Bush Library Foundation President: Saddam’s Gun A Symbol That Bush ‘Disarmed Him Literally’
Bush Library Foundation President: Saddam’s Gun A Symbol That Bush ‘Disarmed Him Literally’
The New York Times reports today that when President Bush opens his library at Southern Methodist University in 2013, “visitors will most likely get to see one of his most treasured items: Saddam Hussein’s pistol.”
The Times notes that when visitors came to the White House, Bush often liked to show off the gun, which was found on Saddam when he was captured by U.S. special forces in December 2003. Referring to the gun’s historical value, Bush Library Foundation President Mark Langdale presented an interesting twist on its symbolism:
Mark Langdale, the president of the George W. Bush Foundation, said the library would use items to highlight 25 of Mr. Bush’s presidential decisions. “The gun is an interesting artifact, and it tells you that the United States captured Saddam Hussein and disarmed him literally,” Mr. Langdale said. “How we fit that into the decision to go to war, we haven’t gotten to that point yet.”
“Disarmed him literally”? Saddam was already disarmed before the U.S.-led invasion. Maybe if the U.N. team that disarmed Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War had possession of the gun, then Langdale’s metaphor would make sense. Moreover, when Bush said he wanted to “disarm” Saddam, he was referring to the Iraqi dictator’s non-existent WMD — not his personal handgun.
“It represents this Texas notion of the white hats taking out the black hats and keeping the trophy,” Rice University history professor Douglas Brinkley said, referring to Saddam’s pistol. “It’s a True West magazine kind of pulp western mentality. For President Bush, this pistol represents his greatest moment of triumph, like the F.B.I. keeping Dillinger’s gun. He wants people generations from now to see the gun and say, ‘He got the bad guy.’”
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Sorry, but nopthing Bush says or does can be taken “literally”– his lies will forever overshadow any so-called legacy he pretends to have.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:06 amBWAAAAAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:09 amBush didn’t “disamr” anything. On 9/11 after finishing reading “My Pet Goat” the tough guy was flown to Omaha Nebraska where he cowered in a bunker until it was “safe” to be in DC (while myself and millions of others IN DC were scared Cheney-less of another attack). Just like 9/11, when it came to his illegal invasion and occupation of Iraqnam, Bush cowered in safety as more than 4,000 American kids in uniforms and 10,000’s of thousands of Iraqi citizens died needlessly because our tough guy “president” lied.
That is Bush’s “legacy” and if the Chimp library wants to portray his real legacy they need to tell that story, not some cheerleaderesque bulls.hit about our tough guy “president” keeping us safe.
I think I’m going to hurl right now.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:11 amThat gun should be exhibit A in the government’s prosecution of Bush’s illegal an war.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:11 amhmmmmm how did this end up in Mr Bush’s hands??? shouldn’t his have been given to the Iraqi’s for the trial of Mr. Hussein? if it is of such historical importance shouldn’t it be in the Smithsonian?
If it does end up in the Bush Propaganda Building I hope it is in the rewritten history section next to the shoes that were given to Mr Bush by the Iraqi cobbler at that press conference where the Iraqi People gathered to greet the liberator.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:12 amAnybody know the manufacturer of said weapon?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:12 amThat gun should be exhibit A in the government’s prosecution of Bush’s illegal war
(sorry for the typo – kinda like Bush)
July 6th, 2009 at 10:12 amoh, so THAT was the weapon of mass destruction…
As of today, 4,321 Americans died so Bush can have his war trophy.
That pistol is a stain on American History.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:14 amWill the museum have chemical weapons cannisters, ones sold to Iraq by Donald Rumsfeld?
How about nuclear technology plans provided by America?
“See we armed a white hat Saddam, so we had to disarm him when he switched hat colors…”
July 6th, 2009 at 10:16 amBush gets a gun for his museum. People wanting symbolic evidence chronicling U.S. prisoner abuses under Bush get no pictures. Thanks to Obama & a complicit Congress.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:18 amdbad, It’s a 9mm Glock.
