GWB - Bringer of Death and Suffering by Photo-op

posted by Bill Arnett @ 10:59 AM Permalink

From the Huffington Post comes this article regarding bush/cheney/patraeus's latest, newest best buddy Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, who met with bush back on September 3. At the time I was struck by a picture of a sweaty-faced, wild-eyed bush shaking hands with the Sheik as if he, bush, were a supplicant begging for a chance to have his picture taken with the Sheik, while the Sheik, obviously bored, looked as if he was barely tolerating an anxious schoolboy.

Now today:

The most prominent figure in a U.S.-backed revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq was killed Thursday by a bomb planted near his home in Anbar province, 10 days after he met with President Bush, police and tribal leaders said.

Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening _ an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces.

Officials said his assassination would be a huge setback for U.S. efforts in Iraq, because it sends a message to others who are cooperating with coalition forces or thinking about cooperating against al-Qaida.[…]

"It is confirmed that the sheik and two of his bodyguards were killed today near or outside his home," Col. Steven Boylan said in an e-mail from Washington, where Petraeus testified before Congress this week on recent successes in Anbar province.

No group claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion fell on al-Qaida in Iraq, which U.S. officials say has suffered devastating setbacks in Anbar thanks to Abu Risha and his fellow sheiks It's unclear how his death would affect U.S. efforts to organize Sunnis against the terrorist network.

Abu Risha was among a group of tribal leaders who met with Bush on Sept. 3 at al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province.

So, for the sake of a photo op, bush increased the danger to a purported ally exponentially by seeing that photos were taken and articles placed in newspapers bragging about the turnaround in Anbar province being lead by the Sheik.

Why didn't bush just paint a target on his chest and back? Could bush honestly be too stupid to realize that he clearly made the Sheik the biggest target of opportunity in all of Anbar? That the Sheik then had to be killed to provide "an example" of what happens to those collaborating with America?

Labels: Bush, foreign policy, Iraq, propaganda