Bush Awards Historian Who Downplayed Abu Ghraib, Said We Need To Bomb ‘Paper Tiger’ Iran
Bush Awards Historian Who Downplayed Abu Ghraib, Said We Need To Bomb ‘Paper Tiger’ Iran
In an East Room ceremony this morning, President Bush awarded “the recipients of this year’s National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals.” Among the scholars and artists recognized by the President was military historian and author Victor Davis Hanson, who received the National Humanities Medal.
The National Humanities Medal is designed to honor those who “deepen” and “broaden” the humanities in America:
The National Humanities Medal, inaugurated in 1997, honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.
In his presentation of the award, Bush complimented Hanson on his “scholarship” and “wisdom”:
Victor Davis Hanson for his scholarship on civilizations past and present. He has cultivated the fields of history and brought forth an abundant harvest of wisdom for our times.
Hanson, who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a regular contributor to National Review Online, clearly has a long and distinguished career in the humanities as he’s written or edited 16 books and has received various awards.
But, with Bush’s contention that Hanson deserves the award due to the “wisdom for our times” he has offered, it’s important to look at exactly what some of that “wisdom” has been:
- After Donald Rumsfeld was forced to resign last year, Hanson rushed to his defense, saying the resignation doesn’t “help” the “country” because he “was on the right track” at the Pentagon.
- This summer, Hanson wrote that the “real problem” at Abu Ghraib wasn’t the “American mistreatment” — which he said was the work of a “single rogue jailer” — but the “serial release” of Iraqis, whom he calls “Islamic murderers.”
- On the Hugh Hewitt show, he claimed America needs to get “beyond talking” with “paper tiger” Iran and consider “starting to forget where the border is and taking out some of these training camps.”
- He has repeatedly and wrongly predicted that Iraq will be “won or lost” in “the next six months.”
With “wisdom” such as that, it’s surprising that Bush didn’t give the award to Bill Kristol as well.
UPDATE: National Review Online’s Kathryn-Jean Lopez has written three separate posts congratulating Hanson for the award.
UPDATE II: Another National Review contributor, Stephen Balch, also received a National Humanities Medal today.
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LOL Bush honors another fool. No end to this crap in DC.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:14 pmBush mind really does live in a different universe. Now if only he would take his body there.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:16 pmBush honoring his “Wisdom”, well, I guess when you don’t possess “Wisdom” you can’t tell if someone actually has any.
Buck Fush
November 15th, 2007 at 4:18 pmWar is peace.
Ignorance is wisdom.
Incompetence is expertise.
Clean Air means more pollution.
Healthy Forests means more logging.
Corporate Lawyer runs Consumer Protection Agency.
Inspector General inspects nothing.
Man who hates UN represents US at UN.
Corporate hack runs WTO. (Til the Europeans run him out.)
Corporate Lobbyist runs Dept. of Interior.
So this award makes perfect sense.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:20 pmNow why would you need to bomb a paper tiger? I thought that by definition meant something that was all bluster with nothing to back it up.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:25 pmThis medal is a bribe for the phony historian to claim that Bush will go down in history as a fine President. Dubya believes he can buy off his standing in history books.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:26 pmThis medal and a million bucks in a Swiss bank account.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:27 pmI’m speechless…
November 15th, 2007 at 4:28 pmIn some ways, for progressives this is a very relaxing presidency. We really don’t have to be watching closely to see if the judgments we’ve formed are going to stand up to scrutiny as events progress.
Nope, Bush is what you see: a lying, hyperpartisan, insecure douchbag who blew up frogs with firecrackers as a kid. So much of what he does is sooooo predictable that it takes a lot of pressure off. We don’t have to constantly re-evaluate his record.
Of course, conservatives won’t know what the hell I’m talking about. “RE-evaluate? Why the hell would you ever want to do that? You make a judgment; you stick to it. Simple. Boom. Done.”
November 15th, 2007 at 4:28 pmHe will do anything to distract the public from the realaties that is constant war’s, constant killing of innocent’s, constant dismanteling our country, civil right’s, selling out our country and wrighting new law’s to protect his guilty administration from prosacution….Move on nothing more to see whie this drunk druggie play’s dictator and empty’s all our pocket’s…..Blessings and Peace
November 15th, 2007 at 4:30 pmThis medal is a bribe for the phony historian to claim that Bush will go down in history as a fine President. Dubya believes he can buy off his standing in history books.
Comment by Jay Randal — November 15, 2007 @ 4:26 pm
At this point, if he were realistic, the best that Bush could hope for is that he would simply go down in history as “a president”.
