Bush laughed when first shown pics of Iraq torture
A highly placed official in the Bush administration who was present in the Oval Office when the news broke about the release of the Iraqi torture photos, speaking on condition of anonymity, reports that President Bush laughed at the photos. According to this official, Bush demanded to see all the photos and even asked for enlargements. The President is reported to have smirkingly stated, "See there, that just shows those ragheads are a bunch of faggots." The official, who stated he felt disgusted by the President's behavior, also reported that Bush showed a "lascivious interest in the genitalia of the Iraqi men" in the photographs. Furthermore, Bush asked if there were photographs of women. "I'd sure as hell like to see what's under one of them baggy dresses," the official reports Bush commenting.
The official, continuing to speak on condition of anonymity, also reported that Karl Rove found it necessary to inform the President that the release of the photos was a political bombshell. At this point, the President is reported to have said, "Oh, give me a break! This kind of stuff [in the photos] is small potatoes. Hell, I've got a collection of Vietcong ears that was sliced off and dried. A Ranger give them to me down in Texas when I was governor." The official further reported that Bush went on to say he'd been trained in atrocities at the School of the Americas. "A lot of people wonder what I was doing down there in 'Bama when they can't find my records. Well, Karl-Boy won't let me tell them, but I was at the School down there learnin' how to do exactly what these good American soldiers are doin' in these photos. I can take off an ear with the best of 'em. How the hell else are you going to get these people to talk if you don't soften 'em up first."
The official said he felt the President might have been "blowing smoke" about attending the School of the Americas, and he went so far as to attempt to verify the statement. "Those records have all been shredded and burned," the official said. "I suppose it could be true, but the only way I can see "Georgie Porgie" [the White House staff's nickname for POTUS] taking off anybody's ear is if somebody else killed the person and then Bush ordered him to cut it off."
