Bush Under Investigation

The latest accusations from Richard Clarke that the Bush administration was unprepared for fighting al-Qaeda and was caught completely off guard on September 11, 2001, along with Clarke's charges that George W. Bush was dead set on trying to pin 9/11 on Iraq, have grave consequences for this administration's credibility. Especially damning is the characterization of national security adviser Condoleeza Rice, who reportedly failed to understand anything about al-Qaeda when Clarke explained the terrorist group to her in early 2001. (She must have thought, "Who's Al Qaeda?") Clarke is a Republican and a retired career national security expert, so his comments shouldn't be taken as those of a mere malcontent.

Meanwhile, Ron Suskind's book on Paul O'Neill seems to have had legs after all. It went straight to the top of the nonfiction bestseller lists, and Clarke's book is sure to follow. There is a growing credibility gap in this administration on issues of war and peace not seen since Lyndon Johnson was President. The war with Iraq was never about fighting terrorism, and it's becoming harder for even the most fierce Bush partisans to ignore the truth.