By Dominique Franklin / Staff Writer
By Dominique Franklin / Staff Writer
An onslaught of media attention has once again surrounded former President George W. Bush. However, as was the case in the past, it is not over his questionable politics.
Bush has received this new attention due to the release of his self written book titled, “Decision Points.”
He discussed the critical decisions made during his time in office; most notable of them being the invasion of Iraq.
While talking about the war in the book, although he is sympathetic to the tragic stories of the war, Bush still continues to justify the war in Iraq.
He admits that he felt a pit in his stomach upon learning that there were no weapons of mass destruction, but still thinks that the war was a good decision.
In “Decision Points,” Bush took a moment to describe what he thought was the lowest point in his presidency.
One would immediately choose one of his failures and most costly decisions as being the lowest point in his presidency.
Decisions such as the Iraqi war, the economic collapse of 2008, his handling of Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans and the list goes on.
Sadly, he chose none of those issues.
When confronting the lowest point in his presidency, he choose Kanye West’s “Bush does not care about black people,” statement.
That excerpt from the book shows the disconnect the former president continues to have with the American people.
His immediate response, instead of writing a book to clear his name, should have been an apology to Americans.
An apology for leading our nation into a war under false pretense.
An apology for keeping us there, while having the nerve to declare “Mission Accomplished” in 2003.
Yet still we find ourselves in a war that still has no clear decision on how to exit seven years later.
In his book, he should’ve included an apology to those who have lost loved ones in the war, and for having called on their service without offering a clear and true reason why.
Yes, the American people do deserve an apology, but it’s apparent that such an apology will not take place.
Unfortunately, the former president feels no need to offer an apology.
When asked in an interview with NBC if he would apologize to the country for the war, Bush responded by saying, “Apologizing would basically say the decision was a wrong decision. And I don’t believe it was a wrong decision.”
What constitutes the war as being a wrong decision then, Mr. Bush?
It could be the fact that our brave soldiers selflessly risked their lives in a war that was waged under false pretense.
Maybe the fact that 4,500 soldiers lost their lives, and another 32,000 have been injured.
That should make the war a “wrong decision.”
The tragedies that took place from the war escalated to a point where many soldiers felt there was no way out except to commit suicide.
Or maybe, going into a war was the wrong decision because this former president left his entire country stranded in the mess that he brought on for his own purposes, with no exit strategy in place.
If the former president can write a book defending his own decisions, despite the amount of people that may have to live with the pain the book brings on, then it shows exactly how much he truly cares about the American people.
The former president should have the decency to offer Jane Wright, who lost her son in 2003 due to the Iraqi war, and thousands of other families who have gone through the same pain, an apology.
It’s not fair that Bush is allowed to use this book as a way to defend his actions, and continue to blame others for his bad decisions during his presidency.
As commander in chief, only he had the power to decide whether this country goes to war or not.
No one but him could make the final decision to send our troops to Iraq.
As the primary leader of his party, and the executive branch of the government, he had the power to pressure Congress into making the right decisions for this country’s economic future.
Yet on both of those imperative issues, he failed miserably as a president.
Having caused so many deaths of American soldiers, leading this country to the worst recession in over half a century, and leaving the U.S. in a massive amount of debt, it is time that former president Bush owns up to his mistakes.
He may have felt as if writing the book was a chance to justify his actions.
Instead, he did the same thing that he did during his presidency, and that was to blame others for his decisions.
As if to add insult to injury, it’s apparent that hundreds of thousands of Americans have offered George Bush the opportunity to clear his name.
The book sold 220,000 copies on its first day.
What’s even worse than the book selling so many copies was that the former president received a standing ovation of thousands as he arrived to a book reading.
Well, so much for the American people receiving what they deserve, which is an apology from the former president, and an admittance of his failures.
Hundreds of thousands of people supporting his book shows that he was allowed to justify his actions, and make the American people forget his mistakes.
If that is truly the reason he wrote the book, then President Bush, Mission Accomplished.