themselves from the controversy, failing to realize that this strategy only allows the right wing noise machine to pick off the Democrats one by one. Especially disappointing was the reaction of Hillary Clinton. She should understand better than anyone after standing up to the “vast right wing conspiracy” which went after her and her husband. Does she think that she and Bill are its only targets?
When it is time to chose someone to lead the party in 2008, Democrats should remember that when other Democrats were being Swift Boated, such as recently with Patrick Murphy, John Kerry was out defending them. When it was time for her to stand up for principle, as well as the party, Hillary Clinton ran and hid.
Posted by soccermom | November 3, 2006 1:36 PM
Beautiful story, soccermom. I agree with every single word of your last paragraph, except that I have full confidence that Sen. Kerry will finally get the recognition he so richly deserves.
Your son will also do well : he’s definitely on the right track already (no pun intended!!!). He sounds like an A-1 person, which in my book is the ultimate secret weapon for success.
As Martin Luther King said, “The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Just had to add my thoughts as I only have a minute…
poor mr haggard…
maybe he can be born again, again
that might cure him
I don’t know how many in JK’s “inner circle” read this blog, but I have an idea with a suggstion: What I haven’t been hearing today - and maybe I have missed it - is the bipartisan outrage about Bushco’s gross political pandering at the expense of our safety. I certainly think this is one topic that all Dems (and especially with John Kerry in the lead) should pounce on. This is a chance for him to make a statement and point out how much danger our President has put us in. Undoubtedly, there will be right wingers who will accuse him of opportunism, but they wont be able to deny the facts. Don’t shy away from this gift. Opportunities like this don’t come everyday (well maybe they do when we are talking about Bush’s incompetence). Bush tried to scare us about a mushroom cloud from Iraq. How about the one that Bush let happen because of his political pandering?
Other than the HufPo and NYT, are there any other major media outlets covering this? Has it made it to CNN/MSNBC/FOX? If not, why (stupid question…..ignore it)?
Thank you Tia. Thank you Mbk….I believe it too!
btw my son broke the school record that year in hurdles and graduated second in his graduating class…presently he is attending the University of Florida. He is in his third year…taking pre-med and financing. If he learned anything it was never to give up and keep fighting!!!
And I don’t want Senator Kerry to give up either…keep fighting!!! I truly believe that
he was making serious progress and that is
one of the reason why they have been on the attack. Look at it this way Senator Kerry *is*
on the right track. (pun intended) ;-)
I am taking vacation today and Monday to GOTV.
A quick check in from calling folks in repub districts via zip code…
As Ron Chusid will verify, I am in the reddest of red areas in Michigan (Grand Rapids). This is the heart of the Dutch Reformed Bible belt. The economy sucks and a local hero (DeVos) is outspending the incumbent Dem Governor Granholm nearly 3:1. This should be a slam-dunk Repub area.
I use some old posts and data from earlier blogs: Fifty questions to ask Repubs and excerpts from the latest Molly Ivins’s article.
I am stunned at the response. By tying DeVos and Bouchard (Repub candidate for Sen. against Stabenow) to Bush, folks are really angry at everything Repub. Molly Ivins talks about what this election is all about in her latest article.
Bedrock Repubs are not happy and they have turned Bush off. He is the giant 10-ton anvil hanging around his supporters’ necks.
As of today, the Iraq war has claimed 106 members of the armed forces with ties to Michigan.
My neighbor and his wife are helping me. They and their parents are life-long Repubs since Ike. Their daughter married a Marine in a wedding ceremony in our back yard. He is off to Iraq for the 2nd time (was in Afgan once). The debacle that is this war has changed their outlooks on Repubs in general and Bush in specific.
The grandfather of the bride is 73 years old (Korean War vet) and was just notified he is on the list to go to Iraq. His wife is dying of heart disease. I guess Bushco figures when his wife dies, he can go chase insurgents. He does not move too well (the old arthritis acts up). His eyes are not too good (cataracts) and he is hard of hearing (he often leaves his hearing aids off).
He was a tank commander so he is willing to drive a tank (he does not go very fast and he forgets to turn the turn signals off).