Rove's Revisionism

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/11/21/1/a-conversation-with-karl-rove

Last week, on CSPAN, I saw the interview with Karl Rove, including the part where he claimed that the primarily Republican Congress rather than the president created the momentum for commencing the Iraq War. I was struck by how incurious Charlie Rose was on this assertion. Most journalists would have pounced on this fat and rather lethargic rat of a lie. One of the best reconstructions of that time frame is in chapter 18 of Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack and also the president's speeches in October, 2002, most particulary the October 5th address to the nation. It is true that congressmen and journalists failed to critically assess the information that was available, going so far to not even read the National Intelligence Estimate. However, the authority to launch the attack was entirely within Bush's hands, and his rush to war will be a blot on his legacy forever.

With the perspective of time, I am now convinced that the war was initiated primarily for political reasons-- it was Bush/Karl believed a sure way of holding on to power-- and for psychological reasons-- Bush had an itch he had to scratch, perhaps a need to eclipse or rectify the failures of his father.

George Orwell said that "who controls the past controls the future." But, despite Rove's attack on history, it is clear that he no longer controls the past or the future.