May 29, 2008
Former White House secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new book that deception and propaganda were behind the Iraq war. While not accusing President Bush of lying, he comes pretty close.
Former top White House aid Karl Rove says McClellan doesn’t know what he is talking about because he wasn’t “in the loop.”
This is bound to play into the hands of the Democrats. In fact, the book sounds as if it could have been written by a Democrat. It can only help Barack Obama, which may be the point.
Why did we never hear of this when McClellan had his job? Why didn’t he resign, or protest what he claims to have witnessed? Why write this book now? The question answers itself.
We can have recriminations about the war, but we are in it and we’d better prevail. America’s enemies are watching us closely. Ultimately this is not a war about one country. It is a war against a philosophy and religion that uses violence to impose a Byzantine way of life on everyone who wants to live differently. That’s what we are faced with.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
