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I was surprised to see Helen Thomas get a question in today, but she did and as usual, President Bush was evasive and cut 99oher off repeatedly. She asked him why he really wanted to go to war and he denied that was the case.

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Mickey Herskowitz who had struck a deal to ghost write Bush's autobiography said that "He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," "It was on his mind. He said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He said, 'If I have a chance to invade·.if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency....read on

He also responded weirdly to this question by a reporter.

Q: Will there come a day, and I'm not asking you when -I'm not asking for a timetable. Will there come a day when there will be no more American forces in Iraq?"

BUSH: That, of course is an objective, and that will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq.

Did he slip up and tell the truth?

From the AP:

Asked if that meant it won't happen on his watch, the president said, "You mean a complete withdrawal? That's a timetable. I can only tell you that I will make decisions on force levels based upon what the commanders on the ground say."

The Martini Republic: Strawmen, Slogans and Shibboleths

E&P has a transcript up also:

Two years before the September 11 attacks, presidential candidate George W. Bush was already talking privately about the political benefits of attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer, who held many conversations with then-Texas Governor Bush in preparation for a planned autobiography.

"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. "It was on his mind. He said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He said, 'If I have a chance to invade·.if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency." ....read on

This isn't a work of fiction like Klein's book.

Army generals: Iraq prison has two dozen 'ghost detainees'. Army generals said Thursday at least two dozen unregistered "ghost detainees" may have been held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, but they don't know the number for certain because the CIA did not cooperate with their investigation into abuses. Army generals said Thursday at least two dozen unregistered "ghost detainees" may have been held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, but they don't know the number for certain because the CIA did not cooperate with their investigation into abuses.
Senators said the CIA's lack of cooperation was unacceptable and that they would press the agency to provide the Army with the documents it needs.

"The situation with the CIA and ghost soldiers is beginning to look like a bad movie," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.