We’re talking about BUsh, however, so realism ain’t part o’ the picture.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:31 pmvic dave (that’s what he likes to be called) is a cool dude.
how many wars did he fight in..?
i’ve forgotten.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:34 pmWith “wisdom†such as that, it’s surprising that Bush didn’t give the award to Bill Kristol as well.
Or to Thomas Friedman, for that matter.
After all, he has a unit of measurement named after him. Kristol doesn’t.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:37 pmOh the inhuman ironicity here!
November 15th, 2007 at 4:37 pmEvery moment this clown is in office he does damage to something. He gives someone a credential, or a job for their resume, or a few billion in easy money, … Each day he makes Government work less well. One day, these people will resurface and brandish their credentials to a mind-deadened populace and claim experience and credibility, and we’ll be in the same boat again.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
IT’S TIME TO IMPEACH! I think that people who are impeached are barred from Government service for life. Fool me once, … (you know the rest)
November 15th, 2007 at 4:38 pmHitler gave lots of silly medals to his bootlickers, so Dubya does the same.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pmHanson can’t be much of a historian if he really believes that Abu Ghraib was the work of a single rogue jailer. He might start learning about the short history of the notorious prison by reading the official report from Major General Anthony Taguba, which chronicled acts of abuse committed by numerous soldiers, often under the direction of CIA operatives, and with the knowledge and consent of senior officers.
But maybe Hanson doesn’t care. Maybe he is just another liar for Bush.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pmHeckuva job, Vicky….
Considering the list of people who’ve been given medals by this President, the neo-cons have nothing to talk about when it comes to Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:40 pmI’m from Fresno, Ca. This asswipe Victor Davis Hanson is from a small town about 20 minutes from Fresno. So, our local paper, The Fresno Bee, runs his editorials every weekend. Let me tell you, he is one crazy neocon loon. The quotes that TP put up don’t even come close to the crazy shit he writes every week. Why doesn’t Boosh give an award to Chuck Manson, he’s living down here, and he’s as crazy as Vic Hanson.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:41 pmPeace
On that note, Bush will probably give medals to Feinstein & Schumer soon.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:41 pmLooking at the picture made me realize why Bush gives out so many medals: the recipient must bow his head.
It also reminds me of the ‘kids’ on Halloween that don’t dress up but get candy anyway.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:42 pmAnd we are still trying to BARGAIN with him????
You don’t throw a tennis ball for a rabid dog.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:44 pmWisdom?
Logic dictates that one must examine, and resolve, contradictions to achieve wisdom.
Belief dictates that one must ignore, and perpetuate, contradictions to achieve the same.
The Chimperror only rewards belief in Him.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:44 pmWe could only hope the medal is made from depleted uranium.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:45 pmIn some ways, for progressives this is a very relaxing presidency. We really don’t have to be watching closely to see if the judgments we’ve formed are going to stand up to scrutiny as events progress.
Nope, Bush is what you see: a lying, hyperpartisan, insecure douchbag who blew up frogs with firecrackers as a kid. So much of what he does is sooooo predictable that it takes a lot of pressure off. We don’t have to constantly re-evaluate his record.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — November 15, 2007 @ 4:28 pm
I dunno if I’d call that “relaxing.” This presidency exceeds my prior judgements of corruption, divisiveness, incompetence, and sheer arrogant audacity far beyond anything I could’ve hoped to predict in 2000.
It’s stressful because I feel like for every one new atrocity that’s revealed, there are ten more going on that we just don’t know about yet. We don’t have time to re-evaluate his record, we’re still learning everything that’s in it…
November 15th, 2007 at 4:48 pmOn that note, Bush will probably give medals to Feinstein & Schumer soon.
Comment by Jay Randal — November 15, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
With Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?
(Heard Feinstein on NPR this morning defending her stance that telecom companies should be given retroactive immunity for illegally spying on Americans for the government.)
November 15th, 2007 at 4:49 pmRUCerious > some of those who get a Bush medal pawn it anyways. Probably the medals are made from melted down tin cans and covered with veneer of fake gold.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:50 pmVD Hanson’s the guy that thinks that reciting old Greek fiction is some kind of explanation for current events.
Not to mention, VD’s been one of Dubya’s biggest cheerleaders despite the debacle in Iraq. VD is now pretending that three soldiers dead every couple of days “smells like victory” in Iraq, if we’ll just keep in there a few more Freidman Units (”FUs”, that is), without explaining what it is that will happen then … and ignoring the fact that we didn’t start the friggin’ war just to see if we could leave behind a totally bomb-leveled and devastated country that might have a slight chance at a “democratic” albeit severely partitioned and fractured country.
