Political Reality Creation 101

It's a commonplace by now that BushCo is not a "reality-based" community.

For those who wish to see it in action the following single article is teeming with wonderful examples of the art of political reality creation.

Bush says Iraq row is over, but warns of dispute over China embargo

BRUSSELS : US President George W. Bush declared that deep divisions with Europe over Iraq had been laid to rest [ding!], but said plans to lift an EU arms ban on China spelled serious trouble for transatlantic ties [ding!].

He also delivered a mixed message [ding!] to allies worried that he is mulling military action against Tehran, saying: "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous." [ding!]

"Having said that, all options are on the table." [ding!]

After back-to-back NATO and European Union summits, Bush was to leave Brussels Wednesday to patch up relations with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Slovakia.

Bush hailed pledges by all 26 NATO members to help train the Iraqi forces he says will eventually replace US soldiers [ding!], but signalled that Washington might take punitive steps [ding!] against the EU if it ends the weapons ban on China.

"There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons would be a transfer of technology to China [ding!], which would change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan [ding!]," he said after a NATO summit.

Bush said he was open [ding!] to EU efforts to craft a plan to ensure that the ban does not lead to a significant shift in the quantity or quality of armaments sold to China, but added skeptically: "Whether they can or not, we'll see."

At issue is the European Union's plan to end a ban on exports of military hardware imposed on China in 1989 to protest the brutal suppression of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.

French President Jacques Chirac called for the lifting of a European embargo on arms sales to China, but said the United States and Europe should work together to ensure the conditions were right.

Although Bush did not spell out what punitive measures could be taken, US presidential aides pointed to a sharply worded, non-binding [ding!] US congressional resolution passed earlier this month which warns of "limitations and constraints" on government and industrial relations between the United States and Europe if the ban is lifted.

The US president, who described his mission here as "a listening tour" [ding! ie: "You Old-European faggots better to listen to me!"], unapologetically defended the March 2003 invasion of Iraq even as he thanked [ding!] NATO for taking on the "important mission" of training Iraqi forces.

"We liberated Iraq. [ding!] And that decision has been made, it's over with and now it is time to unify [ding!] for the sake of peace [ding!]," he said. "The key now is to put that behind us [ding!] and to focus on helping the new democracy succeed [ding!]."

As NATO leaders confirmed that all 26 member countries were taking part in some capacity in the training mission, Bush downplayed the relatively small scale of the contributions in favor of their symbolic importance.

"Every contribution matters. Twenty-six nations sitting around that table said it's important for NATO to be involved in Iraq. That's a strong statement," said Bush.

EU leaders also confirmed that they were prepared to co-host a conference on Iraq with the United States if asked to by the new Iraqi government.

Germany is providing training to Iraqi officers in the United Arab Emirates, and one French officer will be involved in the mission to coordinate offers of equipment for the Iraqi army. France has made a separate offer to train police in Qatar.

In the two-day charm offensive [ding!], Bush also met with a wave of world leaders, including a dinner date Monday with French President Jacques Chirac and breakfast with his staunchest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The president also met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and had his first face-to-face meeting with new Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

Bush said he told Yushchenko that NATO's "door is open" [ding!] but that membership is contingent on embracing strong democratic institutions [ding!].

The US president also took up another theme of his visit, a row over the US refusal to join the Kyoto protocol aimed at cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming.

"The Kyoto debate is beyond us [ding!]. As far as I'm concerned, now is the time to focus on our abilities [ding!] and research [ding!] and capacity [ding!] to develop technologies [ding!] to make the air cleaner [ding!] so that our people can have the standard of living they expect [ding!], at the same time that we're good stewards [ding!] [ding!] [ding!] of the Earth. [ding!] [ding!] [ding!]"

Meanwhile, around 200 anti-war protesters demonstrated in the western German city of Mainz on Tuesday, on the eve of a visit by W. Bush, police said.

The demonstrators gathered under the banner "Not Welcome, Mr Bush".

Another demonstration against the US-led invasion of Iraq took place in Berlin on Tuesday.

Demonstrations were also due to take place in Wiesbaden, the business centre Frankfurt and the central city of Kassel and a group was also to rally outside the European headquarters of the US military in the southwestern city of Stuttgart.

The president's wife, Laura Bush, visited US troops and their families in southwestern Germany on Tuesday.

She told German television that she was concerned by the protests against her husband's policies.

"Noone likes it when there are protests against them, [ding!] [ding!] or when they are criticised, [ding!] [ding!]" she told ZDF.

She said the protesters should recognise that "people want freedom and no one wants to live under tyranny [ding!] [ding!] [ding!] [ding!] [ding!]."

Germany was steadfastly opposed to the war on Iraq and continues to refuse to send troops there.