A Criminal Remains Free

A couple days ago George W. Bush gave a speech and held a Q&A session afterwards at the Economics Club of Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids News published this article about it.

Former President George W. Bush was by turns affable, relaxed -- and deadly serious in his local appearance Wednesday.

"Yeah, we water-boarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," Bush said of the terrorist who master-minded the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. He said that event shaped his presidency and convinced him the nation was in a war against terror.

"I'd do it again to save lives."

So although he authorized the use of torture, we apparently never tortured a single person. Except for the 183 times we waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and saved not a single life as a result.

President Bush defended his administration’s detention and interrogation policies for terrorism suspects on Friday, saying they are both successful and lawful.

“When we find somebody who may have information regarding a potential attack on America, you bet we’re going to detain them, and you bet we’re going to question them,” he said during a hastily called appearance in the Oval Office. “The American people expect us to find out information, actionable intelligence so we can help protect them. That’s our job.”

Bush was referring to a report on two secret memos in 2005 that authorized extreme interrogation tactics against terror suspects. “This government does not torture people,” the president said.

Of course, if you redefine waterboarding as enhanced interrogation and deny that it is torture, you're good to go. Back to the Grand Rapids News report.

Bush underlined the role religion played in his life in the White House, saying prayer gave him strength to go forward.

"I prayed a lot. I really did. I prayed before every major speech. I prayed before debates. It was a very important experience."

No doubt people feel so much better about him knowing that he prays because we all know that believers are good at heart even though what they do may not indicate so.

"I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity," he said in February.

I never got the impression he knew who he was in the first place.