They Know Not What They Do
Unbelievable. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino has taken Musharraf to task for his reverse coup, his attempt to hold his office through extraconstitutional means. Taking several pages directly from Bush’s playbook, Musharraf has framed his coup as a method of fighting terrorism (with very little actual terrorism evident), blaming activist judges for necessitating his move to abandon the constitution.
It’s put the White House in a delicate situation: although Musharraf has obligingly kept out of Bush and company’s efforts to make a wretched mess of the Mideast, publicly approving of his methods would prove beyond the slightest doubt that they have no interest whatever in bringing democracy anywhere.
So, speaking through Perino, they wagged a finger at him. Perino told the press that Bush would be speaking to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, and that Bush would also receive a report on the safety of consumer products. But the press was most interested in our president’s position on events in Pakistan. Perino danced around condemning Musharraf, but certainly didn’t embrace him. Eventually, they reached this exchange:
Q But what he says what he's doing is against the terrorists, that is
necessary to preserve stability there against terrorist organizations?
MS. PERINO: We do not believe that any extra-constitutional means were
necessary in order to help prevent terrorism in the region. And that's why we
are deeply disappointed with the actions, and we asked them to not do it.
Q Is it ever reasonable to restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism?
MS. PERINO: In our opinion, no.
Unbelievable. Unbefucking lievable.
Once again we bump up against a statement so transparently false, so asinine, that we have to wonder whether our leaders are truly that blind to their misconduct, or whether they truly think we might be. Neither seems possible.