Now I'm Terrified

Over the course of this war, we have learned that winning the battle for Iraqi cities is only the first step. We also have to win the "battle after the battle"
- President Bush, 7th December 2005 [my emphasis]

Bush says "we have learned"? Its part of his attempt to persuade us that he does understand what's actually been happening in Iraq. Big, no enormous, no gigantic problem though:

General Abrams learned this in 1968. I learned it at University in 1997 and I didn't have to fight a f*c*ing war to learn it either. To have a President be so totally ignorant of the military history of his own country is totally and utterly terrifying. Maybe if he hadn't managed to avoid going to Vietnam he'd know a little more about it but he clearly knows nothing. People are dead today who might be alive were it not for this inexcusable idiocy.

This quote is absolutely in context:

Over the course of this war, we have learned that winning the battle for Iraqi cities is only the first step. We also have to win the "battle after the battle" -- by helping Iraqis consolidate their gains and keep the terrorists from returning. Used to be that after American troops cleared the terrorists out of a city and moved onto the next mission, there weren't enough forces, Iraqi forces, to hold the area. We found that after we left, the terrorists would re-enter the city, intimidate local leaders and police, and eventually retake control. This undermined the gains of our military, it thwarted our efforts to help Iraqis rebuild and led local residents to lose confidence in the process and in their leaders.

This was exactly the mistake General Westmoorland made in Vietnam. How can he be so f*c*ing ignorant? It simply beggars belief. He appears to be so ignorant that he hasn't even realised how ignorant the comment makes him sound. It is extraordinary.

Normally I try to avoid name calling and I don't have an irrational hatred of Bush (a very rational intense dislike maybe but not an irrational hatred). I do believe that this short admission, on its own, provides compelling evidence that he's either grossly negligent in his duties, a moron, or both.