Ford on Iraq
President Ford had problems with President Bush’s Iraq policy?
Yahoo News/AP 12/28: Former President Gerald R. Ford questioned the Bush administration’s rationale for the U.S. invasion and war in Iraq in interviews he granted on condition they not be released until after his death.
OK, I may be treading on risky turf here since President Ford just passed away recently, but apparently it wasn’t too soon for the MSM to bring up the subject, so here goes.
First, if President Ford’s position on this war was important, why would it need to wait until after his death? Isn’t this something that should have been shared months ago? Understanding that he served as president during a very difficult period of American history, those two years of unelected office would not appear to give him any kind of unique insight into how to conduct this particular brand of war. However, he was entitled to his opinion; just not sure why it would need to wait until his death to be revealed.
Was he trying to avoid behaving like Presidents Clinton and Carter, who have shown a distinct lack of class by not honoring the tradition of former presidents not criticizing current presidents? If so, how does his death change anything? Just because he is no longer with us does not make this any more acceptable. In fact, less so since he can not be questioned about his comments or provide any clarification on his position.
President Ford showed tremendous political courage when he pardoned President Nixon, likely costing him the opportunity to be elected president two years later (and ultimately allowing Carter to be elected president, which ironically has a great deal to do with the situation we are in today, as discussed here and here).
Because of his record of political courage, I find it hard to believe that he asked that his comments not be released until his death to avoid dealing with any fallout, especially since there is unlikely to be any real fallout. Just doesn’t seem like his style. Either he would have believed it needed to be said and say it, or not agree to have his comments released until well into the future, after the war was over, if at all. Not saying he didn’t agree to have his statements released upon his death, just seems out of character.
Too bad he’s not here to either explain why he agreed to have these comments released upon his death or to dispute the assertion that these were his wishes.
So, what exactly did he say? Here are the quotes:
“I don’t think I would have gone to war,”
“Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction,” Ford said. “And now, I’ve never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do.”
Saddam Hussein was an evil person and there was justification to get rid of him,” he observed to the Daily News. “But we shouldn’t have put the basis on weapons of destruction. That was a bad mistake. Where does (Bush) get his advice?”
The former president did not like Bush’s domestic surveillance program. “It may be a necessary evil,” Ford conceded. “I don’t think it’s a terrible transgression, but I would never do it. I was dumbfounded when I heard they were doing it.”
So… President Ford essentially said he probably wouldn’t have gone to war, felt Hussein was evil and we were justified in getting rid of him, and that his big issue was that WMDs were used as the justification for the war. Somehow this has been portrayed by the MSM as Ford saying “the Iraq war was not justified” as reported in the Washington Post Wednesday night.
Amazing how the MSM just couldn’t wait to get this out there, while the nation is focused on the passing of a president, so that they could interpret his words in a way that would show how Ford believes Bush was not justified going to war; convenient he is not available for comment and clarification.
President Ford was a good man. May he rest in peace, despite the efforts of the MSM.
Stumble it!