Arrogant Tactics

The Washington Post editorial department has been writing editorials that are supportive of President Bush’s Iraq policy…until today. They still support the idea of war with Iraq, but they are now saying:

… with more diplomatic suppleness, more flexibility on timing and less arrogant tactics and rhetoric, the administration might have won the backing of long-standing friends such as Turkey, Mexico and Chile. In effect, Mr. Bush and some of his top aides, most notably Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, have managed to convince much of the world that French President Jacques Chirac is right and that America’s unrivaled power is a danger that somehow must be checked — ideally by the votes of other nations on the Security Council.

Watching my TV right now, I think all hope of a sensible time-line is thrown out the window. “Tomorrow is the moment of truth.” Not that they really gave us any clear idea of what the heck was meant by that statement. I mean, goodness forbid this administration gives us a clear statement rather than a vauge sound-byte.

And, just to show you how unimportant the US TV networks seem to find this whole thing, NBC didn’t even cary the full press-conference. They stopped coverage to show an oh-so-important area football game. (Other networks might have done the same thing, that just happens to be the one I noticed as I was flipping the channels. ABC showed the full press conference.)