Then, on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Condoleezza Rice, the president's security advisor, said:
"I certainly feel personal responsibility for this entire episode."
Isn't it wonderful that now we have four people eager to take the blame for the so-called "16 words" in the president's speech?
At the beginning, both the president and Dr. Rice pointed to the CIA as the culprit. OK, so like a good sport, George Tenet took the blame. Since the incident did not "close," Mr. Hadley, who reports to Dr. Rice, took the blame, like a man. The incident still would not "close" so both Rice and Bush are now taking the blame.
They are taking the blame for putting "16 words" about Iraq getting uranium from Africa into the speech. No one is taking the blame for frightening us to death in order to convince us that we needed to go to war. Remember all the vague warnings we received from Justice and Homeland Security? Remember the agitation by Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz and Cheney who lectured us on weapons of mass destruction? Remember Bush, who gave a message of disdain to the UN - he asked for them to join him, but he would act regardless of what they decided?
No one is around to take the blame for getting us into a war, when the problem could have been resolved by UN inspectors.