It was unloaded when Saddam was captured.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:19 amToo bad someone doesn’t blow Bush’s head off with it.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:20 amoh man, i just knew that pathetic little twit made off with that pistol. remember how he kept it in an alcove just off the oval office, where he could mosey over and rub it, and show it off to his rootin’ tootin’ minions. who could then be sure to have their first erection in years…..
pathetic. truly and embarrassingly pathetic.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:24 amThey can put it on display in front a 5,000,000 quart tank of simulated blood to show how much Dubya made others pay for his ego.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:25 amAnd so goes the efforts to whitewash the Bush legacy — give him credit for meaningless artifacts and ignore the fact that he was the worst president in history; who lied to take us into an unwarranted war and bankrupted our country along the way.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:26 amBush didn’t get the bad guy, he was the bad guy. Instead of putting that gun in his Torture Museum, he should put it in his mouth!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:29 amSo, almost 5,000 Americans died so he could have Saddam’s gun?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:30 amI waited 8 years for Osama Bin Laden to be brought to justice. He is the one that caused 9/11, not Saddam. I suspect Osama is living his life, free as a bird in the border area between Pakistan and Afganistan. We got the wrong guy!
This can’t be a serious explanation can it? Bush had a huge army of brave, volunteer soldiers and airmen who disarmed Saddam. How does Bush lay claim to having disarmed Saddam? If Bush had taken it from Saddam personally I could support such a claim but this is just another lie from one of our most psychotic of Presidents. All this claim does is belittle the efforts of our brave men and women of the armed forces. Bush apparently has no shame and no soul and no kahunas.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:30 ampreach on, brother war criminal. preach on.
i pray for your death daily.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:31 amSo, almost 5,000 Americans died so he could have Saddam’s gun?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:31 amI waited 8 years for Osama Bin Laden to be brought to justice. He is the one that caused 9/11, not Saddam. I suspect Osama is living his life, free as a bird in the border area between Pakistan and Afganistan. We got the wrong guy!
If they decide to hang Saddam’s pistol in Bush’s shrine maybe they should mount it on a wall surrounded by photos of the 4,321 or so American soldiers who laid down their lives so George could strut around with his souvenir. Can they also loop George’s video mocking his search for Iraqi wmd’s on the abutting wall? The other wall can show a loop of the video where Bush declare’s that he really doesn’t care where bin Laden is juxtaposed with video and images of the Bush Administration’s biggest failure, the attacks on 9/11. Maybe they can have a room dedicated to a video presentation of eight years of Bush lies. It’d be a daunting task for anyone to put together a comprehensive video catalogue of the many and varied lies that this fool told to the American population during his tenure as Presnit.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:33 am“Yup. I disarmed Saddam,” says GDumbya. “Mission accomplished. Now watch this drive.”
July 6th, 2009 at 10:33 amWhen Bush pulls the gun’s trigger, a little white flag with the word “BANG” appears.
Never fails to crack him up.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:37 amI can’t add anything to what most of you have already said.
Be proud of your gun George, it only cost the lives of 4,300 brave young men and women.
Sleep well at night…????
July 6th, 2009 at 10:39 am#19 — Just a historical note — according to the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorist” list, OBL is STILL not wanted for the 9-11 disaster. I think that’s very interesting. Remember Bush saying the next day that OBL was responsible for it? Apparently there is either no proof at all or there is no proof that would “stand up” in a court of law.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:40 amWhy not put his cocknballs on display – to show how much Dubya emasculated him, too.
Maybe tie him to the chariot and drag him around the walls?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:42 amAnyone who believes that is Saddam’s weapon also believes george was elected . . both times.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:43 amtexasrick Says:
Be proud of your gun George, it only cost the lives of 4,300 brave young men and women.
Sigh. How easily are the iraqi casualties forgotten.
Kudos to Mike Hunt, who did remember them.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:43 amGOPHater Says:
Too bad someone doesn’t blow Bush’s head off with it.
That’s totally over the top, man. Let’s stay away from wishing death on people.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:47 amThe bad guy has the gun.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:49 am“visitors will most likely get to see one of his most treasured items: Saddam Hussein’s pistol.”
they’re being optimistic if they think they’re getting more than one visitor once they open.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:49 amGo pound sand, fake lefty. Trying to make progressives look just as hateful as the Right is a tired, old trick and it never works.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:49 amI hope he puts the gun next to his honorable discharge, oh wait, he doesn’t have one…
July 6th, 2009 at 10:50 am“The gun is an interesting artifact, and it tells you that the United States captured Saddam Hussein and disarmed him literally,”
Shouldn’t a Library Foundation President know the meaning of the term “literally”?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:52 amNo doubt Saddam’s gun will be displayed right next to the flight suit(complete with codpiece) chimpy wore on that ridiculous landing on the USS Lincoln.
