President Bush Has Been Superficial in Dealing with the Iraq War Problem

Not long after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration promoted urgent action in Iraq, accusing President Saddam Hussein of having weapons of mass destruction at his disposal and saying that he poses a threat to U.S. security. In addition, the Iraqi dictator, now on trial for genocide and crimes against humanity, was also accused of destabilizing the Middle East peace and of negatively influencing the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Initially, Bush sought the approval of the United Nations for starting a military offensive in Iraq, but because of the fierce opposition, he dropped the idea, and together with several nations (some of which have withdrawn along the way) declared war to Iraq.

However, President Bush's decision was not welcomed by all members of the White House, Secretary of State Colin Powell urging his colleagues to avoid a war without UN's specific approval.

Two years after the US President's decision, Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, breaks the silence and, with his statements, shapes the image of a superficial administration dominated by a person who doesn't take things too seriously.

In an interview for the Associated Press, Lawrence Wilkerson said President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of post-war planning, which allowed his underlings to exploit his detachment and to make bad decisions.

Wilkerson heavily lambasted Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

"Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard," Wilkerson said.

The former White House official also accused Cheney of deliberately ignoring the intelligence and of searching only for reasons that justified the war.

Wilkerson said that Powell criticized the White House officials' decision on numerous occasions, especially the ones linked to the torturing of prisoners in Afghanistan.

"Donald, don't you understand what you are doing to our image?" Secretary of State Colin Powell allegedly told Rumsfeld in a telephone conversation.