Demagogue

Some time in the last two years, apparently when I wasn't paying attention, it became a fact that the US went to war in Iraq so as to bring democracy and freedom to the Middle East.

What else can explain this segment from last night's NBC Nightly News?

Elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, pro-democracy demonstrations in Lebanon and local elections — for men, at least — in Saudi Arabia: Is this an historic turning point, like the fall of the Berlin Wall? And, if so, should President Bush get the credit.

The new rash of "Bush was right" triumphalism seems odd considering that the original reasons Bush gave for going to war were ... well, entirely wrong

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of mass destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's people.

The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the Middle East. It has a deep hatred of America and our friends. And it has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda.

The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country, or any other.

Has everyone in this country intentionally forgotten that we went to war in Iraq over non-existent WMDs? How can it be that Bush is now being proven "right" regarding the very war he started based on now universally recognized errors?

If Nixon had been able to spin his failures in this way, we'd all be talking about Watergate as if it were some bold effort to reform the nation's campaign finance and hotel security laws.