It would be best if chimpy took that gun and did a Hitler imitation with it.(Hitler blew his brains out).
July 6th, 2009 at 10:54 amI guess Bush was not very good in history. If Bush, Cheney, et al, want to put Bush’s Iraq war in context, then they should visit the LBJ library in Texas. As much as Bush would like to think that he will be vindicated, the evidence points to the contrary. History has not been kind to LBJ because of Vietnam. Bush will suffer the same fate.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:54 amBriseadh na Firefly Says:
It was unloaded when Saddam was captured.
What??? It didn’t even have yellow cake uranium in the chambers? Not even a Weapon of Minimal Destruction?
Did Bush get loaded after Saddam was captured?
July 6th, 2009 at 10:55 amHearing this Barbaric War Criminal is still roaming the Earth free to continue his life with impunity completely infuriates me!!!!! According to the Pew Research Institute, George W. Bush is still the most hated human being on the face of the Planet.
What’s the prize for destroying America? Freedom, wealth and happiness!
Disgusting!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:55 amThe Bush library is a monument to fascism in America. It is an embarrassment to all Americans.
This library, and the university that hosts it, deserves to be picketed until Bush is imprisoned for his war crimes.
I encourage everyone that goes to the Southern Methodist University to bring along a black permanent marker. Use that permanent marker to write, “Bush is a war criminal” on anything and everything.
Write it on the bathroom walls, write it on the ceiling panels, write it on the floors of the hallowed halls. Write it on the chancellors door, write it on every telephone pole. Write it on every soda machine, write it on every page of every book in that evil library.
Let’s make a statement that will forever stain this presidential monument to fascism.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:57 amBush feels proud he got Saddam’s gun at the expense of over 4000 dead US soldiers, thousands of injured troops and murdering thousands of innocent Iraq people. Yes and while kidnapping innocent Iraq men/woman/children and rape/torturing them. Bush not only showed the World how sick he is he showed the World the Americans were willing to follow a sick Leader. Now Cheney was in this for the oil money and nothing else. The death of American soldiers didn’t mean anything to him.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:59 amWaaaaaaaall, now, little lady, pardon me whahl ah go puke rahgt yhere in this li’l ole spittoon!!
July 6th, 2009 at 11:00 amGood golly Miss Molly; he has his handgun, is this all his has to show or is this the thing he wanted the most! We should have never gone in there, he had no WMD’s. This was a vendetta, because Saddam had a hit on poppy Bush. Everyone knew that, but the scare factor of a Mushroom cloud over the midwest… Yeah lets get them so scared that they would get hit with a nuke, to go alone with all his crazy and dangerous ideas.
After 911, he promised the American People that he would get Osama bin Laden; yeah right,that is why he is hiding out in Pakistan, remember that is total Bull sh*t!
I remember when he gave his farewell speech in the WH Pressroom, he told how he responded to Katrina. Sure that is why Louisiana is still in tumoil and they are still living in trailers and still relocated to different states.
He told everyone that he got rid of the Taliban,sure that is why they are in Pakistan. How he was fiscally responded, sure that is why they had a TARP to bailout Wall Street.
He kept America safe for 7 years, but he forgot that he did not keep us safe, it was on his watch that we were hit! What a Moron.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:01 amTP, Please please pleeeeeease ban Jeffboste.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:04 amMark Langdale, the president of the George W. Bush Foundation, said the library would use items to highlight 25 of Mr. Bush’s presidential decisions.
We will smoke him out.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:07 amHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Second that.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:08 amWar crimes trophy…
Save it for evidence at trial.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:08 amAn unloaded gun from “a” bad guy. Not “the” bad guy. Not OBL.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:09 amOf course they will put the gun next to a plaque that states that Saddam had nothing to do with Al Qaeda and the attack on 9/11, right? Right?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:09 amBobwurst Says:
——————————————————————————–
I hope he puts the gun next to his honorable discharge, oh wait, he doesn’t have one…
Then the gum will discharge.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:10 amWhat is it about the Reaganites ? If you outweigh your opponent by 300% of course you can beat them up. (Kind of like the bully looking for the sandflea).