We won’t forget VD Hanson’s eedjitcies; he can’t pretend that he hasn’t said the things he’s said these last six years. Just another Republican so wrong for so long that we can just say to him, “let’s listen to someone at least as smart as you that has been far more right that you instead; there’s thousands of them, if not millions, so just STFU and go away….”
Cheers,
November 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pmJay ~ I can easily see Bushco casting Bronze Stars from tin.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pmActually at this stage of the Dubya presidency, who would want him to give them a medal? Someday all Bush medal recipients might get prison terms.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pmSo….Boosh awards one of his like minded cronies…no surprise there.Me……….I wouldn’t sit in the same room with that twit.But that’s just me.I wonder if that asshat would jump of a bridge if Boosh told him too.National Humanities Award????………yeah lets bomb everybody…
November 15th, 2007 at 4:53 pmRUCerious > it would be funny to see one of Bush’s medal recipients to bite the thing to see if it has real gold in it.
November 15th, 2007 at 4:56 pmNow why would you need to bomb a paper tiger?
Comment by Menehune — November 15, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
Good point. Sounds a bit overkill. I’d think all you need is scissors.
Unless the paper tiger teamed up with rock.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:01 pmtoasterhead, I can’t argue with anything you said. All I meant was, we can rest assured that Bush will never surprise us by doing the right thing or doing it competently.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:02 pmHanson wrote that the “real problem†at Abu Ghraib wasn’t the “American mistreatment†— which he said was the work of a “single rogue jailerâ€
Those new cameras do everything: they order dogs to attack prisoners, make human pyramids, undress people and put bags over their heads and capture your best Kodak, Abu Ghraib moments so can delight yourself with the memories afterwards.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:03 pmhttp://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/moveon This is off topic.But please take the time to read it.This is for Calif residents.This is to censure DiFi….Thank You
November 15th, 2007 at 5:09 pmHoover, wasn’t that the guy who wore dresses…oh never mind I answered my own question.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:10 pmJuan did you see the recent pics of Bush at a hospital for Iraq war soldiers? Bush basically makes jokes in front of burn victims, but gets horny over a slightly wounded soldier who is basically nude. Bush puts a coat over his shoulder, but is staring down at his crotch.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:11 pmJay, throw us some links…
November 15th, 2007 at 5:20 pmBush gives medals to those that give him blow jobs. Hoover probably has a dress with a stain.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:26 pmEric Alterman hosted a series of four articles by Lt. Col. Bob Bateman, who has taught at West Point, that thoroughly eviscerates VDH’s “scholarship”. VDH, of course, retorts in rage (repeatedly dragging Soros’ name into the mess).
The series starts here and is well-worth reading.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:37 pmI can’t believe that a: I’m the first person to notice this quote:
“In his presentation of the award, Bush complimented Hanson on his “scholarship†and “wisdomâ€:
Victor Davis Hanson for his scholarship on civilizations past and present. He has cultivated the fields of history and brought forth an abundant harvest of wisdom for our times.”
…aaaand b: I’m the first person to say
“Insert totally-appropriate-in-context fertilizer joke here.”
November 15th, 2007 at 5:43 pmThis guy writes in my newspaper now and then. He is a smug jerk.
November 15th, 2007 at 5:59 pmThe last time I read his column, he angered me to the point of sending him a letter.
can anyone imagine the insult of being honored by a criminal?
November 15th, 2007 at 6:01 pmThis guy writes in my newspaper now and then. He is a smug jerk.
The last time I read his column, he angered me to the point of sending him a letter.
Comment by Marie — November 15, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
Yes, the Oregonian unfortunately prints his opinion columns from time to time. The Far Right worships the guy and credits him with far more scholarship than he deserves.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:22 pmThis is proof that Bushism = stalinism. Hansen is a hack who spouts some classical history from the Greek era to sound like he knows something and then goes on to justify the garbage that BushCo carries out. He would have, I am quite certain, ZERO chance at being a successful academic in a viable research university. But like Lysenko to Stalin, he has the ruler’s ear by writing what the ruler wants to hear.
I wish we were impeaching the asses of Cheney and Bush or that the election were tomorrow. We need these guys gone, gone, gone.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:35 pmI’m really not seeing a lot of differences between those currently in power here, with the good ‘ole U.S.S.R. I guess one glaring difference is that they really can’t just throw dissenters in jail. Here, they just buy them out.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:46 pmBut did they have cookies at the ceremony? And vanilla ice cream?
