In an article published yesterday in GQ Magazine, were revelations that following the 9/11 attack, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took advantage of George W. Bush’s penchant for comic books, by presenting the invasion of Iraq as a cartoonish good-versus-evil endeavor. According to GQ, Rumsfeld hand delivered daily intelligence briefings to the Commander in Chief that bore gaudy cartoon cover sheets featuring gladiators, biblical themes and fantastic science fiction oriented weapons systems. Robert Draper, author of the “He Shall Be Judged” article, pointed out that while the general public was aware of the president’s disdain for newspaper stories, few were aware that he pored over the daily comic strips looking for clues about how to proceed with the fatally flawed invasion. “Rumsfeld knew that Bush was big on comic books, fairy tales and bible stories, said Draper, so he fed the man’s limited intellect with images that reinforced Bush’s delusions that he was hearing the voices of God, Uncle Scrooge and Spiderman.” Draper went on to point out that even Bush’s early characterization of the war on terror as a “crusade” was lifted from a comic book version of the battles between Muslims and Christians in the 11th century. In the comic book version the dim witted disciples of Islam were led by the evil Neanderthal King Ooga-Booga, against a superior “good guy army of white guys on horseback”. According to Draper, Bush had initially wanted to go public with the ” War on Ooga-Booga” but was persuaded to settle for the less romantic “War on Terror”. Contacted at his home in St. Michael’s, Maryland, former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld expressed outrage at the implications of the GQ story. “My stars and garters, said Rumsfeld, you’re making our former president sound like an incompetent fool.”
Rumsfeld Fed Bush’s Delusions
