Forgiveness For Peace

by digby


Dday has a compelling post up today at the Great Orange Satan about the need for Bush to publicly forgive the shoe thrower or risk having things hurtle out of control. I had thought it was a good idea to help repair America's image, but dday points out that it is probably necessary to prevent further violence as well.

Well, Bush's spokesperson said today that he doesn't hold any grudges, and that's probably as good as it's going to get. But he failed to publicly appeal to the Maliki government to pardon the guy or at least make sure he is protected, so it's pretty meaningless. He reiterated that it's all up to Iraq, which has by all accounts already beaten the guy severely.

dday appeals directly to Bush:

Do not listen to know-nothings calling this man an "ingrate" for not appreciating American sacrifice. That's nonsense. We have invaded this country under false pretenses, killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, allowed 70% to live without access to water or electricity, and brought a once-great society to rubble. It is perfectly human to feel frustration and rage.

And if you refuse to open your mind enough to think of that, think about Baghdad on fire for the last month of your Presidency. Think about security gains lost. I'd ask you to think about the dead, but you won't, so think about your legacy.

I don't usually think calling the White House is worth a hill of beans, but give it a shot in this case. 202-456-1111 is the White House switchboars, and the Iraqi Embassy is at 202-742-1600.

These things have the tendency to quickly spiral out of control. The safety of perhaps tens of thousands of people is at stake. Please, Mr. President, you have the power to fix this.

Hey, even the Wall Street Journal agrees with us on this. (Sort of.)


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