Saturday, April 26, 2003

Poor Little Johnny McCain

He's really outdone himself this time.

Hasn't been in the news lately so he throws out a few critical comments about the current crisis in North Korea just to remind you how 'independent' he is...

What exactly does he mean when he says;

"We're in a very serious situation. You could argue, in some ways, more serious than it was with Iraq."

Is this the same Sen. McCain who not only championed the Iraq Resolution but urged defeat of the Byrd/Kennedy Resolution on Iraq?

The reason I wonder is he seems to have this opinion;

'the Bush administration hasn't paid as much attention to problems in the North as it should'

...yet he doesn't bother to recall for his listening audience that the Byrd/Kennedy Resolution came about after we all discovered the Bush administration is choke-full of malignant liars and among numerous transgressions had kept some very important information from the Congress in order to facilitate passage of the Iraq Resolution.

I certainly remember it. It would be the fact that Mr. Bush and his cohorts;

'had detailed knowledge for more than a year about North Korea's program to covertly make uranium fuel for an atom bomb'

In addition, the administration had strong evidence, dating back to the Clinton presidency, that North Korea got help from Pakistan's top nuclear weapons scientist.

The Pakistanis appear to have given nuclear technology to North Korea in exchange for long-range ballistic missiles that could reach deep into the territory of its traditional foe, India. Bush administration officials pointed a finger at this in early June 2001, at a time when they were courting India. But since Sept. 11, when Pakistan became a key ally in the war on terrorism, they turned mum on the Pakistan connection.


But the Bush administration didn't just turn 'mum'. On September 22, 2001 CNN reported;

Bush has ordered the immediate lifting of sanctions against India and Pakistan, imposed in 1998 after the two countries tested nuclear weapons. (Full story)

Both nations have agreed to support the U.S. campaign against terror.

The sanctions included a ban on U.S. economic aid and a bar on selling or sharing so-called "dual use" technologies that had both civilian and nuclear-military uses.


And that's not all. On January 2, 2002 it was reported;

President Bush on Wednesday allowed U.S. companies to sell high-speed computers to countries such as Russia, China and India, easing a Cold War-era ban designed to halt the spread of nuclear arms. Computer makers may now export computers capable of complex 3D modeling, fluid dynamics calculations and other advanced applications to Pakistan, Vietnam and other "Tier 3" countries without specific permission from the government.

The Bush administration more than doubled the processor speed limit, from 85,000 millions of theoretical operations per second (Mtops) to 195,000 Mtops.


Now I'm just guessing, but if I was aware of this information then certainly the inimitable Sen. John McCain was even more so.

Why didn't these issues bother him? They bothered Byrd and Kennedy enough to at least attempt to solicit a more informed debate before giving a blank cheque for war to the president. Is it always so easy for McCain to abrogate Constitutional duties he swore to uphold when taking office? Certainly he was aware that many posited this;

The president's failure to tell Congress about North Korea before the vote on Iraq violated separation of powers.

And still he has the audacity to announce yet another bid for a privilege he's failed to honor in its highest tradition.

Poor little Johnny McCain. Slithering around down on sleazy street where the lazy bash Clinton, 3 years out of office, when they need a cheap boost in the polls.

And considering his failed memory on so many issues, I expect he'll need to be reminded of this statement often;

Although the United States cannot rule out military assault, the Arizona Republican and former Vietnam prisoner of war said war should be the last option exercised.

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