Carribean Islands and Iraq.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:14 amI thank God for President Bush know he might not been the best president. But some people really think he is the enemy then pray for him. That’s what God would expect from you.unless you don’t believe in God?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:14 amWho knew Bush was an aficionado of Freshen-Up Gum?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:15 amThe Troll Central Comment Randomizer is on the fritz again.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:15 amjpkool blathers:
Indecipherable babble goes here…
July 6th, 2009 at 11:16 amBush as a war profiteer yes, as a hero in the white colored hat, couldn’t be farther from the truth.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:18 amThe pistol may belong the the American people but Bush stole it for its monitary value and a draw to his pornstand as nothing of any intellectual value will exist there.
Perhaps the Bush Library should also display the receipt.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:19 amgod is fiction
July 6th, 2009 at 11:21 amWhat do they call these people who believe they’re hearing voices in their heads telling them to pray or kill or whatever??
July 6th, 2009 at 11:22 amjpcool Says:
“I thank God for President Bush”
why?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:22 amjpcool Says:
Argle-bargle, glop-glyf
He ordered the death of plenty of human beings. So you better pray, A LOT, that he’s not headed down there where there is brimstone and gnashing of teeth.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:24 am“How we fit that into the decision to go to war, we haven’t gotten to that point yet.”
____________________________________________________________
In other words, “It’s hard to rewrite history with a few artifacts and trophies, but we’re trying…”
July 6th, 2009 at 11:25 amreligious believers
July 6th, 2009 at 11:25 amha,ha,ha,ha,
July 6th, 2009 at 11:27 amnot likely tws…
July 6th, 2009 at 11:27 amYour Father, who art a fiction
hollow be thy name
Thy kingdom came,
hundreds of thousands died
for your glory.
Nice job, god.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:27 amThanks, RantingTommy. I thought it had something to do with mental illness. Then again……
July 6th, 2009 at 11:34 amjpcool said,
The following is my translation from wingnuttia into English.
There is some interesting content to jpcool’s statement, after translation. This wingnut admits Bush was not the best president. Apparently the propaganda isn’t working as well anymore.
jpcool seems to think that we see Bush as the enemy, but in reality we see Bush as just one of the enemies in the fascist organization that is the Republican Party. jpcool then preaches that we should pray for our enemies, because he believes it is God’s will.
It is, of course, blasphemy to pretend to know God’s will, so jpcool shows off his ignorance regarding what it means to be a Christian.
jpcool, you should not be posting anything online. You are much to ignorant.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:35 amIt must be tuff being a cowboy these days,trying to better your imagine around the world! Here’s a article about a cowboy picture Bush hung in the Oval Office, that he was so proud of:
politicsdaily.com/2008/01/25/bush-misinterprets-painting-or-does-he/
July 6th, 2009 at 11:38 amWhat an uncurious self-absorbed simpleton Bush is! Of course, that’s hardly news, is it?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:38 amWhy is Think Progress posting a picture of a giant turd in a cowboy hat?
July 6th, 2009 at 11:39 amI still don’t understand why Americans are killing and torturing Iraqi civilians.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:43 amRantingTommy Says:
god is fiction
Aren’t we all? ;)
July 6th, 2009 at 11:47 amI really think the main use was as a masturbatory aid for Bush.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:49 am“There I was, hunkered down between the smart bombs and assault squads, you know, dodging them Al Qaeda terrorists and that there yella cake stuff, I always did like yella cake. Especially with chocolate frosting and some of them little sprinkle thingies? Well, anyway, I got that Saddam in my sights and wham, I let him have the US Military, right between the eyes. I wanted to have him stuffed and mounted but folks said that wouldn’t be such a good idea but I did get his Glock. Oh yeah, got it right here. Mmmmm, nothing like having his Glock in hand where I can show it off.”
Excerpt from the GW Bush diary…all 7 pages of it. Soon to be on display.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:53 amI hope Bush is wearing a sidearm when he is pulled out of his spiderhole to face his war crimes trial.
Immagine what that would be worth.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:54 amGeorge W. Bush, is a “LEGEND IN HIS OWN MIND”. Apparently, he doesn’t realize that you can’t “BURY THE TRUTH”, LIKE YOU BURY THE DEAD”.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:00 pmWar and Lies featuring Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich
Watch this. Really.
$720 Million a day in Iraq.
Imagine what we could do with that…
July 6th, 2009 at 12:15 pmAnd an empty glass case to show what’s in Bushs brain.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:24 pmWhy can’t all media just ignore chimpy?? It’s a complete waste of news space – both digitally and print….let’s talk about sewage??
July 6th, 2009 at 12:41 pm…in order to keep the library flush with cash, in the rear of the building, visitors who eschew the main tour will be offered, for $1.00, one minute to pelt a bush effigy with garbage, rotten fruit and a variety of shoes.
Receipts are expected to be in the millions…a day…
July 6th, 2009 at 12:41 pmThat would be a money maker, wouldn’t it.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:51 pmI guess Dubya can say he found Saddam Hussein’s “WMD” now too. Another artifact for the the “Liar Room” of the library!
July 6th, 2009 at 12:58 pmLevi #39, Great Idea! If the imbeciles who run SMU can’t get a clue, maybe that would help.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:05 pmRich H,
Spread the word. Vandalism is non-violent and it will create janitor jobs trying to remove them all.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:14 pmChing ching ching went his spurs as he slowly walked over to the hole Saddam was hiding in. Our hero adjusted his cowboy hat, squinted in the middle distance, shifted the toothpick in his mouth and called Saddam out. “You used to be with us. Now yer aginst us. Come out with yer hands up”
July 6th, 2009 at 1:14 pmHanshiro, The W. monster already raised $100 million dollars in 100 days! Where do you think that money is coming from?
July 6th, 2009 at 1:20 pm87.krystalview Says: Hanshiro, The W. monster already raised $100 million dollars in 100 days! Where do you think that money is coming from?
Halliburton…Shell….KBR….Exxon….(billions that went missing in Iraq)….Blackwater…Newscorp….
July 6th, 2009 at 1:28 pmYep!
July 6th, 2009 at 1:29 pmLevi, that’s a good laugh. Right now we can use all the jobs we can get.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:32 pmThe gun can be placed next to the cod-piece from his high flying photo-op. Both are empty.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:47 pmWhat a pathetically adolescent thing for a “President” to do….oh, wait, it’s Dumbya. That little trophy spoil of war cost us 4,455 American lives and countless thousands of Iraqi lives. I hope the Americans who “admire” Chimpy think it was worth it…I don’t. Just another petty thug showing off his ill-gotten trophy.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:53 pmBush Library Foundation President: Saddam’s Gun A Symbol That Bush ‘Disarmed Him Literally’
So basically this pistol is the only significant weapon taken from Saddam, and thus serves as yet another reminder that no WMD’s existed.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:07 pmBut the “wanted, dead or alive” poster said the bad guy’s name was Osamma bin Laden, not Saddam Hussein. Oh, will that poster be displayed too?
July 6th, 2009 at 3:50 pmsesli sohbet, sesli chat, seslisohbet, seslichat, kameral? sohbet, görüntülü chat, kameral? chat, görüntülü sohbet, sesli, seviyeli sohbetsesli sohbet sesli chat seslichat seslisohbet
July 6th, 2009 at 7:11 pmWow, the Freudian insights here are overwhelming. What is it with conservatives and homo-eroticism?
July 7th, 2009 at 2:55 pmDidn’t Bush get SH’s head on ice? Is that going to be displayed? What about the heads of all those people he put to death in Texas? Is he going to have an exhibit where they show them frying while Bush giggles?
Anyone can “claim” they have Saddam’s gun, now his head on a pike, that’s different.
July 9th, 2009 at 6:46 pmFinally, a secluded place that lil bush can play toy soldiers again. Give him some crayons so that he can color up the walls.
I really believe that GW Bush was an abused child. It could be his mama and his CIA papa locked him up in the closet for being the “slow” one in the family. But than, that what republicans are known for, isn’t it? Nixon talking through both sides of his mouth, Reagan didn’t know where in the hell he was at, both father and son (GW and GHBush) twisting lips.
Yep, the humor never stops.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:20 pm