April 13, 2004
SLOW LANE
According to The Age’s Terry Lane, George W. Bush said this during a meeting last year with Abu Mazen:
"God told me to strike at al-Qaeda and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East."
Lazy Lane should’ve checked that quote, as the Washington Post did ten months ago:
Two calls to the White House for clarification went unreturned, but colleague Glenn Kessler did some digging. The Haaretz reporter, Arnon Regular, read what the paper said were minutes of the Palestinians' meeting to Kessler and another colleague, who is an Arabic speaker.
The Arabic-speaking colleague's translation, was this: "God inspired me to hit al Qaeda, and so I hit it. And I had the inspiration to hit Saddam, and so I hit him. Now I am determined to solve the Middle East problem if you help. Otherwise the elections will come and I will be wrapped up with them."
Even then, there's uncertainty. After all, this is Abu Mazen's account in Arabic of what Bush said in English, written down by a note-taker in Arabic, then back into English.
And now repeated by a gullible columnist in Melbourne.
Posted by Tim Blair at April 13, 2004 02:13 PMTerry Lane is, I am afraid, a very typical type of Australian left-wing journalists.
He is fervent in his anti-Americanism (or certainly anti-Republicanism), his devout atheism and his immese sense of self-worth.
Accordingly, why bother with the facts when you can have stories that essentially show how much brighter than the fools on the right he and his ilk are ?
His columns never fail to remind me that, like civil servants and university lecturers, I am very pleased that these people aren't out in the real world having to make decisions that matter - then I see my increasing tax bill and realise that perhaps I am the one who is no longer in the real world.
Posted by: Andrew at April 13, 2004 at 03:00 PMTim, I've seen that quote everywhere. I'm glad to know where it came from. Somehow I don't see Bush claiming that God told him to strike al Qaeda, even if he thought God approved. And I sure as hell can't imagine him actually saying so out loud.
Posted by: Angie Schultz at April 13, 2004 at 03:05 PMTo paraphrase Herodotus, the Arabs are always liars. It's unlikely that GWB would have said such a thing to Abu Mazen, a Christian speaking to a Muslim. Such a statement is confirmation of the Muslim mantra that the WOT is a Crusade against the IOP, Islam.
Posted by: Helen at April 13, 2004 at 03:14 PMActually, I can imagine the situation in which adopting a pose of getting orders from God would be useful in talking to people who frequently adopt a pose of getting orders from God. Kinda levels the playing field, or maybe puts the fear of God and the 101st Airborne into 'em.
That said, your bullshit detector must have run out of batteries so long ago that it's leaking acid on your pants if you read this and think that it sound like what Bush would normally say.
Posted by: Mike G at April 13, 2004 at 03:32 PMMr Lane of course suffers from the only type of racism that really occurs in Australia in any profusion: ie anti-Americanism.
Posted by: Toryhere at April 13, 2004 at 04:10 PM".. his devout atheism.. "
Funny how a Lefty atheist chose to send his daughter to St. Michael's Grammar, one of the most expensive, strongly Anglican, PRIVATE schools in Australia, isn't it!
Case of, "Don't do as I do, do as I say", hmmm?
Posted by: Jim Riley at April 13, 2004 at 06:29 PMActually, Mr. Riley, atheism and modern-day Anglicanism are quite compatible.
Posted by: R C Dean at April 13, 2004 at 11:14 PMHis columns never fail to remind me that, like civil servants and university lecturers, I am very pleased that these people aren't out in the real world having to make decisions that matter - then I see my increasing tax bill and realise that perhaps I am the one who is no longer in the real world.
Lane is a wanker, but a fair chunk of his pay cheque comes from private enterprise -- his column in the Meltdown Rage, for a start. Don't forget how well-heeled a lot of latte left-liberals are. US Marines are paid out of taxpayers' funds. Streisand, Soros and co are all spending their own money.
Posted by: Uncle Milk at April 14, 2004 at 10:46 AM