Daniel McAdams, foreign policy scholar, writes: "We went to the celebration at Arlington Cemetery yesterday -- not knowing that the President would speak . A trip to Arlington is always the most poignant reminder of the costs of war...
"Initial impressions were disturbing: President Bush was physically unable to stand still as the Colors were being presented -- he kept bopping his head to the march music and talking and laughing to a very still and stiff Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Principi, who was doing his best to stand at attention and ignore the president's repeated attempts to strike up a conversation during that solemn procession. All of the others on the dais were utterly still and at attention as the Colors were being presented, with either a salute or a hand on heart. Only the president was acting like a kid with ADD during a Ritalin shortage...
"The president's remarks were filled with the usual platitudes, but included a couple of notable bits:
"'Americans are a peaceful people, and this nation has always gone to war reluctantly, and always for a noble cause. America's war veterans have fought for the security of this nation, for the safety of our friends, and for the peace of the world. They humbled tyrants and defended the innocent, and liberated the oppressed. And across the Earth, you will find entire nations that once lived in fear, where men and women still tell of the day when Americans came and set them free.'
"An odd, and certainly not Constitutional, view of the role of America's armed forces. Also this canard, the repeating of which is just astonishing:
"'One young man serving in Iraq recently said this: "We in the military signed up and pledged to protect this great country of ours from enemies foreign and domestic. We're fighting," he said, "so that the next generation might never have to experience anything like September the 11th, 2001."'
"Mr. President: For the millionth time, Iraq had nothing to do with September 11."
