'his hour upon the stage'

Four years after that absurd photo op beneath the “Mission Accomplished” banner have Americans learned nothing about the “Wag the Dog,” orchestrated antics of the Buffoon in Chief?

Early risers yesterday heard the breaking news that the top al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, had been killed, according to Iraq’s Interior Ministry.

That sent a message across America that Bush’s war escalation is working.

As my post for April 30 - and its Monday update - pointed out, al Qaeda, Osama bin Ladne and references to 9/11 have filled the news of late.

Almost enough to make you blur the distinction between Saddam’s prewar Iraq and bin Laden’s 9/11 attacks.

At the end of that early morning news report, there followed, almost as an afterthought, a brief mention that the death of al-Masri, who succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, “has not been confirmed by U.S. and Iraqi officials.” (LINK)

Perfect story, though, to kick off Showdown Day.

Bush put on his Commander in Chief mantle to speak to the CENTCOM Coalition Conference before returning to the White House late in the afternoon to veto Congress’ Iraq War Supplement.

He then asked for – and got – TV time to defend his veto. (LINK)

Bush said the legislation “would be setting a date for failure.” Mr. Bush, that date has long since passed.

The bill, he told the viewing audience, “would impose impossible conditions on our commanders in combat. After forcing most of our troops to withdraw, the bill would dictate the terms on which the remaining commanders and troops could engage the enemy. That means American commanders in the middle of a combat zone would have to take fighting directions from politicians 6,000 miles away in Washington, D.C. This is a prescription for chaos and confusion, and we must not impose it on our troops.”

Why the sudden interest, Mr. Bush, in imposing such Washington-based “chaos and confusion” on our troops? Under your command, this has been SOP for years.

Two significant words of the speech were “progress,” which Bush continues to insist is being made in Iraq, and “urgency,” the false implication that our troops are out of funds.

And, here it comes: “Al Qaeda - al Qaeda's role makes the conflict in Iraq far more complex than a simple fight between Iraqis. It's true that not everyone taking innocent life in Iraq wants to attack America here at home. But, many do. Many also belong to the same terrorist network that attacked us on September 11th, 2001 - and wants to attack us here at home again. We saw the death and destruction al Qaeda inflicted on our people when they were permitted a safe haven in Afghanistan. For the security of the American people, we must not allow al Qaeda to establish a new safe haven in Iraq.

Sir, if you had only listened to all those who were warning of this before your pre-emptive and unilateral invasion of Iraq.

Please stop using 9/11 to justify what you’ve done to innocent Iraqis, to our troops, our country and the world.

Last night I visited the White House Web site (LINK) to be sure I got your words right, and there, juxtaposed with your veto story and prominently displayed, were statements titled “Emergency War Spending” and “Global War on Terror.”

Please stop linking Iraq and 9/11 – a link which never existed before you got the brilliant notion that war in Iraq would bring peace to the Middle East.

You owe the victims of that fateful day, their loved ones and all of us who grieved for them that much.