Mission Accomplished II

[Cross-posted at Firedoglake.]

When Preznit Bush gave his speech yesterday to the Air Force Academy graduates in Colorado Springs, it became a chance of sorts for him to trot out his codpiece and pretend once again that he was a great War President:

After World War II we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies … These efforts took time and patience, and as a result Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity and are now allies of the United States. . . . Today we must do the same in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Right. Because, you know, Al Qaeda — like the Nazis and the Soviets — has this massive army capable of overpowering ours and destroying America existentially. Uh huh.
As the Denver Post observed:

World War II was a necessary war, for America, England, France and the rest of the free world. With Hitler’s dictatorship and accompanying inhumanities, the U.S. had no choice but to join forces with its allies. The freedom of the world was at stake. But Iraq, as we now know, was an optional war. We had a choice.

That’s certainly become crystal clear in recent days, thanks to Scott McClellan. But really, this event — like the original "Mission Accomplished" photo op, and the toppling of Saddam’s statue, and the constant trotting out of those propaganda generals on TV — was part and parcel of the continuous stream of bullshit coming from this White House as part of another military operation: a "psychological operation", or "psyops" as they call it in the military, with the American public as the target.

It worked back in 2003. Now, well, maybe not so much. But as Bush reportedly said early on in his tenure: "Who cares what you think?" Especially when he can substitute thought with his own special brand of bullshit.