What Happens When The Facts Are In Direct Contrast With What The President Says?

A while back I wrote a post about the trouble caused by reducing complex geopolitical issues to dichotomous rhetorical points. As practiced by many a W, Rove and Co. stalwart, this supposedly passes for debate mainly framed by dualistic choices between only good and bad options.

Of course, the President and his pals continue this exercise of oversimplification to the detriment of us all. Witness this week's Presidential radio address (which I am still waiting for some one to admit they actually listen to this propaganda). There in rest at least two more examples of such a reduction; and it's not the wine and persimmon reduction I might toss on to some medium rare steaks to go with a snazzy glass of Petite Syrah.

Before I provide you with a taste, let me prep you with some questions that may help you cogitate your way through the rhetoric.

• First, might there be another option that provides a better way to peace than those choices provided by the president?

I said that every nation must make a choice: We can support the moderates and reformers working for change across the broader Middle East, or we can yield the future to the terrorists and extremists. America has made its choice - we're standing with the moderates and reformers.



• Second, what happens when what the president suggests will happen should we follow him is in direct contrast with the outcomes of what he has been doing for the last few years?

In the broader Middle East, the world faces a straightforward choice: We can allow that region to continue on the course it was headed before September the 11th, and a generation from now our children will face a region dominated by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons; or we can stop that from happening by confronting the ideology of hate and helping the people of the Middle East build a future of hope.

It seems to me, in this latter case, that the President again is choosing to see the reports he wants to see and disregard the rest.

The war in Iraq has made global terrorism worse by fanning Islamic radicalism and providing a training ground for lethal methods that are increasingly being exported to other countries, according to a sweeping assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies.