To the Editor:
Last Thursday night in front of 40 million Americans, President Bush boldly proclaimed, "I just know how this world works, and that in the councils of government, there must be certainty from the U.S. president." The president thinks that in order to lead you have to be certain, and for President Bush, this means consistently saying the same thing time and again. Emerson once said, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Emerson wisely pointed out that consistency, by itself, is nothing. Consistency is not truth, and truth is what we really need. Our allies have not pulled their troops out of Iraq because they thought our administration was sending mixed messages. They left because the insurgents were overrunning the country. President Bush refuses to acknowledge this fact, but it isn't the first time he's been blinded by his certainty. In the spring of 2003, Bush made us believe that Iraq had nuclear weapons. He was certain that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Where are they? He was certain that once we toppled Saddam's regime the Iraqi's would welcome us with open arms. Instead, Iraq descended into chaos and the insurgents enjoy the tacit support of the majority of the population. And now, the president is certain that America is safer with Saddam gone. Saddam was an evil man, no doubt, but in getting rid of him we have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. How many Americans were dying each month that Saddam was in power? How many were being beheaded? The rest of the world knows where we're going; they just don't want to follow our lead. Frankly, I think that we've had enough "certainty." I want some truth.