November 15th, 2007 at 6:48 pmHanson is a joke in the intellectual community. He is called “The War Lord” because he explains all of history in terms of the Pelopennesian wars.
Remember, he is paid by the Hoover Institute which is paid by Exxon, Arco, Boeing-McDonnell, Rockwell, the auto industry, Koch Industries, and the Mellon-Scaife family.
He says the Bush tax cuts brought increased revenues and the exploding deficits are due to “overly liberal federal spending in Bush’s first term.” Of course, the evidence shows that these two are lies. It is not debatable. It is not a matter of opinion.
He says that GWBush has given us the lowest employment in decades. Clinton inherited 7.3% unemployment rate from GHW Bush. GW Bush inherited 3.9% unemployment from Clinton. Two and a half years later, it was 6.3%. Clinton created 22 million jobs. GW Bush created 0 his first term. Job rate always improves switching from Republicans to Dems and always worsens from Dems to Republicans.
This is Orwellian.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:43 pmCorrection: That should be “lowest UNemployment”.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:50 pmDespite VDH’s ridiculous and and dangerous politics and despite GWB likely awarded it to him for precisely those reasons, it is an appropriate and well-deserved award for an excellent scholar who has, indeed, “broadened our view of the humanities.”
November 16th, 2007 at 7:49 amVDH is an excellent scholar who has written several superb volumes on war and farming in antiquity. His “The Other Greeks” and works on Greek warfare and the hoplite are standard texts, from which any serious scholar begins when working on either issue. Moreover, his attention to and promotion of the importance of various agrarian ideas and ideals as played out in Ancient Greek culture and our own was welcome and vital to not only a fuller understanding of the Greeks, but more broadly all mankind’s indebtedness to the earth.
Our politics need to be more discerning and critical: just because someone is a conservative and on the wrong side of the fence on all sorts of issues does not invalidate his every effort or contribution to other fields. We should appreciate the complexity of the individual on a case by case basis. VDH surely has some laughable political positions, but his scholarship is peerless and contributions invaluable.
#51 trailspencelow:
VDH surely has some laughable political positions, but his scholarship is peerless and contributions invaluable.
Balderdash. Has he said anything that others haven’t said? Has he provided any stellar insights (outside of the one I noted in my link above, talking about “scholarship”) through his magnificent intelligence that we just can’t do without? See #49 too.
That he’s a dishonest (and bloodthirsty) berk is enough reason to skip over him….
Cheers,
November 16th, 2007 at 1:31 pmPlease have a look at this thread on VDH from earlier in the year at Matt Yglesias’ blog. You will see some support for his expertise on Greek classica history, but little else. The cited Hoplites text above is a compilation which he edited and contributed three chapters to (cf trailspencelow). As far as it being a standard text, an effort to locate this on google pulled up quickly at least only usage at Texas Christian and Dartmouth (there could be more but I did not quickly find them) (search=hoplites + Hanson + syllabus). A similar search on “The other greeks” yielded a top hit at Cardiff U in the UK.
Clearly Hanson has some skill as a classics scholar in a very narrow academic niche-but his fame and honoring by Bush are very much in the spirit of Stalinist ass kissing as I describe above.
November 16th, 2007 at 3:40 pmI would like to know what all of you think a “scholar” is? Generally speaking, I would think we could agree that it is an expert in a scholarly topic. “Classics” is one such topic. VDH is a “Classical scholar.” It is no more narrow than being a historian or professor of English Literature or Chemistry professor. Seeing that VDH has made significant contributions to the field of Classics, which, again, is numbered among the “humanities,” this award seems appropriate.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:11 pmAnd “zuch,” claiming something is “balderdash” does not make you correct. Moreover, your opinion coupled with other like minded posts in the thread are not evidence, as such. Surely VDH’s politics have made him unpopular among many scholars in his field. That said, most rational people in the field will agree that his essays and works have been valuable contributions that they themselves have used and recommended to students or used in courses. Again, he is the go to source for Greek military tactics, including the lifestyle, equipping and maintenance of hoplites and hoplite armies. In addition to his scholarship he has been recognized by the APA (American Philological Association–the prof. org. of Classicists) for his excellence, in addition to be a National Humanities Fellow. These are not political organizations. Lastly, his co-authored, “Who Killed Homer?” generated a lot of discussion and reform within the field of Classics for a number of years. In short, he is a “heavy” in the field of Classics.
Again, his politics are ugly and stupid. Nevertheless, it does not invalidate his importance or his contributions to the field of Classics.
He obviously doesn’t even know what a paper tiger is…so much for the scholar.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:12 pm