Nader Writes a Letter To George W. Bush About 'The Country You Destroyed'

I meant to publish this some time ago. It resonated with me, as most things that Ralph Nader tend to do.

For that matter, as most criticisms of former President George W. Bush also tend to do (and man, am I thankful that we can now finally say former President George W. Bush).

Here, Nader wrote a letter to Bush. It is a response to what he explains is a personalized letter asking for contributions to the Bush library. Nader writes this letter in answer, and he takes some real shots at the "legacy" of the failed Bush presidency. I thought this next part was particularly impressive and relevant, as it essentially defined everything that George W. Bush represented while running for office, and actually in office:

"When you were a candidate, I called you a corporation running for the Presidency masquerading as a human being. In time you turned a metaphor into a reality. As a corporation, you express no remorse, no shame, no compassion and a resistance to admit anything other than that you have done nothing wrong."

Nader takes particular aim at Bush's Iraq invasion, which he clearly condemns as unjustified and reckless. Using Bush's own high-sounding talk of principles against him, Nader pounds the point home about just how horrendously the Iraq war turned out, reminding Americans that the Bush administration took pains to aggressively pursue a war that it clearly had not thought out too well, and for suspect reasons that smack of corporate influence and a conflict of interest, at that. Here are his words:

"Did you mean the “timeless principles” that drove you and Mr. Cheney to invade the country of Iraq which, contrary to your fabrications, deceptions and cover-ups, never threatened the United States?"

Mostly, Nader focuses on Iraq, which is as it should be. Bush and his administration can be chastised for many failures during their long eight years in office. That includes the failed response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the abuse of the concept of secrecy, the blatant, transparent emphasis on corporate supremacy which came at the expense of the average American people, and the predictable scandals that followed (Enron, Halliburton, and Blackwater were only the most famous of them), the unfortunate turn towards trying to get away with torture and concentration camps, the persistent failed economic policies that ultimately led to the most severe economic crisis that the nation has faced since the Great Depression, the dramatic and, frankly, unnecessary increase of the national debt, while making sure corporations and the wealthiest Americans got their tax cuts (while two wars were being waged simultaneously), the stunning rapidity with which America's good name and reputation was dragged through the mud because of the relentless mishandling and blunders from the way that Bush and Co. dealt with foreign affairs, and overall, the sheer arrogance with which members of his administration, including Bush himself, conducted their business.

Of course, added to these, the administration essentially consisted of oil elites who had vested interests in engaging in wars in the Middle East, which caused a clear conflict of interest that the American media chose to ignore, rather conveniently. Overall, that was just indicative of the extent to which the administration prostituted itself, and the American people and the government that was supposed to represent them, for elite corporate interests to be met. The bungled Iraq war, which everyone in the administration assured the American people was absolutely necessary and justified, and would be an easy, quick, and decisive victory, turned out to not only completely unjustifiable and fought under clearly false pretenses, but quickly turned into a disaster, with one setback after another, on many, many levels. Nader is right to choose this particular point to focus on, and level his criticisms on Bush with well-placed shots that point out the miserable failure that justifiably should serve as the true lasting legacy of the Bush administration.

With this link, you can read the entirety of the letter that Ralph Nader sent to George W. Bush:

'The Country You Destroyed': A Letter to George W. Bush   by Ralph Nader, Published on Friday, January 3, 2014 by Common Dreams

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/01/03



Here is another link about the letter:

"Ralph Nader Sends Open Letter To President Bush: "The Country You Destroyed"" By Nicole Belle January 5, 2014:

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/01/ralph-nader-sends-open-letter-president