Do not Look at the Curtain

Nigel: Don't touch it.
Marty: Well uh I wasn't, I wasn't gonna touch it. I was just pointing at it...I....
Nigel: Well don't point, even.
Marty: Don't even point?
Nigel: No. It can't be played...never...
Marty: Can I look at it?
Nigel: No....no.

–This Is Spinal Tap

It is vitally important not to look at the evidence. That's essentially what Our Beloved Leader told a seven-year-old in a staged meeting "conversation" in which he "participated":

Q How can people help on the war on terror?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that's the hardest question I've had all day. (Laughter.)

First of all, I expect there to be an honest debate about Iraq, and welcome it. People can help, however, by making sure the tone of this debate is respectful and is mindful about what messages out of the country can do to the morale of our troops. (Applause.)

I fully expect in a democracy -- I expect and, frankly, welcome the voices of people saying, you know, Mr. President, you shouldn't have made that decision, or, you know, you should have done it a better way. I understand that. What I don't like is when somebody said, he lied. Or, they're in there for oil. Or they're doing it because of Israel. That's the kind of debate that basically says the mission and the sacrifice were based on false premise. It's one thing to have a philosophical difference -- and I can understand people being abhorrent about war [sic]. War is terrible. But one way people can help as we're coming down the pike in the 2006 elections, is remember the effect that rhetoric can have on our troops in harm's way, and the effect that rhetoric can have in emboldening or weakening an enemy.

(Emphasis mine. Via Dohiyi Mir.)

This is a revealing quote. It says, in effect, that not only should we not look behind the curtain, we shouldn't even look at the curtain.

There are many reasons we're in Iraq. Two of them are oil and Israel. Would the president mind if we said that the US also wants to fill out its empire of military bases in Asia? that having bases in Iraq and Afghanistan puts Iran, the bigger country with bigger oil reserves, in a tight spot? Would we be saying that the war was based on a false premise? Because it was. And, in real terms, those who are sacrificing themselves are not doing so for America or its freedom, but for a panoply of other causes, some of which may be good. But what Iraq is certainly not about is the illusory "War on Terror"—unless you mean that we've created a terrorist factory in Iraq.

The president claims that Americans can help in the "War on Some Terror" by watching what they say and how they say it. He then mentions that "as we're coming down the pike in the 2006 elections," we should remember how important "rhetoric" is to both our troops and the enemy they fight. Never mind that "enemy" should be plural, what Bush is saying is that we should make sure to vote for representatives and senators who don't suggest that oil, Israel or lying was involved in our invasion of Iraq. Do not vote for most Democrats. Do not vote for anyone willing to even look at the curtain. Or acknowledge that there is a curtain. Because the power of this entire Administration is rooted in fear, in ignoring the curtain or denying it exists.

What we need to do is rip the curtain down and burn it. If we did that, Bush and his cronies would be in jail. Or worse.